Roberta Writes – Book review: A Life in Frames by Leonora Ross #bookreview #bookcommunity

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Picture caption: Book cover of A Life in Frames featuring a few small trees in the desert

What Amazon says

A photojournalist consumed by his passion for telling stories through his camera lens, a father and son at a war of wills, and lovers struggling to find a way to each other.

A Life in Frames follows the life of Namibian photojournalist Lejf Busher as he navigates through childhood and manhood in this coming-of-age literary saga. Two women are central to Lejf’s existence: his mother and the woman he loves. Destined for success and international acclaim, he discovers the complex reality of a career that separates him from his relationships. His mother is a beacon of strength, but he feels unsupported by his father. Lejf wants that acceptance. He also longs to succeed romantically with his great love, but her own search for independence and escape from a conservative upbringing widens the distance between them. Lejf’s expectations of a world and people he cannot change force him to confront his fears and choices when he can no longer run from them.

A Life in Frames is about the push and pull between the ties that bind us and the desires that motivate us. It is also about coming to grips with the consequences of unspoken and misinterpreted words.

My review

Picture caption: Badge for Rosie’s Book Review Team

I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.

I was attracted to this book for two reasons: It is set in Namibia and it focuses on photography. As a South African with a passion for wildlife photography I knew I would enjoy reading a story set in our neighbouring country of Namibia and I also knew there must be a focus on wildlife photography. I was correct on both counts and I loved the beautiful descriptions of the main character’s, Lejf Busher, home in a small town in Namibia and his trips into the bush to discover amazing photographic opportunities. I related completely to Lejf’s love for his country and its wildlife and people. The author described the small town attitudes of the people who surround Lejf as a child, including his father, with a sharp pen, and I enjoyed the disruptions to their thinking caused by Lejf’s mother, a Swede with an open-minded European mindset. The scenes about a book about sex, written by Lejf’s mother to teach her five sons about women, and its making the rounds of the town’s people made me laugh. It would be like that here in conservative South African towns too.

Lejf’s father’s lack of support of his son’s choice of career also rang true for me, having experienced this attitude of creative careers being unreliable as pay cheque jobs in my own family. The clashes between Lejf and his father over many things were well portrayed and realistic. A conservative farmer from a small Namibian town would react to a dramatic and creative personality like Lejf’s with concern and a lack of understanding. The author has a very initiate understanding of small town people in southern Africa.

This is a coming of age story and follows Lejf’s life from a boy of ten into later adulthood. It beautifully depicts a man driven by deep empathy for the first nation people of this planet who have been displaced and their way of life decimated by interlopers. There is a great tragedy and sadness in the scenes of Lejf’s visits to these people and places. The author must have first hand experience of such peoples and places and has done a lot of research.

In summary, this is a beautifully written book filled with thought provoking and interesting scenes and well worth reading. It is literary fiction and the pace is slow and considered so it is aimed at a certain readership.

A Life in Frames is available from Amazon USA here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1069082805

And through Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Frames-Leonora-Ross-ebook/dp/B0DW2Q8WNY

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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43 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Book review: A Life in Frames by Leonora Ross #bookreview #bookcommunity”

    1. Hi Dave, yes, indeed, but I would have liked this style of book even in a different setting. Similar to Audrey Driscoll’s book, Winter Journeys that I reviewed recently. I seem to be drawn towards these sort of though provoking reads about people and their lives.

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    1. Thank you, Thomas. The mother is Swedish and she is a very interesting character. I misspelt Lejf initially. I wrote Lief (South African version). I was quite amused that I did that without even realising it.

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  21.  The first nation people of this planet have been ripped off, and at the very best, marginalized.

    It sounds like a book to foster that understanding.

    There seems to be many facets beyond that in this book, such as a creative career vs. Practical, and the idea of how Lejf’s mother, a Swede, fits in.

    Excellent review, Robbie. Thank you!

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