Loving Frank: A Novel
by Nancy Horan
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Book Reviews of Loving Frank: A Novel
Book Review: Fair enough, but with problems...
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm sorry to say this book disappointed me a little. 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. 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. Genius alone didn't seem credible, nor did her assertion that she'd finally found someone she could talk to, someone who understood her. It smacked of the cliche.
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. 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. 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.
Finally, AND THERE IS A SPOILER HERE - I found the point of view flawed. 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. Then it becomes...ahem...inconvenient, for obvious reasons, and the point of view shifts for the last two chapters to focus on Frank. I found this jarring and unsatisfying. 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. She states it wasn't a very good book. Well, perhaps four was too many points of view but, in my opinion, she didn't quite solve the problem in the final version. Pity, because Horan shows much promise.
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. I look forward to seeing what she does in a few years.
Book Review: The death of idealism
Summary: 3 Stars
I really don't like giving three-star reviews, because it feels so wishy-washy, but in this case it is appropriate because I had incredibly mixed feelings about "Loving Frank." Reading this novel was a real roller-coaster ride for me. I now wish I had read it with a book club because I am sure sharp opinions would fly, making for an interesting discussion.
Most problematically, I did not really buy the relationship between Mamah and Frank, especially in the beginning. The author did not adequately convey their passion, their connection, as something that was worth tearing their lives and families apart to allow them to be together.
As I plodded on, Mamah's character study did grow on me, even though the decisions she made were utterly despicable in so many ways. I became interested in this woman though, someone who had been derided by headlines but whose story was eventually lost from the public consciousness.
Just when I had started to care about Mamah, and wondered how her story would all turn out, the ending galloped up and totally blindsided me. (I read the book on the Kindle so I didn't realize how close I was to the conclusion.) Now admittedly, Nancy Horan had to fit her plot around the facts of history, but when I found out Mamah's story ended, I could not imagine anyone looking at this narrative and deciding to construct a romantic novel about it.
I was tempted to give the book two stars, but the truth is that after recovering from the punch to the gut that concludes this story, I have found that I am interested in learning more about how Mamah fits into Frank Lloyd Wright's larger life story. "Loving Frank" is told from Mamah's point of view, and her relationship with Frank did last the rest of her life. Frank, however, lived another 45 years and experienced a lot more drama around his work, his artist colony at Taliesin, and eventual relationships with two more wives. I plan to read The Women: A Novel by T. C. Boyle, another account of Wright's love life, to get the bigger picture. I have a feeling that Mamah's choices and sacrifices will look ever more questionable once we see Wright through a more objective perspective than the filter of Mamah's loving adoration.
Still, credit goes out to Nancy Horan for bringing the human side of Frank Lloyd Wright's history to life, and for the illumination of the fascinating and flawed Mamah Borthwick Cheney.
Book Review: Brings History to Life
Summary: 5 Stars
This novel touches on the currents and issues facing America in the early 20th century A growing middle class, having left the farm for the city and suburb, is commissioning custom designed homes.
One theme is the role and situation of women. Teachers, librarians and other female workers are paid near poverty wages. Well off suburban women, like Mamah Cheney drive cars (albeit hand cranked) are free of domestic drudge (through low paid domestic help) and join clubs and form literary groups. What else do they do all day?
The times are well depicted, complete with the Bohemian cafes of Germany and the stateside canvassing for woman's sufferage. At the end Mamah worries about her European friends in the wake of the Archduke's assassination.
Nancy Horan brings to life a woman who left her comfortable home and marriage for the man who later becomes iconic. It is an operatic story, and a quick internet search shows that there is an opera, The Shining Brow, based on it.
The character of Mamah is lovingly drawn. This character is hard to reconcile with the woman who did not just leave her children, she took them to Colorado and cabled her husband to pick them up so that she could meet FLW in Germany. Once she did this, the Rubicon had been crossed. While the patient Edwin would take her back, how would this really work? What of her sister who had given so much for her and suffered public humiliation for Mamah's actions? Once Mamah leaves, there really is no going back.
Horan's portrait of Wright, while sympathetic includes his flaws. In Horan's interpretation, Wright is unable to tell Mamah, who left everything behind for him, neither his true financial status, nor his actual relations or communications with his wife and 6 children. These things seep into her consciousness when it is too late to turn back the clock.
The book sets the stage for what followed in Wright's life. Wright is not a young man and it's like starting all over. For those interested in the next stage of his life I highly recommend the non-fiction book Fellowship, The: The Untold Story of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship.
Horan is to be saluted not only for this work of fiction, but for the research. She has brought together a lot of important material, and while this is a work of fiction, it adds perspective on FLW and his legacy.
Book Review: Gray Ambiguity
Summary: 5 Stars
Nancy Horan examines complex life, life that cannot be relegated to black and white, but that is nuanced with gray. In Loving Frank she narrates the exciting and illicit relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney. Horan draws careful portraits of each based on interviews, letters, historical writing, and newspaper articles.
Both Mamah and Frank were married with families when they met in Oak Park, Illinois. They left their spouses and young children to travel and live together in Europe. Their affair became shocking newspaper headlines, and split both families apart. Mamah finally got a divorce. Frank's wife would not give him one.
Armed with historical facts Horan uses her own insight and imagination to flesh out the emotional and intellectual struggles Mamah tolerated. Her description of Mamah's initial attraction to Frank, an arrogant self-assured artist, and her gradual understanding that he was a flawed human, who needed to be challenged for taking advantage of others, and for lying to her is a compelling story of discovery.
Horan's account of Mamah's distant relationship with her children, of her sad understanding that she could no longer claim the same intimacy she had had with them, of her reflection on the price she had paid for seeking her own happiness over their well-being is described so clearly the reader is left with anger and compassion for Mamah's deliberate choice. What are the boundaries between Mamah's happiness and her children's happiness? What are the obligations of a parent to a child? Horan lays out the issues, but does not judge. She lets the reader ponder while Mamah judges herself.
Classic feminist themes are arguments Mamah used to rationalize her choices. She read Ellen Key, a Swedish feminist who wrote in the fields of family life, ethics and education. After meeting Keys Mamah translated some of her works into English for the American market. Throughout the book, until the depressing conclusion, Mamah continues to relate to her children. She continues to keep herself and her relationship with Frank honest; and she continues to come to grips with the life she has taken on. She never lets herself off the hook.
Horan's novel is full of ethical questions. It is full of female issues. Like real life it is not black and white, but grayed ambiguity. Horan respects her characters even though she sees their flaws. In the end she lets the reader form conclusions.
Book Review: HISTORICAL fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
Nancy Horan explores the fascinating subject of Mamah Borthwich Cheney and her relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright in her 2007 book, "Loving Frank". This novel is based on true events and is extremely well researched. Ms. Horan uses many little known facts to enliven the relatively unknown and truly remarkable story of an affair that had enormous repercussions for, and a huge emotional and creative impact on, one of America's best known artists.
Unlike some historical novels which simply hang a story on a historical setting, this story is soundly grounded on historical facts. Of course Ms. Horan takes some liberties in order to move the narrative along, but she has researched her subjects and makes none of the incredible leaps in plot or logic that are so common in this type of writing. While keeping her conjectures reasonable, Ms. Horan still manages to make the story move forward smoothly. She fills out the motivations and emotions of the characters so well that the reader can have a certain degree of empathy for all of them, with one exception that is obvious to anyone who knows the story.
Often times in historical novels the subject chosen is obscure. The subject of "Loving Frank" was able to be thoroughly studied. Ms. Horan was able to write so convincingly about her subjects' motivations and actions, in part, because she was able to find information that was contemporary to their story.
Ms. Horan vividly describes life in the early 1900's for a well-educated and free thinking woman and interprets for us the thoughts and emotions that that could have influenced her actions. She uses authentic language that helps the reader to hear the true voice of the characters. With the setting in the not so distant past she is able to do this without creating a barrier to her audience. Many historical fiction authors do not have this option, because they are focused in a time period where the use of authentic language would be an impediment to readers.
As a resident of a Chicago suburb, Ms. Horan must have often heard varying opinions about the relationship of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. As a journalist, she would have been motivated by curiosity and professional integrity to learn as much as she could on the subject before presenting it to her audience. This brought out a well researched, well presented, and well written book on a very intriguing topic that was a pleasure to read.