I'm currently in the middle of "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan, another enthralling recommendation by Mom3. The book is a fictionalized account of the affair architect Frank Lloyd Wright had with Mamah Borthwick Cheney in the early 1900's. So far I love the way Horan describes FLW's views on architecture - the "prairie" house and how nature can be interwoven into a home - rather than having to distinguish between the two. I love to be outdoors so the houses being described - right off cliffs in Italy, rooms with trees growing through the middle of them - all sound like heaven and take me far from the concrete jungle I currently live in.Mamah (pronounced MAY-muh) is an interesting character to follow. Because this is a work of fiction, I'm uncertain how many liberties Horan has taken Mamah's opinions and social work. I don't want to research that right now though because I'm afraid of a spoiler... If this is the real Mamah however, she is absolutely fascinating and a woman well ahead of her time. It's so frustrating to read about the social constraints of the day and think about how people (women in particular) were expected to ignore their shot at happiness if it wasn't in the original cards they were dealt.
The book discusses at depth that parents must be happy before they can make a happy home for their children and I tend to agree with that sentiment. This whole "staying together for the children" thing seems depressing and something for martyrs, not those who want to take life by the horns and use the only one they have. As a divorced kid, I can say that the kids will forgive and forget in due time and may even sympathize once they are adults. I can't wait to see if Mamah's kids published any reactions to these events once they were grown.
My only hope for the end of this book is that its not another "Awakening" and Mamah doesn't kill herself as the only way out of her bad situation..
Has anyone else read this book? Any thoughts to share?
I have this book on my shelf, waiting to be read. So I'm very interested in your final opinion. I studied a lot of FLW in design school and his relationship with Mamah. It is said that they were truely in love and to share that love they had to fight many social battles due to each of their social standings. I'm more interested to know how the book ends - not to give it away, but the real life ending is that FLW never recovered from losing her and even at the age of 90 he was still often overcome with despare at the thought of her... Real life love story - you can't get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteThe Guggenheim is having an exhibit displaying some of his work so I'm really excited to go by and check it out after having read about him. I'm hoping his designs from their Wisconsin house will there, would be way too cool to see where they built a home together!
ReplyDeleteI think given the translation work Mamah did for Ellen Key, it's fairly safe to say she was a woman ahead of her time.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love FLW and his Craftsman style of architecture is my favorite, I sure wouldn't have wanted to live with him!
How tragic that she died just as she seemed to be finding her way toward her own life's work separate from anyone else.