Staying true to my New Year's resolution of reading more I'm doing just that with Loving Frank. Barely a blogger, definitely not a book reviewer, but I'll give it my best.
Poetically written, Nancy Horan’s account of Frank Lloyd Wright’s passion for design should be easily appreciated by both those with a designing eye and those without. On a personal level, his transgressions may have been familiar to most readers, but perhaps not the extent of his love affair with Mamah Cheney. The tragic tale of a defiant love in the face of all things right force the reader to be torn between right and wrong throughout the novel. At times one feels as passionate about the affair as those who lived it, at others, deeply saddened by the ordeal imposed on all around them. Is true love worth entire families dismantled in its path? This doomed and never quite realized love story ends suddenly and violently. Its impact on the reader is softened by Wright's life long dream to have nature and structure coexist in harmony. A must read for anyone who loves good design and a good love story.
At a time when the norm for architecture was cookie-cutter style, Wright braved it all with his idea that structures should coexist with their surrounds, blending seamlessly into the landscapes that defined them. Take a look at some examples of his work. I would SO love a tour.
