Thursday, June 4, 2009

Loving Frank

Nancy Horan's first novel, "Loving Frank" reveals a scandalous affair between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the main character, Mamah (pronounced MAY-muh) Borthwick Cheney. Never before had I heard of anything involving Frank Lloyd Wright other than his amazing architecture. Horan did a brilliant job of bringing the story Frank and Mamah to readers.

Throughout the book I struggled with Mamah. I didn't like the choices she made, and I didn't like how she dealt with the consequences. In abandoning her young children to run off to Europe with Frank she made a choice that affected the lives and well being of her family. That's just something I can't connect with. For me, my children will always come first. I just can't imagine ANYTHING ever changing that.

Nancy Horan brought the 1900's vividly to life. She gave Frank and Mamah voices and personalities that kept me reading, even though I was shaking my head the whole time. I was startled by the unexpected ending, which left me thinking about Mamah's story long after I had finished. I would definitely pick up another Nancy Horan book. For some interesting history with creativity thrown in, I'd recommend reading "Loving Frank."

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