Books reported on included The Aviator's Wife, by Melanie Benjamin, about Anne Morrow Lindberg; Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan, about the wife of of Frank Lloyd Wright; Call Me Zelda by Erik Robuck and Z by Anne Fowler, both about the wife of F Scott Fitzgerald; and Reading my Father, by Alexandra Styron, about her author father.
Much discussion focused on the limitations of these men in their family life, and the effects on those around them. Frank Lloyd Wright especially was portrayed very negatively. By comparison, F Scott Fitzgerald cared for his wife and daughter but his own emotional problems made him destructive to Zelda. While the women were each different, they all lived in our American society during the same years (before the "women's movement") and all were related to very famous men. This provided a comparison.
One book Call me Zelda was the fictional story of a psychiatric nurse who met Zelda while she was hospitalized for schizophrenia, and they developed a personal relationship. The reader described this book as more the story of the nurse's life experience rather than Zelda's.
Our next meeting is Sept 2 at 1pm. You can enter the library through the village office. We would enjoy having new members!
Margery Robertiello
