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kddavis's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexism
abbyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Minor: Rape, Violence, and Domestic abuse
fifteenthjessica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I did enjoy reading this, which based on my rules means it's a 3 star at least. However, I don't think Marie Benedict's execution did everything the book blurb lead me to expect from this book by a long shot. I assumed this would be divided between Hedy's relationship with Austrian arms dealer Friedrich Mandl and her time in America as an actress/inventor. The first part was done well, as I watched with concern as the young Lamarr (then known as Hedy Keisler) fell in love with a much older man in spite of the red flags, in part because her parents encouraged her, hoping this would protect their family from the threat of anti-Semitism from Nazi Germany. The second half seemed more focused on her rise as an actress while she heard about how her home country of Austria fell and relegated the inventing work that Hedy did to very short montages...even though it seemed like the climax of the story was somewhere in the very brief interludes of her inventing work with the pianist George Antheil. Perhaps the worst failure is that you have to read the Author's Note to know how important frequency hopping is to modern technology, which seemed pretty important. Perhaps an epilogue about her and Antheil receiving acknowledgement for their invention would at least execute that part?
The characters are interesting, although I often wanted more time with many characters. Even Mandl, who I immensely disliked for his manipulative and abusive tendencies, seemed to vanish off the face of the earth after Hedy's escape, which (while perhaps what really happened) struck me as implausible given how controlling he was. Lamarr and Antheil's working relationship and friendship is important, but the damage done to their relationship by Lamarr's fear that he did see her as just a sexual object like so many others is resolved in less than a page. Mrs. Mayer, the wife of the head of MGM Studios, is interesting and instrumental in keeping Hedy from being another victim of her husband vanishes once Hedy's career gets off the ground.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Death, War, Sexual violence, Genocide, and Drug abuse
jcapstack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual violence and Domestic abuse
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, and Domestic abuse
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is the first book I've read by the author, and for most of the way through the book I was pleasantly surprised by her lack of over-the-top feminism in presenting the story. The husband clearly crossed lines in his behavior, and I appreciated the simple presentation of that story. Unfortunately, toward the end, there is an eye-rolling instance of "The Navy was dumb about this thing BECAUSE she was a woman". (Go read Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed for plenty of examples of the Navy being dumb in exactly same way whether women are involved in the situation or not.)
Well worth reading if you enjoy historical fiction, or lesser known historical stories in general.
Moderate: Death of parent and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
simplyjill's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Rape and Domestic abuse
mybookish_era's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, War, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault
db_cooper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Rape, and Domestic abuse
cookmiranda1923's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Minor: Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Confinement, and Rape