A brilliant, complex, and layered story, The Shadow Catcher takes its title from the name bestowed upon Edward Curtis by the American Indians when he showed them photographs of themselves. In this remarkable novel, Wiggins weaves parallel tales of this famous artist and an unsung soldier, husband, and father. With its vast Western landscape and Wiggins' mesmerizing first-person narration, The Shadow Catcher calls to mind the best of the exploring, voyaging writers—Twain, Melville, Hemingway, and Steinbeck.
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"This book has a lot in it - and I can understand how a lot of people feel that it doesn't "hang together." But, for me, it kept getting better and better. Everyone who reads it has a different favorite storyline - what amazed me so much is that the same author could write in all of those styles. There is some straightforward narrative and some jaw-dropping paragraphs where I just wanted to spend time thinking about something she had just articulated so well. I also really enjoyed the recurring themes of fathers leaving and then reuniting with their family in some way, of "lighting out" for the territory - running from/going to somewhere...it was also really interesting to read this so soon after reading Loving Frank." — MaryAlice (4 out of 5 stars)
"This book has a lot in it - and I can understand how a lot of people feel that it doesn't "hang together." But, for me, it kept getting better and better. Everyone who reads it has a different favorite storyline - what amazed me so much is that the same author could write in all of those styles. There is some straightforward narrative and some jaw-dropping paragraphs where I just wanted to spend time thinking about something she had just articulated so well. I also really enjoyed the recurring themes of fathers leaving and then reuniting with their family in some way, of "lighting out" for the territory - running from/going to somewhere...it was also really interesting to read this so soon after reading Loving Frank."
“Marianne Wiggins is one of our most adventuresome and enterprising novelists…her style is seductive and alluring…The Shadow Catcher is both mesmerizing and convincing.”
“The best book of the year is the arch and luminous Marianne Wiggins novel The Shadow Catcher…an old-fashioned detective story with a gung-ho narrative momentum. Along the way, The Shadow Catcher manages to wax sagacious about families, the American West, death, time, memory, the subjugation of Native Americans, and the rise of photography as the chief medium by which we now know the world—or think we do, that is…Be glad you live in a world that includes this prickly, magnificent novel.”
“According to conventional wisdom, a picture is worth roughly a thousand words. In The Shadow Catcher, the assessed value is considerably higher. And what words they are.”
“Curtis emerges as a fascinating, complex figure, one who inhabited any number of American contradictions. Suffused with Marianne’s crackling social commentary and deceptively breezy self-discovery, Wiggins’s eighth novel is a heartfelt tour de force.”
“Wiggins is a writer who paints elegant pictures with words…[With] insights, realistic pathos, and human situations, this creative novel will not disappoint.”
“Bernadette Dunne is a superb narrator for this enigmatic novel…Dunne is also expert at voicing accents without resorting to stereotypes, creating authentic Native American and Mexican characters.”
“Thought-provoking takes on truth, myth, and the need to escape.”
" The Shadow Catcher is my first introduction to Marianne Wiggins' writing and I was so pleased with her story telling that I've ordered a few more of hers. "
" Lovely style, interesting look at part of America's history "
" excellent read, the author revelas the family/romantic history of edward curtis the photographer of america indian tribes in the early 1900's and her own father's story. "
" A historical fiction about Edward Curtis. The author made up facts to titulate the reader and really twisted the actual facts..really bogus. "
" Interesting and very readable. I now know much more about Edward Curtis although Wiggins took some liberties with the facts of his life. "
" Interesting mix of fiction and history in Wiggins' portrait of men who run away and the women left behind. "
" Not quite as good as Evidence of Things Unseen, but certainly worth reading. I love the way she interweaves the past and the present in this book. Another one for history buffs. "
" Enjoyed reading this book. Found the ending a little far fetched (and yes, I do realize this is a novel!). How many coincidences can be believable? Loved all the pictures. The most interesting sections in this book were the parts about Edward Curtis. "
" I "read" the audiobok cd version. "
" A tad disjointed at times, but an enjoyable read! "
" Very interesting character development. Though there were three story lines, the writer made you feel that all of the characters from the different lines could really know one another. Also I enjoyed the different perspective of the West, both Southwest and Northwest. "
" Wiggins is astonishingly satisfying, and her historical fictional account of Edward Curtis is a richly woven tale. "
" A lyrical --- and literal --- collage about the West. Think W. G. Sebald without the Holocaust. "
" I read this for a book group and we all loved it. It is a fictionalized account of the life of Edward S. Curtis, photographer of the West. "
" Marianne Wiggins is a great writer. I loved Evidence of Things Unseen. This book was a completely different tone. I liked the historical sections but didn't care for the present day. The transitions back and forth were somewhat jarring. "
" This is a really interesting and well written book. And it's a lot of fun to read. Sort of cowboy-love-story, finding yourself. "
" Historical Novel, not historical. Best to read a biography about Edward C. Curtis(1868-1952) known for his photograhy of native Americans. In reality he exploited them for his own means. "
" This book was interesting in places and does touch on the enigmatic life of Edward S. Curtis but on the whole I found it to be very languid and I did not enjoy it, although many people whose opinions I respect simply love this book, so read it for yourself. "
" Marianne Wiggins weaves a bit of contemporary reality into the story of the life of the photographer Edward s. Curtis. "
" This was a letdown after "Evidence of Things Unseen" -- still enjoyable but not totally my cup of tea. "
" what? Really?!?!? I was so disappointed in this book. I really had high hope for it. "
" I rarely say this about a book, but I wish it had been longer! "
" overall a good story if a bit trite "
" I was really torn about how to rate this one. It deserves at least a three and half. "
" This is a really lovely book. "
" Good writing. POV of writer more openly part of the narrative than is usual. Explores themes of place and home and how memory is an elusive, imperfect and ever-revising concept. "
" The first few pages of this book are so extraordinary that I read on to the end, thinking she'd match the power of nuance of that first passage. She didn't, though the book is quite good. Still...those first pages, stunning... "
" Very interesting historical fiction about the life of a photographer who travelled with Teddy Roosevelt. It has a startling ending. "
Marianne Wiggins is the author of several books of fiction including John Dollar and Evidence of Things Unseen. She has won an NEA grant, the Whiting Writers’ Award, and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and she has been a finalist for many awards, including the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award.
Bernadette Dunne is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.
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