The Only Woman in the Room
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She’s back in action, baby!! Wow, nothing like having a sweet, gorgeous, genius child who refuses to complete the developmental milestone of rolling to really throw you off your reading game. But we’ve got some resolutions in the works, and I paid my annual $$ for this domain name, so we’re back in business.
Unfortunately, we’re back with a pretty lame book, which is not the tone I want to set for 2026, but best believe I’m reviewing one of the few books I’ve managed to read in the past few months. Sparknotes: This should have been a biography. This is a very, very compelling story; a successful actress, Hedy Lamarr, gets insider access to the Third Reich’s plans despite her (undisclosed) Jewish heritage, and she must decide how far she’s willing to go to undermine the Nazis. It has many unexpected twists and turns, but I legit kept forgetting that it was a true story because the poor writing took me out of it. If it had been a biography, I would have been able to appreciate this woman’s accomplishments for what they were.
Another related qualm is that I had trouble following the complicated historical dynamics. The dialogue was unrealistic and overly expository, which was probably the author’s attempt to explain the history to us dumbass readers, but it contributed to my feeling that the writing was subpar. Hedy Lamarr was born in Austria. Maybe I’m exposing myself here, but the only thing that I really know about Austria is that the killing of Archduke Ferdinand spurred WWI. I had no idea about the role of Austria in WWII. That’s all to say, that this is potentially very informative stuff, but the writing wasn’t meaty or clarifying enough to actually teach me anything lasting. Names, dates, and historical moments went in one ear and out the other.
In general, the drama was too condensed in some areas and too drawn out in others, leading to poor pacing. There were some really unrealistic logistics, like Hedy learning English super quickly and then becoming a scientist out of nowhere. Her story is a lil bananas, but the build-up didn’t meet the moment like it would in a well-executed biography. Get Walter Isaacson on it! I think that readers were supposed to glean that Hedy was underestimated as a woman, and while that certainly seems true, I spent most of my time trying to figure out wtf she was trying to accomplish scientifically in the first place.
Still, many aspects of her story are worth exploring. Her experience as an actress made her an asset in an espionage role. She also wielded the power of celebrity and had to navigate the precarious balance between harnessing that for good and putting herself at risk. She had a unique perspective of not feeling very connected to her Jewishness at a pivotal time where that connection meant life or death.
That’s all to say that this is a story worth telling! This is a person worth learning about. And just like many meetings should have been an email, this novel should have been a biography. The tone didn’t match the ground it attempted to cover, so I give it 2 out of 5 flames.
