From Publishers Weekly
Dresden in 1918 is far from the rural settings of Dodd's Mamaw and The Mourners' Bench, and the prose style of her seventh work of fiction is a departure, too. Instead of American vernacular, she writes in the sophisticated flourishes of Dresden's intellectual community; instead of being poetically compressed, her language swirls with sensual impressions and erotic emotion. The eponymous Silent Woman is a lifesize doll replicating Alma Mahler Gropius, made for an obsessed Oskar Kokoschka, her spurned lover. Already in debilitated physical condition due to WWI battle wounds and shell shock, Kokoschka is also close to emotional collapse. Although he's been hired as a teacher at the Dresden academy and provided with room and board by the generous director of the art museum, he's unable to paint, sleep or eat. Hulda, the lonely young housekeeper, falls in love with the tortured artist and attempts to succor him. Coming ever closer to dementia, Kokoschka renames her Reserl, takes her to his bed and teaches her to be a lady's maid to his inanimate companion, never seeing her as a woman, only as another instrument to manipulate in his desire for Alma. Hulda suffers his demands in the same silence as the doll, praying, meanwhile, that he will acknowledge her as a person. Dodd's writing has always been graceful, but here she reveals a brilliant visual imagination, expressed in intensely vivid descriptive passages that reflect the personality of an artist striving to express his creativity. But Kokoschka's feverish thoughts and erratic behavior keep the narrative at an overwrought pitch, and his unremitting misery, anguish and despair verge on hysteria. As a portrait of an artist consumed by passion, the novel has authority, but it can be a wearying experience to read. Agent, Esther Newberg. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this work of historical fiction, Dodd (Mamaw) writes about Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka. In 1918, right after World War I, Oskar finds himself in Dresden. He has taken refuge in the home of Dr. Posse, a museum director. Shell-shocked and injured from the war, Oskar is also reeling from the loss of the love of his life, Alma Mahler. He is planning to teach art at the local art academy and is also attempting to get his life back in order. Taking care of both Oskar and Dr. Posse is young Hulda, a maidservant who has also lost her first love, Emil, to the violence of war. Hulda becomes enamored of the tormented Oskar as she attempts to nurse him back to health. This fictional snapshot of Kokoschka's life after the war is very loosely based on fact and is an attempt to show how passion, madness, and genius affect an artist, his work, and those around him. The plot is nonlinear and swings between past and present, with letters from the artist to other lovers interspersed in the narrative. Given this uneven flow and characters that aren't fully developed, this is not an easy read. The novel may appeal to fans of literary fiction and art history. Recommended for large literary collections only. Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The early career of Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka provides the material for Dodd's latest novel, which follows The Mourner's Bench (1998). The author masterfully explores obsession by way of two plot lines that intertwine and support each other. The primary story is Kokoschka's obsession with the sensual Alma Mahler, widow of the famous composer. He literally goes to pieces when she forsakes him, joining the army (World War I is in full swing) and getting wounded and shell-shocked--though the shock is really his obsessive love. Eventually he takes a position as an art instructor in Dresden, but his desire to paint seems depleted. While living in Dresden, Germany, he meets Hulda (and renames her Reserl), the housekeeper in the establishment where he lives. Her complete devotion to Kokoschka, even as he seems to be going mad, represents the novel's second obsession. Dodd fluidly moves between points of view, and the characters, including the minor ones, give the reader a strong sense of a Germany slipping into despair and decadence. Frank Caso
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Publishers Weekly
Dodd's writing has always been graceful, but here she reveals a brilliant visual imagination.

Booklist
Dodd fluidly moves between points of view, and the characters give...a strong sense of Germany slipping into despair...

Kirkus
Splendid images and prose.

Washington Post
Susan Dodd's own language is accomplished, incisive, and she writes with high-toned wit.

Book Description

At once frighteningly beautiful and strangely evocative,
The Silent Woman is the haunting story
of three tortured souls.

In the summer of 1914, 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, Kokoschka 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.

Determined to have her -- somehow -- the grieving artist turns to a servant, the shy, reserved Hulda. Shrouded in sadness, this 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.

About the Author
Susan Dodd, who has taught at Harvard and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, is the author of four critically acclaimed books. Her work has been honored by the Friends of American Writers, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Faulkner Society, among other organizations. She lives in Ocracoke, North Carolina.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In the summer of 1914, 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, Kokoschka 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.

Determined to have her — somehow — the grieving artist turns to a servant, the shy, reserved Hulda. Shrouded in sadness, this 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.