Press & Reviews
Set Me Free
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In Miranda Beverly-Whittemore's second novel, Set Me Free, everyone has a story to tell, but everyone's stories begin and end with Cal Fleecing … Fleecing is a Native American and assistant headmaster at the Ponderosa Academy, a school founded by rich ex-radical Elliot Barrow. [Elliot's] teenage daughter, Amelia, lives at the school and is the only white girl in her class. Their converging stories meld into a layered, satisfying tale … The meat of the story lies in the relationship between Fleecing and Barrow … Barrow's the dreamer; he used his inheritance to open the school and wants to change the world, one kid at a time. Fleecing is the realist; as a Harvard graduate he's the only Indian in the tribe who received a formal education. Yet Fleecing has always felt discrimination and displacement in the world and from his own people … The voice of Amelia Barrow fleshes out the best. She sparkles with colloquialisms like "pulling a U-ie" and her feelings toward popular classmate Victor Littlefoot are infused with painfully honest teenage angst … [Beverly-Whittemore's] strength as an imaginative writer is evident in her commitment to her own formula and quirky style of writing. Set Me Free is a sensitive story in which the characters find their identities in places where they always felt out of place.—The Oregonian
Secrets are unveiled and histories explored in Beverly-Whittemore's sophomore novel that follows the small mélange of family and friends surrounding Elliott Barrow, the idealist founder of a school for Native American children. The book's frequently narrated by Cal Fleecing, a Native American who returned to his Oregon reservation after failing to complete his Harvard graduate coursework 17 years earlier. He meets Elliot on the reservation and helps him set up Ponderosa Academy, Elliot's dream school, in Stolen, Ore. But off the record, and to the reader, Cal's jealous of Elliot's charisma and annoyed at his optimism, feelings somewhat shared by Elliot's 17-year-old daughter, Amelia, returned home from a Portland conservatory, and Elliot's first wife, Helen Bernstein, a New York City theater director recruited by Elliot to direct a student production of The Tempest. In a separate plot set seven months ahead of Helen's arrival in Stolen, 17-year-old Willa Llewlyn is being driven across country from Connecticut by her father, Nat, to meet Elliot for reasons Nat's reluctant to make clear. Though the hidden connections between characters aren't exactly surprising, the allusions to Shakespeare and shifts in time and perspective make for an intriguing read.—Publisher's Weekly
Cal's personal story begins with the telling of his sense of displacement in the world as a native American Harvard student. He acquires an early anger towards the ideas of white people. … But interracial relations are only part of Set Me Free, as the book tackles a bigger theme: forgiveness as a means of relinquishing self-pity. … Short stories about the book's characters referred to by only one telling trait, such as The Skinny Woman or The Tall Man [leave] readers the enjoyment of piecing together who is who, and [provide] the novel with shades of a traditional native American tone.—The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
The Effects of Light
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» Read my First Fiction installments on Beatrice.com (April 5-15, 2005)
[An] ambitious first novel.—The New York Times Book Review
One of this season's finest debuts.—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Beverly-Whittemore's stunning novel will stick with you long after the last page.—Marie Claire
A thought-provoking debut.—Kirkus Reviews
Engaging…[with] far-reaching visions.—Publishers Weekly
Passionate writing, skillful plotting, and intriguing characters make this a necessary purchase. An excellent selection for a book discussion group.—Kaite Mediatore, Booklist
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore's complex and beautifully-written novel, The Effects of Light, is but the first offering of what promises to be an exceptional career.—Anita Shreve
Draws the reader effortlessly in…an intriguing blend of mystery, family saga, artistic treatise, philosophical theory, and moral discourse…the characters are believable-and always fascinating. This is the kind of book readers can easily plow through in one page-turning session, wishing that there was more to uncover once the last sentence is read.—Bookpage
A luminous story—a poignant, thought-provoking, and well-crafted debut novel.—Bookreporter.com
Here is the rare book where one is carried along as much by the author's surprising and original mind as by her ability to tell a good story. Seamlessly weaving the philosophy of art into a narrative that is by turns coming-of-age story and mystery, The Effects of Light shines with Miranda Beverly-Whittemore's precocious intelligence.—Sue Halpern
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore has carefully constructed a tangle of mistaken motives and truths untold which serves to complicate the already knotty question: What is the defining line between art and exploitation? Lives hang in the balance.—Susan Vreeland
I loved this book. The Effects of Light is an extraordinary debut—heart-rending, startling, wise. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore has written a deeply moving story about identity and family, memory and desire, and at the same time, a spellbinding novel of ideas, which explores myths of perception and the haunting power of art to make, or unmake, a life.—Dawn Clifton Tripp
The Effects of Light is a first novel of astounding depth and insight, illuminated by clear prose, complex characters, and ideas and memories upended, revealing both the beauty and darkness inherent in life and in art. The truths uncovered will take your breath away, and the story of two sisters captured in time will stay with you long after the final, radiant page.—Lorna J. Cook
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore's spectacular debut novel offers a suspenseful and endlessly surprising excavation of the loss and grief and guilt that have all but buried a beautiful American family. The Effects of Light asks brave, provocative questions about the nature of seeing, representing, remembering; wisely, it refuses any simple answers. The book's luminous drama haunts both heart and mind. Its revelations are brilliantly orchestrated and exquisitely timed; one compelling shock after the next will leave you breathless and awed.—Paul Russell
The Effects of Light is a shrewd meditation on the personal and public politics of art. With this intrepid debut, Beverly-Whittemore takes on the controversial work of photographers who shoot children. Through the eyes of deceptively simple narrators, we're taken inside the photographic works and ultimately the subjects themselves to confront the tragic, personal impact of today's culture wars. Beverly-Whittemore's observations are original, compelling, and utterly true of this cultural moment.—Rachel Simmons
At once a meditation on art and a gripping tale about family secrets, The Effects of Light is provocative in the best sense of the term: it makes you think. Beverly-Whittemore's novel grabs you from start to finish. It's a very auspicious debut.—Joshua Henkin
With its fearless confrontation of the divide between pornography and art…it is also lyrical in examining the divide between the sisters…a satisfying read that will keep your brain involved long after the last page is read.—EdgeBoston.com
An evocative and moving story—a beautifully written novel that manages to be both a page-turner and a literary accomplishment. The story of the two sisters is a profoundly moving one that will make readers think twice about the difference between perception and reality, about art versus pornography, and about society's expectations versus our individual passions. Beverly-Whittemore has a lot to offer to the literary world, and I highly recommend this novel to fans of literary and contemporary fiction.—BookLoons.com
Beverly-Whittemore is a wonderful storyteller and an excellent writer.—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
Poignant…a thoughtful examination of the various ways human beings see and sometimes misunderstand art.—MyShelf.com
A refreshingly unique idea embedded in a web of thought-provoking storytelling—A superb first book.—GirlPosse.com