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jrascoe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.25
The book is a little slow to start and, although relevant to the story, it felt like the focus was more on her work as an actress & navigating that part of her life than her scientific contribution. It was interesting to see how her upbringing & social connections made the contribution possible. The ending wasn't surprising when you consider the time period.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Physical abuse
Minor: War, Genocide, and Death of parent
fifteenthjessica's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Famous actress Hedy Lamarr has a lot of secrets. She's from a Jewish family during one of the most anti-Semitic times in the 20th century. She arrived in America after fleeing her wealthy arms dealer husband. She has a brilliant mind that she hopes to use to help stop Nazi Germany to make up for warning no one about the imminent Anschluss.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
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