The New York Times Book Review "Highly entertaining...Smith is fascinating and writes vividly...[he] has a talent for descriptive imagery..."

Los Angeles Times "Smith writes beautifully of Daguerre's fascination with light...[and] refreshes our eyes. In a world awash in photographs, he makes us marvel anew at these efforts to outwit mortality, these 'mirrors with a memory.'"

Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Smith's beautifully written debut...A compelling psychological study, a thoughtful tracing of the birth of a new art form and an atmospheric portrait of 19th-century France: impressive on all three counts."
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The Boston Globe "[a] lyrical debut novel...poetic and darkly romantic...a fully imagined and wildly sensual world..."
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Dallas Morning News "[a novel] full of hallucinatory and beautifully rendered images...a richly promising start to the literary career of Mr. Smith."
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The Austin Chronicle "Smith writes with the fastidiousness of a miniaturist, and even the smallest details are intricately painted...each page promises uncommon and beautiful words..."

Austin American-Statesman "...a striking meditation on memories and photography...luminous prose...poetic language used in service of novelistic intent..."

Detroit Free Press "[a] vibrant first novel...Smith has an artist's eye and gives Daguerre an
artist's heart."