A couple of years ago Dave was reading "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan. It's about Mamah Cheney's love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Almost every day, while Dave was reading the book, he fussed and fumed about the selfishness of these two. Not only with their affair (they were both married with small children) but in the way they treated everybody around them. I decided I would save myself all this grief by not reading the book.
But it's the October pick for my book club so I started it yesterday. This morning I began fussing and fuming to Dave about the behavior of these two.
But Frank Lloyd Wright was a brilliant artist who's work changed the face of architecture. Millions of people are still being positively affected by the beauty of his work. His life was complicated.
As was Mamah Borthwick Cheney's life. As are all of our lives. We're all complicated and broken people.
I'm only on page 68 but in the last line of this chapter Mamah's close friend says to her, "What about duty? What about honor? You wouldn't take down two families, (including eight children.) You couldn't live with yourself."
But we know that she does - and she does!
I'm going to keep reading. Because I believe that when I'm forced to question the choices and learn about the lives of other people, I'm also questioning and learning about myself.
***
