The Architect of Love

By JOANNA SCOTT writing in The New York Times, January 29, 2009

Frank Lloyd Wright was a visionary who produced some of the 20th century’s grandest architectural designs. He was also a reckless adventurer who got lucky. He liked to position structures over water­falls, on steep slopes, at the bottom of arroyos. He designed a hotel that withstood a major earthquake. He designed private houses marred by leaking roofs and poor heating systems. He rewarded his clients with buildings that suited their needs. He ignored his clients’ wishes and didn’t pay his bills. He was devoted to his art. He would let nothing stand in the way of success. He was passionate and affectionate, manipulative and denigrating. By all accounts he loved — and hated — publicity.

Illustration by Joost Swarte

THE WOMEN
By T. Coraghessan Boyle
451 pp. Viking. US$27.95

It is, in other words, impossible to sum up Wright and his accomplishments, which is exactly what makes him so rewarding a subject. The befuddling complexity of the personality keeps ­writers coming back. And it’s this complexity that T. Coraghessan Boyle pursues with his own characteristic energy in his new novel, “The Women,” approaching Wright through the lens of his messy romantic relationships. Boyle doesn’t just fiddle around with familiar

Read the full piece at the NYT online.