In Bohemia: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Kindness

Architect and writer Swenson (Growing Urban Habitats) draws parallels between her own grieving process in the wake of her fiancé’s death and those of the original owner of her culturally significant home in this thoughtful though uneventful memoir. Through a yearlong series of journal entries, she revisits the fatal heart attack at age 57 of her fiancé Tommy Niles, a real estate developer whom she met after her 13-year marriage ended in divorce. Over their two-year courtship and engagement they renovated “Bohemia,” their house in Wellesley, Mass., which was originally built in 1907 by American writer Katharine Lee Bates. Author of America the Beautiful, Bates shared the home with Katharine Coman, a Wellesley economics professor, until Coman’s death in 1915. In tribute, Bates wrote In Bohemia, 49 sonnets which inform Swenson’s memoir. As Swenson recalls her relationship with Niles—from their first meeting through their work together on the house—she weaves in the story of Bates and Coman: “I didn’t know... that the two Katies’ love story would be my love story... their sorrow merge with my sorrow... and that they would become my spiritual guides.” Swenson’s narrative of a blossoming love story cut short is earnest yet labored, and by depicting the couple’s relationship as rosy and perfect and excluding any real conflict, she robs her memoir of human vulnerability and messy truth. Regrettably, Swenson’s own story is unremarkable, her principal characters flat in their flawlessness. (Sept.)