Dani Shapiro is one of my new favorite authors of all-time! Her writing is intimate and candid, though dark and real. Sadly, Black and White is her latest novel and already going on four years old! However, Shapiro has recently released a memoir called Devotion.Black and White is about Clara, a woman intent on protecting her young daughter Sam from learning the truth about her grandmother Ruth, a famous artist who used Clara by exploiting her naked body as art in the form of photography. When Ruth is living out her last days suffering from cancer, Clara decides to revisit Ruth -- and her past, and eventually must expose her daughter to the real truth about her family.Black and White is already the best novel I've read so far in 2011 and will undoubtedly belong on my "best of" list. In various synopses of Black and White online, Dani Shapiro is being compared to Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult, but whoever stated that "fact" is so far from the truth because Dani Shapiro is far above both authors on her own stellar level. Dani Shapiro is so moving that she'll bring you to tears.Black and White is touching because Clara is so estranged from her mother that it makes you think twice about the relationships expected to endure and persevere from immediate family even when its healthier not to. Clara's choices are very smart. Reading this novel, I fully agree with Clara on all levels regarding making the decision to break off the relationship with her mother. The evident struggle within Black and White concerns the issue of Clara being honest and up-front about Ruth with her daughter Sam, but I think Clara comes clean and exposes the truth at the appropriate time in Sam's life, when she is old enough to understand.When Clara finally does reunite with her mother Ruth, we see that sadness is inevitable because all of a sudden, Clara and Ruth must swiftly catch up on their missed years before Ruth dies. I also appreciate and fully understand the white lies Clara continually tells herself over the years in trying to forget her mother and heal from her abuse; thoughts such as "I never think about my mother" and "All that is behind me now". Although Clara is trying desperately hard to move on, this is proof that our family always remains close in our hearts despite how difficult times have been and how we must move on to heal.Most of all, I love Black and White because Dani Shapiro -- and Clara strongly remind me of myself. Clara mentions at one point how motherhood is a secret club she never received the password for, and I couldn't agree more. Like Clara, I am officially estranged from my mother, and although it is very healthy for me to be apart from her, I can't help but remember the better times and the love and trust I once had for her. It's just what we do.Family History is another novel by Dani Shapiro that engendered similar emotions and feelings in me when I read it. I HIGHLY and STRONGLY recommend reading Family History (2003) as well, and it was one of the best books I read in 2009.I'm still trying to track down Dani Shapiro's other novels including Picturing the Wreck (1996), Fugitive Blue (1993) and Playing With Fire (1990). She's got a fan for life in me!Read more book reviews at http://dreamworldbooks.com.
When Clara Brodeur was four years old, her mother became famous for taking and publishing nude, extremely revealing photos of her. This continued until Clara was 14, with the last published shots of her showing her decidedly developing body. At the age of 18 Clara leaves home, with no forwarding address given. It is now 14 years later, she is the mother of a 9 year old girl, and Clara's sister summons her home to attend to their dying mother. To say that Clara is conflicted is an understatement. Through flashback we learn just how she felt all those years earlier when she was made to be the subject of her mother's obsession. Her descriptions of being awakened at night and taken outside to pose in a fountain or wrapped up like a mummy made to lay in a park, are chilling. There is no doubt in my mind that the girl was a victim of sexual abuse. But what were her mother's motivations? Was it just fame she craved? Was she aware of the damage she was doing to her daughter? Should her daughter have any responsibility towards her?I thought the author dealt with the issues well up to a point. The resolution along with a too quick and tidy ending, were very unsatisfying. Would like to have known more about just what Clara was thinking at the end. And I have one big question - why didn't she seek some sort of counseling to help her understand the feelings she lived with as the result of her mother's behavior? Still, this is an interesting, thought provoking read.
What do You think about Black & White (2007)?
Depictions of child nudity or children with nude adults appear in works of art in various cultures and historical periods. These attitudes have changed over time and have become increasingly frowned upon particularly in recent years, and especially in the case of photography. In recent years there have been a few incidents in which snapshots taken by parents of their infant or toddler children bathing or otherwise naked were challenged as child pornography. In May 2008, police in Sydney, Australia, raided an exhibition by the photographer Bill Henson featuring images of naked children on allegations of child pornography. Though these incidents were not proceeded with, they sent a strong psychological message to the community of the embarrassment that can be caused in this ambiguous but sensitive area.
—Amy Obenhaus
This is a book that I had to read for an upcoming book discussion. What I love about my discussion group is that it "forces" me to read books that I wouldn't normally pick-up and I would not have touched this with a 10-foot pole!Having said this, I'm glad that I read it. It takes me out of my comfort zone and if nothing else, it is a very discussable book.It all begins when Clara receives a phone call in the middle of the night. Her mother is sick & dying and Clara's sister, Robin, is calling for her to come home.Home ... Clara has not been home for 14 years ... she had to leave after what her mother did to her ...Pictures -- Clara's mother began taking nude photographs of her at age 3 and continued until she was 14. These were not your cute little child on the bearskin rug shots, but rather a [very:] graphic look at childhood innocence. Clara was her mother's muse. Clara's father tried to stop what was happening -- he knew it was wrong, but for this photographer, her daughter was like an obsession or a drug addiction ... she could not quit!Are the pictures art or child porn? How do these photos affect Clara's relationships with others?Check out this book to find out!
—Amy
I found this book in a used book store. The Winter Park Used book store to be exact. First of all I would like to say that this book store is amazing. I got this book for a dollar and It was easily a fourteen dollar book. I loved this book. It had a a very "jodi Picoult" feel to it. The story starts with Clara a women who has established herself within the routine of a normal life. She has a loving husband, and a beautiful nine year old daughter. She resides in a sleepy town, safe away from civilization. All of this bliss however is threatened by Clara's past which is brought up as her mother Ruth slowly detoriates from Lung Cancer.All of Clara's childhood Ruth took pictures of her. Not cute little pictures of girls feeding ducks or dancing around in dresses. No, Ruth took images of Clara naked all the way up to her fourteenth birthday and then posted these pictures in her art galleries throughout New York. The pictures where called "evocative" and "raw" but by some they where refereed to as "porn" and "inappropriate" Clara grew up under the shadow of these pictures and was never able to live a normal life. She blames her mother for this and has kept her daughter and herself out of her mothers reach. Yet now she must face the decision of allowing her life to once again mix with her artists mother, or let her mother wither away alone.This novel was very thought provoking. First of all it made me think about what "art" exactly is. Should art be pornographic, should nudes even be considered art? Is art still art when the subject is unwilling or unwanting of the attention that that art will bring? This book pulls to question the connection between mother and child and most importantly what exactly it means to be a good mother.I devoured this book and thought it was an excellent addition to my continued summer reading. I hope that anyone else who reads it finds this just as enjoyable. Many blessings and good readings!
—Constance
