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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This is a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage to Hadley Richardson, who was eight years his senior. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Paris where they began to meet other literary greats and had their first child. Yet as Ernest became more well known, and began to embrace all the temptations that come with that, their seemingly happy marriage started to disintegrate.
My book club generally enjoyed this one, although some found Hadley a little too passive. She allows Hemingway to get away with a little too much as she attempts to save her marriage. It was interesting to see how Hemingway climbed to fame, and how easily he both drew people to him and pushed them away. I wished there was just a little more information about her life after Ernest, but other than that an enjoyable and informative read.
My book club generally enjoyed this one, although some found Hadley a little too passive. She allows Hemingway to get away with a little too much as she attempts to save her marriage. It was interesting to see how Hemingway climbed to fame, and how easily he both drew people to him and pushed them away. I wished there was just a little more information about her life after Ernest, but other than that an enjoyable and informative read.
http://www.dishwaterdreams.com/just-sayin/book-review-the-paris-wife
After reading Hemingway's Girl which you HAVE to read I knew I had to read this book as well. Plus Erika Robuck's new book Call Me Zelda won't be out until May 7th.
The Paris Wife goes a bit further back in time than Hemingway's Girl and focuses on Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. The relationship between Hadley and Ernest is well documented. Hemingway's final book is about their marriage and love.
What I loved about this book is really seeing the characters come to life. McLain's dialouge is natural and easy.
The book is also full of other famous people such as Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound.
I love reading about the 20's and especially 20's Paris. However, this was quite the different viewpoint because we get to see the world, and the artists in that world, through Hadley's eyes. We get to travel with her as she falls in love with Ernest and helps him to grow into the Hemingway whose writing we love. We watch as she remains traditional and struggles with her role as a wife and woman. We watch as Pauline enters the picture, and if you are a Hemingway fan, you know who Pauline is.
We feel Hadley's pain and loss.
This is a book you truly don't want to miss.
After reading Hemingway's Girl which you HAVE to read I knew I had to read this book as well. Plus Erika Robuck's new book Call Me Zelda won't be out until May 7th.
The Paris Wife goes a bit further back in time than Hemingway's Girl and focuses on Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. The relationship between Hadley and Ernest is well documented. Hemingway's final book is about their marriage and love.
What I loved about this book is really seeing the characters come to life. McLain's dialouge is natural and easy.
The book is also full of other famous people such as Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound.
I love reading about the 20's and especially 20's Paris. However, this was quite the different viewpoint because we get to see the world, and the artists in that world, through Hadley's eyes. We get to travel with her as she falls in love with Ernest and helps him to grow into the Hemingway whose writing we love. We watch as she remains traditional and struggles with her role as a wife and woman. We watch as Pauline enters the picture, and if you are a Hemingway fan, you know who Pauline is.
We feel Hadley's pain and loss.
This is a book you truly don't want to miss.
The Paris Wife made me want to reach out and hug Hadley. She was stuck on the precipice of two worlds; the Victorian upbringing pounded into her by her overbearing mother, and the excitement of the 1920’s. She embodies the beginning of the “women’s movement” while still holding to traditional values. It’s a challenge we as women still face; how to balance having a life of our own while still being good mothers and wives.
Hemingway didn’t make it easy for her. According to The Paris Wife, he wanted her to be one and all things to him; drinking buddy, lover, fan, caretaker, and understanding wife who stood by while he had affairs.
I find it incredibly sad the way it is impossible to talk about her without talking about him. I think it’s because he was such an imposing figure hanging over Hadley’s life. She was all consumed with him and his success, so much that her own life withered away while they were married.
But reading The Paris Wife, you understand her and her struggle to find her own place in the world. It’s a struggle many of our mother’s and grandmother’s went through and that a lot of us still deal with today. And I thank Hadley for paving the road.
http://wwwdiaryofabooknerd.blogspot.com/
Hemingway didn’t make it easy for her. According to The Paris Wife, he wanted her to be one and all things to him; drinking buddy, lover, fan, caretaker, and understanding wife who stood by while he had affairs.
I find it incredibly sad the way it is impossible to talk about her without talking about him. I think it’s because he was such an imposing figure hanging over Hadley’s life. She was all consumed with him and his success, so much that her own life withered away while they were married.
But reading The Paris Wife, you understand her and her struggle to find her own place in the world. It’s a struggle many of our mother’s and grandmother’s went through and that a lot of us still deal with today. And I thank Hadley for paving the road.
http://wwwdiaryofabooknerd.blogspot.com/
Spoiler
This was an interesting book about Ernest Hemingway and his wife. I really enjoyed the history and the writing and would read again.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
This book was so, so lovely. It's one of the best I've read in the past few years. From the moment I began the prologue, I identified with Hadley as if she was a dear friend. I have never read a word of Hemingway, but it didn't matter. The whirlwind romance, vibrant life in Paris, and their marriage was richly painted on these pages. I couldn't stop reading, yet I didn't want it to end. I'd recommend this to anyone.
I was really wavering here between a 2 or 3 star review because the story is interesting and the pacing was good (I would have liked a little more on her life after Hemingway) but the prose, especially the dialog, was clunky, stereotypical and felt so unnatural it really takes you out of the book. I had to push myself through the first chapter because these two falling in love was comically childish; it felt like a first time writer not a professional. And the main character can be so frustratingly passive I had to keep reminding myself this was a real person. This review seems negative so here are some positives: well researched which made the events feel grounded, a very interesting setting in 1920's Paris, and a look into the personal life of a legendary author. Yes, McLain could have been slightly less in awe of Hemingway; she forgives him most of his faults as her rendition of Hadley does. But overall I would recommend this book to someone who loves historical fiction as it represents the time period so well.
Writing style was ok but I did not like the characters at all.
Well, it inspired me to pick up Hemingway again, so that's something.
I really enjoyed this book. I made me want to go and re read some of Hemingway's books.