WIJFR: Loving Frank (Spoilers)

[5kcandlesinthewind]

I finished it yesterday, and I still can't decide if I liked it or not. I thought Mamah was really annoying at times, and my heart just broke for those poor kids. I got where she was coming from, in that she felt she had to be her own person to be good for her kids. But she was so immersed with Frank's life and wants that it wasn't even til towards the end of the book that she was becoming her own person. So I just kind of wanted to shake her through most of it. Find yourself closer to Chicago, lady! Heh.

And that ending. Jesus. I didn't know anything about the story when I borrowed it from the library, so it came completely out of nowhere. So horrific. I can't even imagine how terrifying that scene must have been to see. Has anyone read Death in a Prairie House about the murders? Is it worth a read?

[mdgirl]

I haven't read Death in a Prarie House, but I read The Women a few weeks ago and liked it. It filled in some gaps I had from Loving Frank.

And Mamah pissed me off a bit in both books. I know part of that comes from my place of privilege as a woman now, but The Women paints Frank as kind of a crappy dad, so dragging her kids into a life with him made me judge her, too.

[2curlydogs]

I think you're supposed to dislike Mamah. And Frank. They're definitely flawed characters, to say the least.

Death in a Prairie House is on my to-read list, as is The Women. Haven't had a chance to get there.

[kimsy]

I felt exactly the same way. By the end, I was getting bored, and then the big scene happened, and I had to go back and reread it. I was like, "wait a minute, did that just happen?"

I liked it, overall. I didn't love The Women, though.