The Silent Woman: A Novel

by Susan Dodd

In the summer of 1914, one month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the celebrated young painter Oskar Kokoschka was in the throes of a passionate love affair with Alma Mahler, the beautiful and seductive widow of the great composer. Now, four short years later, he has become a casualty of the Great War. Unlike many of his compatriots, Oskar has survived both a bayonet wound and mustard gas, yet he cannot seem to recover from his inconstant mistress's ruinous betrayal. With the world around him as crippled as his own body and spirit, the dispossessed refugee arrives in Dresden, where he has secured a teaching position. The director of the city's art museum, Hans Posse, a lonely widower, opens his home to Oskar, offering him a sanctuary in which he can begin to heal and eventually paint again, fulfilling the promise of greatness begun in his youth. For Oskar, however, the war continues to rage without and within, There is simply no life without his beloved Almi, his tormentor and muse, now another's wife. Determined to have her -- somehow -- the grieving artist turns to his host's servant, the shy, reserved Hulda. Shrouded in sadness, the tender young woman reawakens in Oskar desire -- and the passion of creation. But their secret liaison is fueled by Oskar's preoccupation with his lost love, a dangerous obsession that could carry him -- and the innocent Hulda -- beyond hope to a place of no return. A luminous novel of hallucinatory prose set in a time of uncertainty and unimaginable loss, The Silent Woman pulls into focus a world of color, shadow, and heartbreak. Vividly bringing to life the ever-changing nature of desire, the constancy of love, and the illusiveness of memory, it is a sublime work by a uniquely gifted author that celebrates the power of beauty, passion, and hope to hurt and to heal.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird. Took me about 1/2 way thru to get into it. Most of my old book club friends would've put it down after a few chapters.

[Mary Neilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan Dodd's novel "The Silent Woman" concerns the painter Oskar Kokoschka's love for Alma Mahler, the widow of the composer. Lush, sensuous and beautifully written we are drawn into this tale of loss, desire and art. A marvelous read.

[Dcall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. But it was terrible. The writing was good, the characters were interesting, but the story was not good.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really. The writing was rich like his paintings, the idea was thoughtful and provocative, but we were asked to care about the poor maid and what a lack lustre ending - no steam left at all.

[Brigid Kuehn Beachler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three days of my life I'll never get back.

[Heleen]

Gekocht in de kringloop in Dieren omdat het verhaal gaat over het liefdesleven van Kokoschka en het zich afspeelt in en na WO 1.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay... so-so. Wound around too much.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get through it. Should have followed the majority of reviews on this one.