I am a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. The man himself was a bit prickly in real life, arrogant, demanding, and self-centered, but he was a genius. His buildings amaze me.
I saw a week or so ago that a new piece of fiction is out about his life. It's by first-time author Nancy Horan and is about his love affair with a client's wife. I am drawn to it out of sheer curiosity and have borrowed a copy to read.
Well, Jim had to comment, "Loving Frank? You're reading Loving Frank?" Then he went straight into his exaggerated movie commercial voice-over shtick, "Loving Frank: When loving lines and angles just isn't enough."
The title is awful. The cover art, instead of being a close-up of one of his amber art glass pieces should be an illustration of FLW barechested under his famous black cape standing on a rock in the wind, and his lover, Mamah, should be embracing him around the waist looking off into the distance with a pained expression. Cue dramatic movie music, "Loving Frank wasn't easy, but it was all she had."
One reader's thoughts as she steps from book to book.
Books I've Finished
- "A Christmas Memory"
- by Truman Capote 12/8/12
- "Child's Christmas in Wales"
- by Dylan Thomas 12/7/12
- "One Christmas"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- "The Thanksgiving Visitor"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- Inside Mrs. B's Classroom
- by Leslie Baldacci 11/28/12
- The Bee Eater
- by Richard Whitmire 11/15/12
- There Are No Shortcuts
- by Rafe Esquith 10/28/12
- I'd Like to Apologize to
- Every Teacher I Ever Had
- by Tony Danza 10/21/12
- Corked
- by Kathryn Borel 10/15/12
- Year of Learning Dangerously
- by Quinn Cummings 9/30/12
- A Hologram for the King
- by Dave Eggers 8/23/12
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- by Harper Lee 7/18/12
About Me
- Christine
- I often have a few books with bookmarks in them at once. I enjoy classics more than contemporary works of fiction, often read historical fiction, and love to get glimpses into other people's lives by reading memoirs and biographies.
12 comments:
That's funny Christine. I always like the "Madman, Genius, Lover" bylines. Perhaps we could fit that in somewhere.
Or, Jim always likes the movie preview intro, "In a world. . ."
In a world where architecture meets artiface, Frank Lloyd Wright, madman, genius, lover. . ."
I can hear Don now: "Well, it is a FICTION book..."
*smirk*
Christine (and everyone), how do you feel when someone fictionalizes aspects of real-life people that you love? I know that some of us (I look at you, DRD) perhaps feel a sense of ownership towards certain historical figures (*cough* Anne Boleyn) and get a bit incensed when authors violently fictionalize the subjects' lives. Then again, they're public figures, that stuff is up for grabs...
I DO know, however, that a lot of people who don't read HISTORY use historical fiction as fact, and thus go around spewing incorrect things from fictional novels as truths because they don't know any better.
Christine, I don't know how much of Frank Lloyd Wright's real life stuff was used in this book, but it sounds like quite the bodice-ripper ;)
I like historical fiction, but for some reason it feels more like trespasssing when the person lived in the last 50 years. Somehow time makes it seem like less of an infringement. I know that's wrong. Time doesn't change the fact that they were real people with real reputations and relatives. Can you imagine if someone wrote a made-up story about the facts of your aunt's life? Your grandpa's life? Your father's life?
Now be quiet, I'm trying to read Loving Frank.
I bet you are.
Loving Frank...and not just his architecture....
I love historical fictions' take on things we just can't know for sure, like Elizabeth I and her love for Robby. Sigh..so tragic. Diana Gabaldon adds some accurate bits that are fascinating. I love her herb lore.
See, I'm okay with an author making up stuff about an historical person if there's an area where we're just not sure (as in the case of Elizabeth and Robert). However, they have to stay true to the known characters of participants. And, Martha, Anne Boleyn is MINE! DRD
Wait, Christine, I've got one:
"If Loving Frank is wrong, then I don't want to be right."
P.S. DRD-I believe Anne Boleyn belongs to England. And as much as you'd like to believe it, you don't OWN England :P Now, I believe you'll need to some time to recover in your imaginary Library of Congress in your bedroom...
No, no, I'm pretty sure that when a country declares one of its citizens a traitor, the country renounces ownership of said person. I've claimed her. And my Library of Congress is the real one--the imaginary one is in D.C. Hah! DRD
Tsk, the delusions of the young...
Speaking of delusions, Hey Christine! Guess what Frank Lloyd Wright fiction book is going to be a bestseller on Thursday!
*pause for effect*
*decides to just leave it a LONG pause*
Let's see, Knowing Frank? No, no. Understanding Frank? Wait! Is it Loving Frank?
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