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Camera Obscura

by Rosanne Dingli (Goodreads Author) (Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 12 ratings · 10 reviews

Photojournalist Bart Zacharin’s camera doesn’t lie … but his mysterious new lover Minnie Cuff lies for a living.

Love-struck Bart can’t get that into focus until he follows her from Australia on her flimsily excused trip to Europe and becomes embroiled in an obscure web of international organised crime, deception and death.

Minnie’s a fake. Her humdrum job as a computer prog...more

Paperback, 318 pages

Published March 23rd 2012 by BeWrite Books

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Jul 29, 2012 Tim Lewis added it

Premise: Bart Zacharin is an Australian photographer whose life is turned upside-down while sitting outside a cafe when the building collapses and a woman he doesn’t know almost dies. Minnie Cuff is intriguing and mysterious, and Bart follows her around Europe to get to know her. His biggest problem is she is aloof and her attention is fleeting.

Minnie claims to be a computer programmer, but Bart soon learns that there is more to her that she isn’t telling him. They discover there is a man follow...more Premise: Bart Zacharin is an Australian photographer whose life is turned upside-down while sitting outside a cafe when the building collapses and a woman he doesn’t know almost dies. Minnie Cuff is intriguing and mysterious, and Bart follows her around Europe to get to know her. His biggest problem is she is aloof and her attention is fleeting.

Minnie claims to be a computer programmer, but Bart soon learns that there is more to her that she isn’t telling him. They discover there is a man following them wherever they go, perhaps after the secret package she is carrying. When it turns physical, both with fighting the man following them and with Minnie in the bedroom, Bart must decide how deep he is willing to go to pursue a meaningful relationship with Minnie.

While chasing Minnie around Europe, Bart learns that his father who he hadn’t known his entire life has died. Bart’s father was in Malta, where he met a woman who he lived with after leaving his family behind years ago. From the dozens of journals that his father wrote, Bart learns about this man, including that he was also a photographer like himself. If only Minnie could be as open a book as his dead father.

Themes: Camera Obscura is as much a whodunnit art theft mystery as it is a mystery about people on a personal level. Even when we think we know somebody, we sometimes learn new things that shatter our beliefs about them. After believing that his father was either dead or left his family at a young age, Bart learns more about his father as a person and grows fonder about him. Bart also learns more and more about Minnie that only brings him to the realization that he really doesn’t know her at all.

Bart’s interest in Minnie is apparent from the moment he sees her in that cafe. She is nothing like his girlfriend and everything about her makes him want her more. Trusting in her actions goes hand in hand with her intrigue, and we are given the opportunity to learn the difference between love and infatuation.

Camera Obscura is also a story about the impact a father has on a person’s life, for better or worse. Bart learns about his father, who left him and his mother when he was a child, through journals he wrote later in life. We also begin to learn how much influence a father has on his children, and to what extent those children will go to make their father proud.

Pros: Rosanne Dingli either has a lot of knowledge about art and collecting or she did her research because this book is packed full of painters, camera types, composers, stamps, and European architecture. It was like I was being taught about the subject as I was reading. Camera Obscura really hits its stride in the second half of the novel, as Bart finds his father’s respite in Malta and the woman he lived with in his last years.

Cons: About halfway through reading Camera Obscura I started getting bored with Minnie’s constant disappearing and reappearing. She became so unlikeable I wanted her to lose and didn’t care about her anymore. At times Bart agonized in his worrying about what to do, and it became agonizing for me to have to read so much of it. Probably some of the comings and goings of Minnie could have been left out.

Recommendations: Though I struggled around the midpoint of the novel, I am glad I powered through and kept reading. Some new themes opened up that made Camera Obscura more meaningful and quite profound. The ending was somewhat unexpected, though my suspicions about Minnie were verified in not liking her. I suppose that’s why the title is appropriate in that what is shown isn’t necessarily reality. Camera Obscura moves quickly at times and slows to a crawl at others, though it is a solid mystery by someone who put a lot of thought into researching the subject. Give it a go if you like your mysteries mixed with art and romance.(less)

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Feb 21, 2013 Ian Mathie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rosanne Dingli never disappoints. With Camera Obscura she has again produced a novel that must rank among the best of mystery thrillers. As is typical of this extraordinary writer there are several different tales, both compelling in different ways. These are interwoven in a complex network of links held together by mystery, intrigue, skulduggery of the highest order and two compelling love stories which draw the reader ever onward.
Starting with a crash, when the glass roof of a café in Freemant...more Rosanne Dingli never disappoints. With Camera Obscura she has again produced a novel that must rank among the best of mystery thrillers. As is typical of this extraordinary writer there are several different tales, both compelling in different ways. These are interwoven in a complex network of links held together by mystery, intrigue, skulduggery of the highest order and two compelling love stories which draw the reader ever onward.
Starting with a crash, when the glass roof of a café in Freemantle collapses injuring a pretty girl, the element of mystery takes hold from the beginning as a press photographer who witnessed the event comes to the rescue. He discovers an immediate and intense attraction, which he cannot ignore, for the girl he rescues. Before he can find out more about her the girl vanishes, leaving him bereft and unsettled. When, out of the ether, she contacts him clearly needing help but offering no explanation of what or why she vanished, he feels compelled to respond. With his domestic life in turmoil, Bart abandons everything and sets off in pursuit to find Minnie, but she keeps vanishing after only the most fleeting of contacts. Mystery and threat begin to intensify as on each occasion Bart becomes aware of a shadowy figure in a van who is always nearby when he catches up with Minnie.
Into all this Dingli introduces another story about Bart’s father who vanished when he was seven. His mother, Iris, with whom his relationship has always been uncomfortable, has told him too many conflicting tales and he needs to find the truth. A letter from a mysterious woman in Malta announcing his father’s demise leaves Bart torn between following this lead to solve the greatest mystery of his life and responding to another appeal for help form the mysterious and alluring Minnie.
His decision moves the action across the globe from Western Australia to France. Landing in Paris in the aftermath of a dramatic plane crash, he is drawn onward to the dingy commercial port of Le Havre. Rough action mixes with tender and intense love scenes as Bart and Minnie finally get together. But the pressure is always there and they are soon driven onwards, landing in Malta where the plot becomes even more entangled. With moving and philosophical flashbacks when Bart is given his late father’s journals, he begins to discover his past and build the missing relationship with his father. All the time the mystery of Minnie keeps revealing tantalising scraps of unsettling intrigue and possibly criminal activity. Other fascinating characters join the dramatis personae, embellishing the whole thing and racking up the tension with murder, mystery and missing artworks.
The way Dingli builds her players is so compelling one feels they could be people one knows. At the same time she has a capacity for mystery that compels the attention as she wraps each element in a web of artistic interest and cultural detail. The villages and social life of Malta come alive through her descriptions, such that one can almost feel the warm breeze off the Mediterranean, smell the scent of flowers in the gardens and hear the clamour of people going about their daily lives in the narrow streets. Besides delivering beautifully told mysteries, and her trademark car chase, this book is descriptive writing at its best. Her attention to detail, insights into human behaviour and the emotional turmoil felt by her characters put Dingli in the forefront of modern mystery writing.
As a reader you have to apply your brain with this book, but it is so very well worth the effort. Camera Obscura is a must read book.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Alana Woods rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

‘A camera obscura is a darkened boxlike device used for photographic purposes, sketching, and visual exhibitions. ...’ This explanation of the title precedes the novel and I’m grateful to the author for providing it because the term is used several times in the story in relation to how characters and situations are perceived. The explanation obviated the necessity for me to pick up a dictionary.

Bart Zacharin’s life changes in a moment. A newspaper photographer, he arrives home in Fremantle earli...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Andria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Camera Never Lies But It Can Distort The Truth!

This is the second book that I have read by this author and I found it to be equally well crafted and compelling! Dingli proves once again that she is capable of producing well researched and detailed storylines which hook you from the off and pull you along at a fast pace until a conclusion is reached in epic proportions.

Her style of prose, layers of interesting characters and plot complexity sit comfortably with-in the vibrantly colourful depi...more The Camera Never Lies But It Can Distort The Truth!

This is the second book that I have read by this author and I found it to be equally well crafted and compelling! Dingli proves once again that she is capable of producing well researched and detailed storylines which hook you from the off and pull you along at a fast pace until a conclusion is reached in epic proportions.

Her style of prose, layers of interesting characters and plot complexity sit comfortably with-in the vibrantly colourful depictions of her chosen European destinations making this psychological thriller an action packed read which will totally engross you.

Bart Zacharin, Australian Photo-journalist, is the main character who seems to be going through the motions in his every day life; no clear direction, settling for whatever comes his way. That is until an odd accident provides a chance encounter with a mysterious computer programmer named Minnie Cuff. From then on Bart’s life completely changes as he unknowingly becomes tangled in a web of international intrigue, deception and black market dealings where the stakes are as high as the artifact values and danger is lurking around every corner. The trail he follows leads him on a wild goose chase for the elusive Minnie taking him from Australia to France and then finally to Malta where elements of both Minnie’s identity and indeed his own start to unravel.

Throughout there are references to the ‘Camera Obscura’, where light inherently dictates what the image is to become but the individual mentally interprets what it wishes it to be: this theme is mirrored by its two main characters where we are not sure for example if Minnie is an image of Bart’s heart or his head. There’s also an underlying subtext which makes some interesting observations about the influence absent fathers have on the characters, motivations and ambitions of their offspring.

It’s a gripping read – I thoroughly recommend this author, her attention to detail and knowledge of exotic and historical locations will have you visualizing the scenes from each page; I am a huge fan!

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Apr 01, 2012 Magdalena added it

Though not often in use today, the Camera Obscura is still something of a collector's item. It is used to project an image of its surroundings onto a screen, and was the precursor to the modern camera. As the title might suggest, the Camera Obscura is a recurring motif in Rosanne Dingli's novel, appearing a number of times in the text as the "dark box" that projects an image. Camera Obscura's protagonist, Bart Zacharin, is an Australian photographer who is bored with his work, uninspired by his...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Melissa Bowersock rated it 4 of 5 stars

Camera Obscura is at first a mad dash through a funhouse, wondering which images are real, which are illusions, with plenty of twists and turns and revelations to make the reader not trust anything. Dingli does a good job of not telegraphing her plot twists, even though you know things are not what they seem; the unfolding revelations continue to surprise. However, beneath the tale of blind infatuation, art thievery and skulduggery, there is another tale about fathers and family that is the real...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Tom Kepler rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Mediterranean island of Malta is the key to Rosanne Dingli's novel Camera Obscura.

Compelling conflicts and intrigue, centering around computer hacking and art theft, balance the romantic interest of the book--but it is the incandescent pleasure of sunlight illuminating the island and people of Malta that made this novel memorable, descriptions of "the rubble walls, carob trees, vines and climbers spilling over the tops of walls that evidently concealed small gardens."

The island becomes a sig...more The Mediterranean island of Malta is the key to Rosanne Dingli's novel Camera Obscura.

Compelling conflicts and intrigue, centering around computer hacking and art theft, balance the romantic interest of the book--but it is the incandescent pleasure of sunlight illuminating the island and people of Malta that made this novel memorable, descriptions of "the rubble walls, carob trees, vines and climbers spilling over the tops of walls that evidently concealed small gardens."

The island becomes a significant presence, providing an alternative to the frenetic pace of life captured at the beginning of the novel. Malta is timeless earth-stability, the alternative. "There was a terraced tessellation of fields below, each bounded by a long serpentine limestone wall, which stretched for some of the way beneath their hotel window. There was limestone everywhere: flat-topped houses ahead, spires and belfries of churches that pinned the landscape in place under scudding clouds."

The main character, Australian photographer Bart Zacharin, was a challenge for me at the beginning of the novel--a self-absorbed individual with issues stemming from his growing up, a guy who makes the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons. Following his attraction to the mysterious Minnie Cuff, he travels from Australia to France to Malta, seeking self-knowledge, understanding, and love. The novel's action and Zacharin's journey to Malta are, in a sense, the man's journey to his own potential.

It is on Malta where he finds himself and resolves many of his issues. It is the healing effects of the island and its people that provided the incentive to continue reading and to learn to appreciate Zacharin. I'm glad I stuck with it.

Minor characters on Malta--his father's lover, a painter, a gardener/medical doctor, a chief of police--were, for me, among the most interesting aspects of the novel. Their influence on Zacharin create a dynamic, along with the physical island's influence, that allowed an appreciation of Zacharin's quest.

Here is a bit about Stella De Cortis, Zacharin's father's life-long love: "Suddenly, looking at her in her huge house with its walls like ramparts, her garden that was scented with Mediterranean blooms, he felt what his father must have felt there. Sanctuary: peace. She was the embodiment of comfort, of affection, without artifice or rancour, and had taken Charles [the father] on trust, not demanding for a minute that he change or mutate to her demands. If only everyone were that accepting and that trustful."

Malta provides a blend of antiquity and the contemporary, and it is in Malta that Zacharin learns about the father who abandoned him, where he begins to make decisions about his life rather than just reacting to the stimuli of the environment about him. The ancient island that is also modern--cameras and the reality of the image, his father's journals and the reality of the words, his father's contemporaries and their gentle suggestions--Dingli's Camera Obscura is the journey of an unformed, dependent personality trudging to self-actualization. It is a well-formed blend of thrilling action and suspense with character development.

I've read other works by Rosanne Dingli and expected a well-written novel that was fulfilling on several levels. I wasn't disappointed. If, like me, you find Bart Zacharin a dull boy at the beginning, stick with it. Forgive the caterpillar and celebrate the butterfly. It is the caterpillar which makes the latter butterfly so much more significant. (less)

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May 25, 2012 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rosanne Dingli has provided us with an intense, fun and complex mystery. Labeling it a mystery may do it injustice. While there is a measure of who-done-it involved, the deeper conflict and relationship that develops between Bart and Minnie is what makes this country-hopping story of intrigue really work.

From the opening scene, you are pulled into the relationship that doesn't yet exist between these two main characters. Just when you thought you were getting a glossed over and convenient set-up...more

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May 31, 2012 Lauren Murphy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aww2012, aussie-author, crime-mystery

Bart spots Minnie across the room, their eyes meet for a long minute before the café seems to crumble down around them. The only thing Bart can think of is to save Minnie, the woman that mesmerised him and is injured in the disarray. Despite having a sensible, loyal girlfriend at home Bart is drawn to Minnie- her bubbly youth and enticing eyes. He visits her in hospital until she is well and is devastated when she leaves Perth and returns home to England. Bart comes up with a flimsy excuse to tr...more Bart spots Minnie across the room, their eyes meet for a long minute before the café seems to crumble down around them. The only thing Bart can think of is to save Minnie, the woman that mesmerised him and is injured in the disarray. Despite having a sensible, loyal girlfriend at home Bart is drawn to Minnie- her bubbly youth and enticing eyes. He visits her in hospital until she is well and is devastated when she leaves Perth and returns home to England. Bart comes up with a flimsy excuse to travel overseas in his role as a photojournalist, breaks it off with his girlfriend and flies to Europe to find Minnie. It is clear that Minnie, a hacker is messed up in some criminal activities but Bart turns a blind eye because he is so infatuated with her. But the excitement she brings to their passionate affair isn’t so endearing when it means they are being chased by bad guys and Bart’s life is at risk.

At the outset I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Minnie’s behaviour and Bart’s attraction to her that has him jet-setting across the world to try and find her. For him, she represents everything his life is not- exciting, unpredictable and risky. And perhaps Bart provides Minnie with a bit of sense and stability in the chaotic world she has created for herself.

However, by the half way mark I was still as confused as Bart about what on earth Minnie was up to and I started to get frustrated with both of these characters. Minnie seemed to just dismiss his questions and take Bart for granted while Bart naively just went along with whatever she said. I wasn’t sure what held them together beyond their physical attraction and the excitement of the unknown.

Minnie and Bart have people on their tails as they flee across France and find some momentary serenity in Malta where they think they may have outsmarted the bad guys. Coincidentally, Malta is where Bart’s step-mother resides and he meets with her to find out about his estranged father’s death and learn about the man he never got to know. Through his father’s diaries, Bart begins to see another side to his father, the side his mother wouldn’t share with him. Minnie and Bart become caught up in schemes of stolen artworks and rare, valuable stamps with very powerful people at play.

I enjoyed the mystery and exotic locations of Camera Obscura, but I did feel as though Minnie and Bart’s relationship at times hijacked the story so the suspense and action was a little dampened down. The last part of the story picks up and I was thrilled to see Bart get a back-bone and start to figure out what on earth Minnie is up to. A story that stretches across many genres- romance, suspense, crime- and many locations it’s an interesting compilation that seems to work from Australian author Rosanne Dingli.
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Jan 06, 2013 Heather Goldsmith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good read. Lots of action. Not your typical storybook ending, which I found refreshing and brave.

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About Rosanne Dingli

Three novels and five story collections available now in paperback and eBook editions.

Coming soon! Rosanne Dingli's fourth exciting novel. Cover and title to be revealed soon. Release - July 2013

Rosanne Dingli had numerous articles, stories, reviews, columns and poems published Australia-wide and on the internet since 1986. She has worked as teacher, lecturer, workshop coordinator, magazine and...more

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