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tinahudak 's review for:

2.0

The fact that I am beginning this commentary with no quote from the book, speaks rather loudly. To begin with, I was so looking forward to reading this fictionalized account of this woman's life in part because I am a member of the Hillwood Museum in Washington, D.C. which is lovely.

To keep this brief, what I found most unenjoyable about reading this novel is that it read like a list of facts in her life, rather than offering a more intimate perspective of her as an individual. Pataki obviously knows her subject - the details of her childhood, marriages, interests including her humanitarian works (which are substantive), but never gives the reader the ability to empathize on a visceral level. Now, perhaps it is because Post led such an ostentatious one due to her incredible wealth, but somehow, I feel this could have been presented with a less obnoxious style of writing. I came away NOT liking her at all; she seemed narcissistic even with her financial display of compassion through her good works.

Nuts! I wanted to really like this book, too.