Loving Frank

A beautifully written fictional account of the affair between the celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney, the wife of one of his clients. Covering the period from Wright's exile from Oak Park up to the horrific incident at Taliesin. Highly recommended. ( )

This was a birthday gift from a friend who knows i love Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and that i am an avid fiction reader. And away i went.....realizing immediately that i knew virtually nothing about FLW beyond his buildings.....and for that i am grateful.....the book's impact would have been greatly diminished had i known more of his story. the book is based on fact. So, as the book progressed, i was constantly torn as to whether i was to like the main characters, feel sorry for the main characters or be annoyed and frustrated with them.....i could never quite figure out where it was headed (again, my ignorance...). It is more or less of a 'chick-book' love story with doses of early 1900's feminist activism, larger-than-life egos, infidelities and lots of day-to-day life in that era. But the ending was completely shockingly unexpected for me (my ignorance yet again!) and thus saved it from a lower rating than i gave it. Who knew??? And I occasionally still think about it weeks later, certainly a positive for any book. So, in spite of the below 4-star rating, i do recommend the book to any fans of his architecture....but DO NOT study up prior to reading this if you want the best experience. Oh, and one MAJOR pet peeve of mine....the main female character's name is 'Mamah'.........pronounced how???? well my mind chose one way to pronounce it to myself, and then halfway through the book, the pronunciation was clarified.....DIFFERENT from mine!!!!! GRRRRRRR>>>>>either tell us in the beginning or leave us be for goodness sake!!! btw------to save you all.......it is 'May'-muh' ( )

Finished. This is a must read! I eagerly await Horan's next book. I highly recommend reading Drennan's non-fictional [book:Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders] concomitantly. It's not the best written, but provides fascinating detail to supplement Horan's work.

This a really an excellent fictional biography of the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mahma, a woman who had a profound influence on his life and work. ( )

Great look at early feminism and what it means to be a woman, a wife and a mom . . . not a lot has changed or the biographer missed her mark. ( )

You don't have to know much about Frank Lloyd Wright or be "into" architecture to enjoy this book which is a fascinating look at the history and culture in the early 1900's as well as a complicated love story with the added bonus of a surprising ending. Although I didn't find any of the characters to be especially likeable, the story of their interactions is riveting. I'm sure FLW was brilliant and this book reflects both his brilliance as well as his very egoistical and conflicted personal side.

It is Mamah's character that is the most interesting. She is embracing the emerging women's movement and feels that she is seeking freedom from the traditional role of a woman; however, her life revolves around FLW. Everything she does from leaving her children, moving to Europe, moving back to Wisconsin, living in a house with no heat doesn't seem like freedom but rather a warped dependence and need to be with someone greater than herself. At one time, Mamah finds herself outside in deep snow where she is "knee-deep and snow blind" -- pretty much sums up her life experience.

This book is so well written that one can easily envision the sometimes beautiful and sometimes bleak settings and one can feel the tension between the characters come right off the page. I read this for a book club and our discussion was one of the best ever; I would highly recommend this book. It is not only a book about FLW, but also a book about society's view of women during this time period. ( )