A Woman of Intelligence

A while ago I read a novel intended to be a tribute to motherhood, it was a decent enough book, but this one is better. To be certain, this novel has Russian spies and FBI agents, but really, it's the story of a marriage and motherhood and the struggles entailed. The experiences of Rina Edgworth, a highly educated UN translator who leaves her work to raise her two young boys and struggles to find being a mother as fulfilling as her work ensuring world peace is authentic and real (and exactly how I've always suspected motherhood was). When she's presented with the opportunity to assist the FBI in hunting down a Soviet spy ring, Rina seizes the chance and slowly begins to change her life for the better. I loved this story about a woman show more re-establishing her own identity and I appreciated the complex and gritty female characters, which often feature in Karin Tanabe's novels. show less

Full Disclosure: I was given early access to this book in exchange for writing an impartial review. Scheduled publication, July 2021.

A fast, engaging read about a smart, well-educated woman in 1950s New York City and her transition from career girl to marriage and motherhood. With a bit of Cold War thrown in.

World War II has recently ended and Rina (who speaks 4 languages) is lucky enough to land a job as a translator at the newly formed United Nations. There she makes close friends, meets interesting people (like Eleanor Roosevelt) makes a contribution toward a more peaceful society, and has plenty of time to date and socialize.

That is until she falls for a prominent, handsome, ambitious and fabulously wealthy pediatric surgeon who show more admires her intelligence, humor, and unique take on the world. Rina, aged 30 (old by 1950s standards) agrees to marry him. (Honestly, who wouldn’t?) And the two begin married life in a large apartment where Rina wears designer clothes, attends galas, and hob-knobs with the city’s elite.

As Rina slides increasingly into her husband’s world, she slowly realizes how much she has given up. So, when a federal agent says the government needs her language abilities to help fight communism, how can she possibly say NO?

That’s all I’ll say about the plot, not wanting to spoil your read. In many ways, Rina is ahead of her time. In 1950s America, any woman questioning the “fulfillment” associated with the traditional roles of wife and mother would be suspect. Particularly to a husband. And especially when he’s prominent and rich, and maybe a bit spoiled. But, fortunately, Rina finds some understanding, in surprising places.

In one sense, this feels like a coming of age story, even though Rina is in her 30s. It’s about a woman trying to figure out what truly makes her happy and what she’s willing to risk to be happy.

The characters are multi-dimensional, the relationships realistic. And the plot is NOT predictable. A few things in this novel didn’t quite ring true to me. For example, professional women having lots of casual sex in an era before birth control pills and when virginity was still prized. But perhaps that’s simply my own naive take about what was really happening in the 1940s and 1950s. show less

Full Disclosure: I was given early access to this book in exchange for writing an impartial review. Scheduled publication, July 2021.

A fast, engaging read about a smart, well-educated woman in 1950s New York City and her transition from career girl to marriage and motherhood. With a bit of Cold War thrown in.

World War II has recently ended and Rina (who speaks 4 languages) is lucky enough to land a job as a translator at the newly formed United Nations. There she makes close friends, meets interesting people (like Eleanor Roosevelt) makes a contribution toward a more peaceful society, and has plenty of time to date and socialize.

That is until she falls for a prominent, handsome, ambitious and fabulously wealthy pediatric surgeon who show more admires her intelligence, humor, and unique take on the world. Rina, aged 30 (old by 1950s standards) agrees to marry him. (Honestly, who wouldn’t?) And the two begin married life in a large apartment where Rina wears designer clothes, attends galas, and hob-knobs with the city’s elite.

As Rina slides increasingly into her husband’s world, she slowly realizes how much she has given up. So, when a federal agent says the government needs her language abilities to help fight communism, how can she possibly say NO?

That’s all I’ll say about the plot, not wanting to spoil your read. In many ways, Rina is ahead of her time. In 1950s America, any woman questioning the “fulfillment” associated with the traditional roles of wife and mother would be suspect. Particularly to a husband. And especially when he’s prominent and rich, and maybe a bit spoiled. But, fortunately, Rina finds some understanding, in surprising places.

In one sense, this feels like a coming of age story, even though Rina is in her 30s. It’s about a woman trying to figure out what truly makes her happy and what she’s willing to risk to be happy.

The characters are multi-dimensional, the relationships realistic. And the plot is NOT predictable. A few things in this novel didn’t quite ring true to me. For example, professional women having lots of casual sex in an era before birth control pills and when virginity was still prized. But perhaps that’s simply my own naive take about what was really happening in the 1940s and 1950s. show less

Oh, to be intelligent and well educated can be such a blessing, yet often a curse. Such is the realization of the lead character in author Karin Tanabe's, "A Woman of Intelligence".

The year is 1952; the place - New York City.
Katherina West Edgeworth ("Rina" to her friends) - Vassar grad with a Columbia masters, speaks four languages and had been a translator at the fledgling United Nations. That is until her unavoidable change to "motherhood". Her pediatric surgeon husband was well enough off that he felt that she should stay home to raise their children. Rina acquiesced with the caveat that she may go back to work when the children are old enough. For many women, this would be a wonderful situation in which to find oneself. For show more someone whose educated mind is no longer rigorously challenged and who longs for adult dialogue, this could be the death knell of the person they once were. We observe Rina's struggles, hope and determination and ache alongside her as she finds her way.

Tanabe's writing style is highly descriptive and quite humorous at times. She has captured the New York City "edge" exceedingly well. There's a lot to chew on in this story - subjugation of one's intellect in order to raise children, fear of rising communism in America and family dynamics across the socio-economic spectrum. For the most part, Tanabe handles this well with only the occasional dragging of plot. Her extensive historical research is apparent and solid in the writing. However, it was exceedingly difficult to relate to the main character as frankly, her behavior is not as one would have expected from someone of her academic background. (The perceived boredom seems out of character for someone with Rina's knowledge and previous interests. Loneliness - yes; boredom - no.) That lack of connection and empathy with the main character made it difficult to stick with the story. Yet by the story's end, the characters evolved for the better and satisfying closure is achieved.

I am grateful to Ms. Tanabe and St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone. show less

Katharina Edgeworth has a life that most women of her time would kill for, a surgeon husband, two healthy children, and a beautiful apartment in the heart of Manhattan but feels that she could be so much more.

Katharina discovers that she is being scouted by the FBI to help stop the spread of Communism in New York due to a previous relationship with a member of the KGB, unbeknownst to her. The FBI uses her history with this man to get her close to him and gather important information.

She begins living a double life, doting mother and wife by day and FBI spy by night. Her lives begin to collide when her husband realizes she has been employing a babysitter and spending hours upon hours away from their children. Katharina has to decide show more where her life is leading and how to balance her two selves.

While the idea of the story is an interesting story, the story itself is lacking. The novel starts slow and never really gathers enough steam to make it interesting. There were moments when I thought the story would pick up the pace but was then let down when nothing extraordinary happened. I am hoping this scenario is a one-off for the author but I would love to read something else by her that may grab me more. show less

I appreciate the question around which A Woman of Intelligence by Karen Tanabe is based. What compromise does a woman make between independence and a career and home and family? The reality is that the discussion continues even today and definitely more so in the context of women than men. Although the character and story was not for me, this conversation is what I take away from this book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/10/a-woman-of-intelligence.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

I can completely relate to what life must have been like for Mrs. Katharina Edgeworth. Not so much to the being rich part, but definitely to the part about being a slave to two children who are obviously taking more than they are giving back at this point. From the outside her life is quite enviable: living on Fifth Avenue, in a huge apartment with basically endless financial resources and the status of being married to arguably the most successful children’s surgeon in New York. However, beneath the surface is a modern woman stuck in a rigid social class that still believes that women should be at home with the children. For a woman who ha a masters degree and used to work at the United Nations, speaking baby talk and cleaning up show more spit up is just as fulfilling as her husband hopes it is.Following a particularly rough day, Katharina meets a FBI agent who wants her to take on the secret mission of spying on a communist ring centered around a former classmate from her years at Columbia. Feeling trapped, Katharina accepts the mission, and In so doing it leads her down a path of questioning her entire life and her role in it. This is a story of a woman who became someone else and in the process figured out who she really was. A charming tale of life in a different time, when women stayed home with the children and the biggest threat the world faced was the “red menace” of communist Russia. I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging story, and look forward to reading more from Karin Tanabe. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for the honest review. show less