Bernie is a photographer who hasn't taken any pictures in a while. She recently learned that her photography mentor who taught her everything she knows had been preying on some of his young female students. She's not sure how to feel about this. Bernie moves in to a house with 4 other queer people in Philadelphia, one of them being Leah, who Bernie feels instantly curious about, but Leah is dating Alex- another housemate.
When Bernie learns that her photography mentor has left her his negatives and cameras in his will, Bernie and Leah decide to take a road trip together. It's perfect timing for Leah, because they are a writer and have just received a grant, but they have also been feeling uninspired and want a collaborator. They love Bernie's photography and it seems like the perfect project.
Everything in this book from the physical descriptions to the character development is written with an almost brutal honesty. The people are all flawed, and some- like the photography mentor- have quite big flaws. But no judgment is given by the author, she leaves everything up to the reader.
I loved just how ARTSY this was. The way Bernie talks about her photography, how she chooses what to shoot, how she sets everything up. The way Leah takes notes on a physical notepad, the questions they ask, and the way Leah and Bernie relate to each other was so interesting to me.
<blockquote>Better? Leah asked, when they were standing in it.
Yes, Bernie said.
Why?
I'm not sure.
Try would you?
I guess because the parking lot, the asphalt, is most of the picture now. It feels more open, more free, more spacious. More like their party would have felt, maybe.
Leah did not understand this, but she wrote it down.</blockquote>
I also loved the internal philosophizing that Bernie and Leah do during the road trip. In particular, how they think through the situation with Bernie's mentor:
<blockquote>"How was it possible that men whose blood and energy could pool in such dark places, who could touch and drink and talk with such disregard and impunity, who said things that could fester in the mind for a whole life, could also make things that were so blindingly beautiful and true? Did their ability to make these things stem from the same source as their ability to ruin? Were these things connected? Were they opposed? Unrelated?"</blockquote>
There is romance and sex in this too, but it's not really a romance novel (genre wise). The characters care for each other, but they also mistreat each other, and (like everything else) the author presents everything to the reader without passing judgment.
There is also a narrator who occasionally makes an appearance. If I'm being picky, I found the narrator to be kind of unnecessary, and the ending felt a bit weak to me, especially compared to the rest of the book.
But overall, this was very enjoyable to read.
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