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A writer who can rouse your emotions has done a good job. I found myself despising both of them for their selfishness, yet feeling sad at the tragedy that ensued as a result of their actions. Although the story is fictionalized, there was enough fidelity to the historic events to satisfy me. I knew the basic outline of his early life, and the facts seemed accurate.
Genius alone didn't seem credible, nor did her assertion that she'd finally found someone she could talk to, someone who understood her. Then it becomes.ahem.inconvenient, for obvious reasons, and the point of view shifts for the last two chapters to focus on Frank. Frank himself is portrayed as such an unlikeable man (albeit with undeniable genius) that I couldn't see why Mamah would pay such an enormous price to be with him, virtually abandoning her children, destroying her reputation, and causing such harm to her husband and her sister. Finally, AND THERE IS A SPOILER HERE - I found the point of view flawed. I'm sorry to say this book disappointed me a little.
Having said all that, there are some moments of lovely writing and insight, such as when, near the end of the book, Mamah describes Wright as someone who, "had come to mistake his gift for the whole of his character." As first novels go, it's pretty good, but I suspect some experience will serve her well. Pity, because Horan shows much promise. The book is told in free indirect discourse, from Mamah's POV, which works well for almost the entire narrative -- right up until the point Mamah dies. Well, perhaps four was too many points of view but, in my opinion, she didn't quite solve the problem in the final version. There are moments when they do take tiny peeks into their own souls, such as when Mamah discovers Wright's slipshod money management and the callous way in which he accumulates things "of great beauty" but never pays, leaving others to suffer for his pleasure. She states it wasn't a very good book. The threads of Ayn Rand's objectivism run through the fabric of this novel, and the end result is that the characters, in this author's opinion, seem adolescent and narcissistic, but even worse, in terms of fictional characters, they are blind to their own flaws. In reading the author notes at the end I learned that Horan wrote the book twice, and the first time there were four points of view.
The main character Mamah Borthwick, the woman with whom Frank Lloyd Wright had a long extra-marital affair, is interesting enough, as are the times, however she seemed so blind to her own motives that I became frustrated with her. I found this jarring and unsatisfying. I look forward to seeing what she does in a few years. It smacked of the cliche. However, these seem rather tacked on, as though an editor suggested they ought to be there, rather than coming organically from the author's own experience of the characters.
There are questions in the back for a book club discussion also. Book came in perfect condition and much quicker than expected. Also.a great read.
So, as you read this book, you'll find yourself saluting Mamah's chutzpah and, at the same time, wondering how on earth she could bring herself to do the things she did. Sometimes you just can't imagine how it would be possible to love such a selfish boor - and, what's more, to leave one's children and relatives and have no regard at all for what would happen in their lives as a result. This love affair just was, and it was at a time in history when there were very strong feelings about women who showed any tendencies to stray from the established path. You'll come away with a different view of FLW and you can't help but feel strongly that no matter what the degree of talent a person possesses, it doesn't excuse him for all the havoc he wreaks in the lives of those around him.
This is a very interesting account, a combination of what is known historically and what is plausible supposition based upon research. And, you'll hate Frank one minute, and shake your head the next, wondering how he became the kind of person he was. It took a ton of courage to follow one's heart in those days, as women were meant to sacrifice their own hopes and dreams in favor of just about everyone else. It takes a truly gifted writer to make a success of something like this - it took Horan seven years to write the book, and it was time well spent, as the truth, more interesting than fiction, linked with the fiction is really melded seamlessly.
He does love Mamah, though, and there are moments of intense sweetness and caring - and there must have been enough of them to cement her attachment.It's great to read a really different book from time to time - it's difficult to find a unique story these days - one that doesn't really ask you to make a judgment. I'll remember Loving Frank, and put it on the shelf of those I plan to read again in my old, old age. Horan doesn't spare Frank Lloyd Wright, whose arrogance, self-indulgence and disdain for those less talented comprise a character who is very difficult to warm to. That's what keeps the pages turning right up to the end.
She had hard choices to make and the story presented her position quite clearly. I was not familar with the FLW saga and did not know much history of his life events, so I found the novel very entertaining. A classic to be sure, and accurate from what little research I did after I read the story. So, yes it was a love story, but I saw more than this attraction to the story line that was well presented by the author. However, as a side note, the parts I found the most interesting was the role of women portrayed in this story. Their role in the 1900's was presented as a one woman saga of struggling to be a whole person responsible for her own life and giving meaning to how she was respected by men and other women.
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