Mary Coin

 

I just finished reading the novel, Mary Coin, by Marisa Silver. It is an amazing story written by an amazing writer. What made me read this book? I think the cover drew me to the book first. The cover is the iconoclast photo of the woman from the Depression Era…Migrant Mother.

 

In real life, the woman photographed was a 32 year old mother of seven. Her name was Florence Owens Thompson. The photographer was Dorthea Lange. This photo is one of the most famous photos of the Depression Era, showing the plight and hunger of the people during this time.

 

Even now, if you were to talk about the famous photo of the woman during the Depression or would Google it…the photo of Mother Migrant will pop up. It is as famous as the photo of the young Afghan girl ‘A Life Revealed,’ on the 1985 National Geographic covered.

 

As for this book, Mary Coin – the story is about three major people: Walker Dodge, the present day professor of Cultural Lit who shows the photo to his class - Mary Coin, the Migrant worker, and the photographer, Vera Dare, who takes the famous photo. Each character and their story are well developed. In the end, the stories all connect in a very satisfying way.

 

This is such a well written novel, that it left me thirsting for more, after I finished reading it. That was when I went to my computer in search of the picture and story of the Migrant Mother, Florence Owens Thomson and the photographer, Dorthea Lange.

 

 I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more books by Marisa Silver.