MARY COIN-the Photo/Woman that Defined the Great Depression

Marissa Silver's historic & enlightening novel unveils the life of the woman whose gaze is fraught full of bewilderment has personified the era of the Great Depression.  Mary Coin is the woman in the photo whose children's heads are seen leaning into their mother as Mary's pensive gaze depicts her striving to  solve how to maintain food & shelter for her children during this deperate time of poverty.  It is deeply  significant to learn of the life Mary Coin whose face has come to represent so many migrant workers also struggling to provide for their families.  This is a story of destitution, of brutal treatment & hard labor so many endured during the Depression.  It also depicts the societal strata that perpetuated an impoverished work force.  Vera Drake is the photographer whose life is told entwined with the woman from her iconic image.  The novel delves with how history is revealed through photos.  A photo is a relic that captures the death of a precise moment.  The rare photo has the ability to enshrine an image in time that represents life concisely & meaningfully.  MARY COIN reminds us life is forever changing, creating new perceptions and questions.