Loving Frank by Nancy Horan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Loving Frank
Book Review: Architecture and Adultery
Summary: 4 Stars
Loving Frank is an unsentimental and nuanced fictionalization of the real-life extramarital affair between well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Horan confronts the moral issues implicated by the affair head-on and with intelligence and objectivity. Mamah and Frank are rich, three-dimensional characters surrounded by many other fully developed characters. Informative descriptions of Wright's architecture and discussions of contemporary feminist ideology are nicely interwoven into the personal narrative. These nonfiction elements support and enrich the narrative without overpowering the primary storyline. The novel concludes shortly after a shocking event. Had this event not actually occurred in real life, it would have been an unsatisfactory ending--a disappointing deux ex machina. Recommended, especially for those readers interested in architecture or feminist theory.Book Review: Was Mamah a romantic heroine, or TSTL?
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't know what Ms. Horan had in mind when writing this book. Is Mamah Borthwick the romantic character implied by the title, or is she the horrible warning of the text?
"Loving Frank" is the cautionary tale of a woman's participation in her own destruction. For the educated, attractive and middleaged housewife Mamah Borthwick Cheney, no doubt snagging the interest of that charismatic genius and master manipulator Frank Lloyd Wright was terribly flattering. Perhaps she imagined (or he said) he saw something in her she didn't see herself. Maybe she saw herself as his inspiration, hoped genius would rub off, or planned to bask in reflected glory (or so he promised). Who knows what the attraction was, but Mamah Borthwick Cheney became neither The Great Man's Muse nor recognized as an artist in her own right. She suffered and died for their relationship, in the most brutal way imaginable.
Many times while reading this book, I found myself wanting to shake Mamah. How gullible she was, how easily led, how selfish, how just plain DUMB! Though a self-described feminist, it's apparent that she used feminism to justify choices she'd already made, abdicating her personal responsibility for what happened to her, and exploiting everyone in her life who cared about her. Even the sojourn at university in Sweden she touted as a period of self-discovery, was the result of being abandoned by Frank Lloyd Wright, who'd gone back to his wife in Chicago--and it wasn't self-discovery so much as it was pining.
She continually tried on the opinions and attitudes of those with stronger wills; at their instigation, and for their purposes, and was used by them. Her tolerance of bad treatment she suffered at the hands of both Frank Lloyd Wright and Ellen Key, and her agony at the consequences of abandoning her family are very painful to read about. I think that had Mamah Borthwick Cheney truly been a feminist who valued herself, her story would have ended far differently.
By the way, this is a well written book. Its only flaw is that it doesn't portray Frank Lloyd Wright in a way that would have us saying, "Wow! No wonder she left her family for him!" instead of "She suffered all this for THAT?" Perhaps we could then view Mamah as romantic martyr, rather than pathetic victim.
Book Review: Complex, Uncomfortable
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a fascinating story based on fact about Mamah Borthwick Cheney and her struggles trying to be a wife, mother, lover, independent literary woman with her own career. All this during the early 1900s.
The story is very well written and I certainly do not want to sway anyone from reading it with my three stars. My trouble with the story is Ms. Cheney herself; I found myself wanting to throw the book at the wall sometimes with her choices. I found it so hard to read about a women who could voluntarily leave her children, time and time again, when she had so many signals & red flags warning her of the damage she'd be doing by abandoning them. I find myself mad at her, and perhaps that's a sign of a good author to evoke such emotion, but overall I did not enjoy reading this story.
Book Review: Enjoyed
Summary: 4 Stars
Saw this book on Today Show recommended by Hoda Kotb. Enjoyed the book as I enjoy historical fiction. It seemed so historically accurate that I had to remind myself that it is fiction. Didn't know much about Wright's personal life so the ending was a surprise. Would highly recommend this book.Book Review: Not very enjoyable
Summary: 1 Stars
I did not like this book very much. It was very slow,depressing, and I hated the way they just left their children. So they could have a love affair. I would not recommend this book.