The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

 

Our first bookclub of 2022 was Cathy's pick, The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel by Marie Benedict. The book is a fictionalized account of the life of Hedy Lamarr, the movie star from the late '30s to '50s. Although Lamarr is best known for her Hollywood career (Samson and Delilah), she was also an inventor. The book begins from her early acting career in Austria just before the Nazi invasion and recounts her marriage to a wealthy ammunition manufacturer, her literal escape from that marriage, her voyage to the US, the launch of her Hollywood career, and interestingly, her writing of a "Secret Communication System" patent that would circumvent the jamming of radio-controlled torpedo communications by way of frequency-hopping.

The book was well received. Many wanted the book to include more of Lamarr's life since the book ended after she presented her invention to the military. She went on to have several other marriages, bear children, and eventually lead a very secluded life. We discussed why the author chose to write a fictional account of her life instead of a biography and what parts were true and not true. Was her adopted child really hers? Was her failed escape from her first marriage true or just added drama for the sake of the novel? Some struggled with the style of writing and others questioned whether or not Lamarr was really motivated by guilt as suggested by the author. Beyond all of this, we did agree with the overarching goal of the author to amplify the voice of a woman who was not taken seriously because she was predominantly viewed as a pretty face instead of a brilliant mind.

The book stimulated interesting discussions about how women have been viewed throughout history including being treated as property, as well as other topics not so related to the book including parents, France, special diets, children,  COVID, and meeting someone in person who you've only ever interacted with on Zoom. We missed Liz and Lisa and hope to see them next time. Will we eventually all meet up in person in March? It's exciting to think about the possibility.