A Different Kind of Fire
Schafer’s debut takes an original look into past dimensions of women’s lives that for years many have wished to deny. In the late 19th century, Ruby was expected to marry, settle down, and raise children on the flat Texas plains. But Ruby’s passion flares for art, leading her to attend an academy in Philadelphia despite objections from her family and betrothed as well as the limitations of social convention. Ruby, who is driven by the physical—what she sees, paints, and feels in her body—soon discovers other passions which she doesn’t understand, and which society also forbids. She succumbs anyway, sometimes to her benefit and sometimes to her detriment. Ruby is continually forced to choose between her passion for art and adhering to societal expectations, some of which are achievements Ruby also wants for herself, but she doesn’t see a way to combine them.
A Different Kind of Fire is a story about finding the way to being oneself while not completely forsaking social approval. Though somewhat naïve in succumbing to physical desire, Ruby is likeable, and the reader will want her to figure out how she can have what she truly desires. The writing is easy to read and engaging. Interest is added to the story as, along the way, Ruby witnesses the careers of famous artists, works with Buffalo Bill Cody, makes her mark in the relatively new print advertising industry, and watches Philadelphia develop into a modern city.
