Review published in NY Journal of Books
Reviewer: Caitlin Hicks
A stunning beauty, a brilliant mind. 1933, Europe, pre-World War II. Spying in plain sight. Secrets about The Enemy.
The Only Woman in the Room is a fascinating story told from the point of view of a beautiful woman, a talented and charismatic performer, an Austrian Jew, Hedy Keisler. The reader gets a view behind the scenes in this milieu from this woman’s point of view and in her own voice. My favorite kind of read. Up close and personal.
We hear from Hedy herself: her beloved father ‘s analysis of the political dangers and growing anti-Semitism in Europe as early as 1933. He encourages his daughter to date and then to marry an older, powerful suitor who “manufactures arms” and is one of the most powerful men in Austria. Her father reasons, Fritz Mandl is so well-connected and powerful, he could save Hedy and her family if things go awry. We understand that the stakes are high, as the author takes us through the political landscape between Austria, Germany and Italy. We see Hedy’s attraction to her suitor’s ostentatious ways, his wit, his ability to recognize her intelligence — until after the honeymoon. We experience the glamour from the color and fabric of the magnificent dresses Hedy wears for her husband’s parties; we see the impact Hedy herself has on men; we understand she dated ‘boys’ and this is person is a man; and so we feel trapped with her during her marriage to this volatile man, a glass doll on a sparkling stage.
Themes run through this book, many still relevant today, especially women’s worth in a man’s world. I thought of the #MeToo movement every time Hedy encountered a man who assumed she was would bed him – felt again the pervasive misogynistic culture that all women are born into and that until recently, was business-as-usual. I loved Hedy’s response to these men, strong and fierce, backed by her powerful beauty and confidence.
By some strange omission of my own mind, I forgot that the book was about Hedy Lamar, and so in Part II when I realized who she was becoming, I was delighted with the discovery. Here the reader gets an inside Hollywood first-person narrative. However, it lacked what I was looking for: the real, hot blooded woman that Hedy Lamar might have been. She was driven by the guilt of knowing war secrets and not revealing them in a timely manner after her escape from her controlling husband. I didn’t feel her guilt or any of the emotions she talked about having, but her journey towards assuaging this guilt was quite interesting as a tale of events, and I was in awe of the author and her amazing research into this story. More astonishing was Hedy’s unexpected success with an invention that pre-dated and influenced the invention of the cell phone.
The novel was well-imagined and easy to read; if a bit distant and general in its telling; I felt the book was a fictionalized summary told from a distance of time and somewhat emotionally removed, especially since it was told in the first person. Hedy’s choices in marriage never seemed anything more than practical; I didn’t feel the passion I was hoping she had, but it’s a worthy read about this gorgeous woman. As a work, it’s successful if it generates curiosity in the reader – and for me – there’s more to discover.
Now I’m going to see all the movies starring Hedy Lamar!
