Book Review: Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

My Rating: 4.5⭐️

“Who defines what is weakness? I’d wondered. Isn’t it only the strong who get to decide that? Isn’t it only the strong who have the power to act on what they decide? How can that be right or fair or good?”

In 1939, Sixteen-year-old Rosanne “Rosie” Maras is taken in by her Celine and Truman Calvert after her parents and younger brother perished in a tragic accident. Her late father was employed as a vinedresser by the Calverts and she had spent her whole life on the their property in Sonoma County, California. Celine Calvert employs her as a Maid, hoping to prepare her for a future in domestic service. Rosie is somewhat content with her life with the Calverts though she grieves for her losses. Eventually, Rosie ends up pregnant and Celine ships her off to what Rosie assumes will be a home for unwed mothers. What follows is a horrifying sequence of events, depicting one of the worst kinds of evils exacted in the name of science and the greater good, against helpless individuals with no agency or the right to defend themselves. Rosie associates every audio stimulation to different colors, and sees colors when she hears sounds, – a neurological condition (“synesthesia”) that was not known much about at the time and therefore labeled an “abnormality”. It is this label that leaves her fate in the hands of those who consider her “abnormality” a “burden” on society.

In 1947, after spending almost 40 years in Europe, working as a nanny, Truman Calver’s sister Helen returns to California. Her brother has since passed on and his wife isn’t too happy to have Helen in her home. Celine becomes even more hostile when Helen enquires after Rosie, the young girl she had befriended years ago. When she learns of Rosie’s plight, Helen set out to find her and her child. Her quest leads her to the realization that evil practices similar to the ones she had witnessed in Nazi-occupied Europe exist closer to home than she could have ever imagined.

Meticulously researched, informative, brutal and heartbreaking, Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner is a remarkable work of historical fiction. Powerful prose and the dual PoVs set against different backdrops in the same era render this novel a compelling read. Both Rosie’s and Helen’s PoVs are heart-wrenching. While Rosie’s story paints a heartbreaking picture of those forcibly institutionalized as “mentally ill” and whose fates are determined by the whims of doctors and social workers, Helen’s account of her life in Vienna during the Nazi occupation, which is revealed through flashbacks - the atrocities of war and the crimes exacted against children deemed to be unfit by Nazi evaluators, Aktion T4 and Krankenmorde – is horrifying. The narrative is well-structured and though I found the ending to be a tad too neat, I am glad that the story ends on a hopeful note. Do read the Author’s Note wherein the author discusses the historical context of this story. While I have read about involuntary euthanasia practiced in the early years of WWII under the Nazi regime, I had limited knowledge of the eugenics laws practiced in the United States in that era and was unaware of the fact that these practices not only predated and influenced Nazi policies but continued for several decades into the future.

“With giving, there is cost, isn’t there? There is always cost. Sometimes it is an easy sum to hand over. And sometimes it exacts from you the whole measure of your heart.”

Many thanks to author Susan Meissner and Berkley Publishing Group for providing a digital review copy of this novel via Edelweiss+. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on April 18, 2023.

Please Note: Given the subject matter, it is evident that this book is not an easy read. Please note that many of these topics and events described in this story are immensely disturbing.

⚠ Rape, involuntary euthanasia and forced sterilizations.