cakt1991 's review for:

The Woman at the Wheel: A Novel by Penny Haw

3.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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 I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

I’ve never read anything by Penny Haw before, but I was intrigued by the premise of exploring the life of another woman that history has obscured. I similarly hadn’t heard of Bertha Benz, and didn’t know about her and her husband’s work pioneering the first automobile (although I was drawn to the mention of the Mercedes-Benz connection), and this book was enlightening in highlighting both her origins and her early accomplishments in the automotive field. 

I loved the focus on how unlikely she was to contribute anything substantial in her early life, including the emphasis on her own father’s disappointment with the statement written in the family Bible by her name, “Unfortunately, only a girl again.” She is basically consigned to the very strict gender roles of the period, restricting her to marriage and children. But that wasn’t enough for her, and I loved how the story showed how instrumental she was in her husband Carl’s success. 

But the writing was incredibly bland and distant. I didn’t feel a sense of immediacy, and while I know these were real people, the best historical fiction brings them to life; this might as well have been a textbook, if Penny Haw hadn’t admitted to taking a few liberties in her author’s note. And given some of my issues with historical fiction books that take place over a long period of time, this was one of the worst examples, with the story dragging, only becoming interesting toward the end, when Bertha has come to the cusp of her success. 

While I didn’t care for the execution of this book, I’m definitely in the minority, as I’ve seen many more positive reviews. If you’re looking for a story about an under-celebrated woman from history, and you don’t have the same hang-ups I have, I recommend checking this out!