Loving Frank

This book held my interest and wonder while reading it. For that reason, I want to give it more stars. Yet, it was a disappointment. I think all the rave reviews were uncalled for and that despite its interesting characters this is a very conventional novel with characters I didn't have much respect for. Bad combination.

I liked this book way more than I thought I would when it was described to me as a “romance novel about Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress.” First of all, I wouldn't really say it's a romance novel so much as a novel that involves a romance. It's really more about Mamah's own self-discovery, and it has a lot of interesting historical territory to cover. I didn't know very much about FLW or about this woman, Mamah, who was a minor player in the early feminist movement. Rad.

A fascinating look at a larger than life ego, based on a true story of internationally admired architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. His affair with a feminist back in the early 1900s shocked the nation, as both were married and with children. When they chose to leave their families in order to be together, it affected them in ways they hadn't expected. The ending shocked me; I'm still recovering.