Scan barcode
A review by joypouros
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This book falls short of what it tries to achieve. Perhaps it would be better as a YA book - it was short, with very short chapters. The style was disappointingly surface level.
Hedy Lamarr was a Jewish Austrian actress who married a weapons manufacturer in the early stages of WW2. It was an unhappy marriage, and that combined with the fact that it was becoming clearer that Austria and Italy would stop opposing Hitler caused her to run away from her marriage. She got an MGM deal that was her ticket to Hollywood. She starred in many films, but was also an inventor. She patented an invention that would have greatly improved American torpedos, but the navy declined to use the invention.
Despite its aim to highlight Hedy Lamarr's scientific contributions, that doesn't start until the last third of the book. It's a short book, and many books successfully cover more - both in time and in depth - so it feels like there were a lot of missed opportunities.
There's an underlying focus on her relationship with her mother and her relationships with men, which do not support the supposed goal of the book. We spend a substantial amount of time on her first marriage and her love of acting. That is all much more shown in the book than her love of inventing, which was touched upon but not discussed in nearly the depth as her love of flitting from man to man. It covers her clothes more than what she was absorbing and interested in during conversations she overheard.
It could have covered post-war information. She was never compensated for her invention, though it was used for things we use daily now.
All in all, the book promises more than it delivers.
Hedy Lamarr was a Jewish Austrian actress who married a weapons manufacturer in the early stages of WW2. It was an unhappy marriage, and that combined with the fact that it was becoming clearer that Austria and Italy would stop opposing Hitler caused her to run away from her marriage. She got an MGM deal that was her ticket to Hollywood. She starred in many films, but was also an inventor. She patented an invention that would have greatly improved American torpedos, but the navy declined to use the invention.
Despite its aim to highlight Hedy Lamarr's scientific contributions, that doesn't start until the last third of the book. It's a short book, and many books successfully cover more - both in time and in depth - so it feels like there were a lot of missed opportunities.
There's an underlying focus on her relationship with her mother and her relationships with men, which do not support the supposed goal of the book. We spend a substantial amount of time on her first marriage and her love of acting. That is all much more shown in the book than her love of inventing, which was touched upon but not discussed in nearly the depth as her love of flitting from man to man. It covers her clothes more than what she was absorbing and interested in during conversations she overheard.
It could have covered post-war information. She was never compensated for her invention, though it was used for things we use daily now.
All in all, the book promises more than it delivers.