Rosie SultanRezensionen

This novel presents a fictionalized account of Helen Keller's love affair with Peter Fagan. Helen's desire to be fulfilled as a normal person seeking romance and love was heartbreaking. It was very interesting to know the degree to which Helen was loved and respected by so many. I also found Rosie Sultan's descriptions of how the blind and deaf individual has to adapt to live very enlightening and interesting, especially regarding how the other senses are so extremely developed to compensate for lack of vision and hearing. What I didn't like about the book was how time was not clearly defined. I found it difficult to place events on a timeline due to the lack of clear transitions. I couldn't determine if hours, days or weeks had passed. This made the novel a less enjoyable read for me.

Besides the obvious, I really know very little about Helen Keller. What little else I know comes solely from a book report I did on The Miracle Worker in third grade. So yeah, I'm not exactly a font of knowledge on Helen Keller. The book appealed to me largely because of the historical fiction aspects. Historical fiction, when well done, is a beautiful thing, and one of my favorite genres.

Thankfully, Helen Keller in Love has been quite well done, or so I feel. I did some very limited research on Helen Keller (aka Google search) just to verify some of the basic facts, although I also could have read the Afterword first. I wanted to know, most of all, whether Peter Fagan was a real person, and whether this actually happened (unlike Becoming Jane). The answer is yes. Of course, the conversations and some of the finer details are a fiction. I just always like to have a decent idea of what is fiction and what is history, so that I don't walk around spouting 'facts' that are untrue.

What I liked most about Helen Keller in Love was most certainly the writing. Rosie Sultan's prose is beautiful. Her sentences aren't generally especially complex, but I love her diction and syntax. Her descriptions of what it might have been like to be Helen Keller, to hear through touch rather than sound, to imagine colors when you've never seen them, were breathtaking.

Most of all, the book, told from Helen's perspective, made me really truly try to imagine what her life was like in a way that just learning about her did not. She has such strength to have been able to live such a life. It's utterly sad how limited her life still remained though, a fact generally lost in the midst of the miracle.

I highly recommend Helen Keller in Love for lovers of well-written historical fiction or for those who like to think about the world from a different perspective.

I first learned of Helen Keller's life beyond the famous “Water” moment (documented famously in the play and movie The Miracle Worker)through the book Lies My Teacher Told Me (by James W Loewen). Her then (and now it seems, based on the newest legislation coming from various states in the USA) radical views have seemingly been erased from the collective conscious, although she was a major voice for the legalization of women's suffrage, birth control, and other causes, speaking in rallies and on vaudeville stages across the country. When I received Helen Keller in Love, by Rosie Sultan, I immediately started it because Helen Keller's love life was something I had never read about. After reading Helen Keller in Love, I wish that still was the case.

Helen Keller in Love begins with Anne Sullivan, longtime companion of Helen Keller, becoming incredibly ill. To help Helen with her speaking engagements, read the papers, and do everything else that Helen can't do by herself, she hires Peter Fagan, an ex-employee of Anne's estranged husband. Helen quickly falls in love with Peter, eventually attempting to marry him, but her family and Anne put a stop to it.

I couldn't help but make comparisons to the Twilight series when reading Helen Keller in Love. Helen Keller, instead of being a strong woman of 37, acts like a dumb teenager. She risks throwing away her entire life for a man that she barely knows, that she knows already has a fiancee. Sultan's Helen has no depth, no dreams, no personality outside of barely defined Peter. I think I was supposed to relate to their love and root for it, but as an adult I cannot relate to the whiny self pity Helen feels for herself because her good friend and family are looking out for her best interests.

As a side note, Sultan sometimes forgets that her main character is both blind and deaf. Helen Keller in Love is told entirely in first person (Helen) and many details are given that Helen could not have known. Also, Sultan doesn't seem to factor in time, particularly in how long it takes to finger spell. Some moments have Helen holding conversations (through finger spelling) simultaneously with movements like getting dressed, which would be a near impossible feat to pull off and are jarring to read.

Jessica Pruett-Barnett, for
www.theliterarygothamite.com

In Rosie Sultan’s debut historical fiction novel she tells a tale of a very brief love affair that Helen Keller kept very private. Although there is little known about the relationship between Helen and Peter Fagan the author imagines a very believable story. This is only a love story on the surface; underneath there’s a disturbing vision of the people close to Helen. Those people demand attention and control making her dependent to the point of helplessness. This becomes clear to her as her relationship with Peter deepens. Choosing between the love she desperately desires and the need of those around her becomes an emotional drama.
I love it when a novel awakens a desire in me to learn more. This was an emotional rollercoaster of a read for me. I didn’t want to dislike some of the characters, but I was so invested in the story that I couldn’t help myself. The flow and the pacing of the story were great and I found myself wishing that I could just sit down and read it through. Even though I know a few things about Helen Keller the author was so convincing that I had hope that it would end differently. I have no problem recommending this book.

I've been fascinated by Helen Keller my whole life, reading bio after bio after bio about her. While this book is a work of historical fiction, there is a historical base to it--Helen Keller did indeed have a short love affair in the fall of 1916 with Peter Fagan , a failed reporter who was hired to be Keller's assistant when Anne Sullivan became too ill with what was suspected to be tuberculosis. Keller was still relentlessly touring, a proud Socialist and against the war, donating money to blinded soldiers in any war even though she was broke and on the verge of losing her own home. At 37, Keller dared to dream of love and a family of her own, and Sultan images that, for a brief while, that dream nearly came true. This is a page turning story of family and political dynamics, a postcard of a time when women had fewer choices (especially if they were deaf and blind and extremely feisty) and the need of love that we all feel. I found this to be a fascinating and impressive first novel from a writer I will now be keeping an eye out for.

“Helen Keller in Love” by Rosie Sultan is a story about Helen Keller when she was 36 years old and her love affair with her secretary, Peter Fagan. It is told through the voice of Helen Keller. The target audience for this book is young adults/adults.

Reading the synopsis of this book really intrigued me. Helen Keller really was an amazing woman who overcame incredible obstacles and her story deserves to be told. Usually we are only told the story of the childhood of Helen Keller, but this book takes us directly into her adult life.

Helen’s companion, since the time she was 7 years old, was Anne Sullivan. Anne Sullivan continued to be Helen’s main companion and interpreter until her death, I believe. This story illustrates that Anne was a bit controlling and she completely tried to dissuade Helen from ever pursuing a romantic relationship. Helen’s mother had the same agenda also. When Anne is diagnosed with tuberculosis, she is forced to bring in another person to be Helen’s secretary until she can get better. Thus, in comes Peter Fagan. Helen is immediately drawn to Peter Fagan. I don’t see why she was unless it was because he was the first non-related male she came into close contact with and the thrill of that made Helen pursue him. Peter immediately takes to Helen and they begin a secret romance.

Although this book was told with Helen as the narrator, I sometimes forgot that she was deaf or blind. How did she know of conversations that didn’t include her? Sometimes the author would allude to sounds such as “…crossed the room in a sslap-sslap-sslap of her bare feet.” I guess it could mean what the vibrations felt like, but to me it came across more as what it sounded like rather than felt like. But this is just a minor issue. Helen Keller must have been very lonely and really wanted to have independence, which would be impossible since she had to rely on someone for everything such as picking out her clothes or telling her what was going on in the world. This book highlights her loneliness and her dependence on Anne Sullivan. The relationship with Peter seemed rushed and a little unrealistic, but perhaps that was the way it really was.

We never think about what Helen’s life was like after childhood and this book was an interesting peek into her adult life. There were some minor issues with the story that I didn’t like, but overall it was a good read and I learned some really interesting things about Helen and Anne and what life must have been like for both of them… they both depended on and needed each other. Was this detrimental or instrumental to their relationship? That is up to the reader to decide.
**This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads. That in no way influenced my review.**

Book Giveaway & Review: When the publisher asked if I’d like to read and possibly review Helen Keller in Love by award-winning author Rosie Sultan, I jumped on it. I’ve been fascinated by Helen Keller ever since I worked on a high school production of The Miracle Worker. Helen Keller in Love made me realize that, like many people, I’ve always thought of her as more of an icon than as a human being. This story humanizes her. Are you in the mood for a touching love story based on real events? Thanks to the publisher’s generosity, one lucky reader will win a copy! Read the rest of my review & enter to win our giveaway at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3752

Helen Keller the Miracle or Helen Keller the Human Being?

Article first published as Book Review: Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan on Blogcritics.

What happened to Helen Keller after The Miracle Worker? History records her graduating from college in 1904 and helping to found the ACLU in 1920. A devoted humanitarian, Helen constantly worked on behalf of those with disabilities. She learned several means of communication: lip touching, finger spelling, Braille, speech, typing. The historical record reveals her public life and impact on society. What happened in her personal life?

In Helen Keller in Love we learn that when Helen was ten, her father died, leaving no provision to support her or pay Annie Sullivan’s salary. Annie and Helen did speaking tours in countless cities to stay afloat after Helen’s Radcliffe graduation. Surprising opinions of Socialism and anti-war sentiment began to pervade her speeches.

After a consultation with hearing expert Alexander Graham Bell, Annie spurned Helen’s use of his raised-letter-glove to communicate with others. Annie, it seemed, wanted to be Helen’s sole translator. Helen’s whole world revolved around books, Annie and speaking tours. She was sequestered from men.

While on a speaking tour with Helen, Annie is stricken with tuberculosis. Peter, hired to be Helen’s secretary, soon finds himself translating conversations, letters and newspapers for. Much to his delight, she becomes brazen and forward.

Written in Helen’s impassioned, stubborn first person voice, the book describes her love affair with this man with many reasons to exploit her. The premise is both provocative and human. Why wouldn’t a woman deprived of so much have emotional and sexual yearnings? “At age thirty-seven she says, “I was tired of being perfect Helen Keller…I wanted to break free.”

The book will surely prompt controversy. Some reviews criticize the book for placing a stain on Helen Keller’s reputation. How difficult to take a slice of a high-profile person’s life and turn it into a novel. I give Rosie Sultan credit. She opened herself up for scrutiny and criticism. To all of the “this could never have happened” critics, remember that this is a work of fiction based on an extraordinary real person. The extensive research done for the book substantiates that Helen Keller and Peter Fagan did have a love affair.

The story lost its impact for this reader by telling the outcome of the love affair within the first few pages. The reader is constantly on edge wondering what unseemly things Peter is up to. Although Helen’s voice is credibly written, the threads of Helen Keller in Love don’t weave together to make an entirely plausible read.

Netgalley graciously provided the review copy.

I learned about Helen Keller in school just like all kids my age. Did I see “The Miracle Worker” you bet I did! I was as awestruck by Anne Sullivan’s teaching methods and Helen’s “AHA” moment as you all were. Did a bit of research on dogs and Helen Keller because we were raising Akitas at the time and she brought the first one to America.
What I had no clue about were the restrictions placed on Helen Keller the person. She was never allowed to go anywhere alone (probably a good idea considering….) she couldn’t really have friends outside of her circle which always included Anne and, unfortunately occasionally her mother and she certainly couldn’t go out with a man. I also didn’t know that Anne had married a man who took most of Helen’s money and left Anne for another woman. I was astonished that no one ever mentioned Peter Fagan - Helen’s love and lover.
Anne has been stricken with tuberculosis and cannot carry on Helen’s tours which are bringing in less and less due to her Socialistic speeches. Something must be done and quickly as she is worsening every day. Nothing to do but hire a personal secretary to take care of Helen, correspondence, lectures, etc. She appeals to her ex-husband for help and he sends them Peter. Immediately Helen is aware that the atmosphere has changed. Anne isn’t fond of her replacement but Helen is becoming more so by the hour.
The tale of Helen’s secret life with Peter and also of her opinions on Socialism were a true surprise to me and this book is so well-written that sometimes I thought Helen herself had done it and the author, Rosie Sultan, does an exceptional job of educating us and enticing us to learn more! A book well worth reading and reading again just in case you missed something the first time.