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Available
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Publication
Ballantine Books (2011), Edition: 1st, 336 pages
Description
Meeting through mutual friends in Chicago, Hadley is intrigued by brash "beautiful boy" Ernest Hemingway, and after a brief courtship and small wedding, they take off for Paris, where Hadley makes a convincing transformation from an overprotected child to a game and brave young woman who puts up with impoverished living conditions and shattering loneliness to prop up her husband's career.
Media reviews
Paula McLain has built “The Paris Wife” around Hadley. Or at least she has planted Hadley in the midst of a lot of famous, ambitious people. The advantage to this technique is that it allows the reader to rub shoulders and bend elbows with celebrated literary types: the stay-at-home way of
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feeling like the soigné figure on the book cover. The drawback is that Ms. McLain’s Hadley, when not in big-league company that overshadows her, isn’t a subtly drawn character. She’s thick, and not just in physique. She’s slow on the uptake, and she can be a stodgy bore. Show Less
Indeed, this book is a more risky affair than its sometimes sugary surface betrays. Taking up the Hemingway story inevitably means comparisons with Papa himself, and McLain courageously draws fire by including interludes written from his perspective: hard-bitten monologues with such lines as "You
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might as well bring yourself down and make yourself stinking sick with all you do because this is the only world there is." It's not exactly up there with John Cheever's classic parody, but it certainly does the job.
An appealing companion volume to A Moveable Feast, then, but once it's finished, turn back to the original, with its cool, impressionistic prose. It can hardly be said that the least interesting thing about Hemingway is the way he lived his life, but let's not forget that it's his writing that endures. Show Less
An imaginative, elegantly written look inside the marriage of Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson.
Library Journal
Colorful details of the expat life in Jazz Age Paris, combined with the evocative story of the Hemingways' romance, result in a compelling story that will undoubtedly establish McLain as a writer of substance. Highly recommended for all readers of popular fiction.
The Paris Wife, McLain has taken their love story, partially told by Hemingway himself in A Moveable Feast, and fashioned a novel that's impossible to resist. It's all here, and it all feels real...
There was never a moment when The Paris Wife was not going to be a huge seller. The writing here is sharp and terrific, but the subject matter clinches things...Though The Paris Wife is, of course, fiction, sometimes it’s difficult to keep in mind. McLain delivers Hadley’s voice so perfectly,
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it’s easy to forget that the 28-year-old St. Louis virgin that Hemingway first married didn’t have much of a voice: at least, history doesn’t give her one. McLain has repaired that quite completely Show Less
The period and setting are hardly untrodden territory for novelists and biographers alike, and McLain owes a great debt, as she cheerfully admits, to A Moveable Feast, Hemingway's own posthumously published memoir of his Paris years. The difference between the two is that the action here is largely
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seen through Hadley's eyes; the domestic takes precedent and there is more emotion and exposition than Papa would permit...An appealing companion volume to A Moveable Feast, then, but once it's finished, turn back to the original, with its cool, impressionistic prose. It can hardly be said that the least interesting thing about Hemingway is the way he lived his life, but let's not forget that it's his writing that endures.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member phebj
I was totally swept away by this book. It’s a fictionalized account of the marriage of Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Richardson told from Hadley’s point of view that reminded me of what Nancy Horan did with the relationship of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney in Loving Frank.
Hadley was almost
Shortly after their marriage in 1921, they moved to Paris at the urging of Sherwood Anderson (Winesburg, Ohio) so Hemingway could advance his writing career. Their circle of friends quickly included Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, Ford Maddox Ford, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and Gerald and Sara Murphy. Socializing with this crowd included professional and sexual jealousy, heavy drinking and drugs.
Hadley was a stablizing influence on Hemingway that allowed him to focus on his writing and it was mostly money that she had inherited that paid for their living expenses and gave them the ability to travel around Europe. Part of the author’s goal in telling this story was to show how crucial Hadley’s influence was in launching Hemingway’s career.
Ernest and Hadley’s marriage only lasted from 1921 to 1926 and it’s heartbreaking to see it start as a true love story and then see it unravel under the pressure of Hemingway’s obsession with his writing and his betrayal of Hadley with one of her good friends.
This book was a page turner for me. It’s extremely well written and I felt like I was transported to Paris in the 1920s. The author does a great job portraying the complexities of Ernest and Hadley’s relationship and I’ve already started on a biography of Hemingway during the Paris years and am looking forward to getting to A Moveable Feast which is Hemingway’s account of his first marriage. I would highly recommend this book.
Hadley was almost
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30 years old in 1920 when she met Hemingway, who was nine years her junior (Hemingway was only 22 when he and Hadley were married). She has been described as “well on her way to being a spinster” at the time they met and it’s an understatement to say her life took a dramatic turn when they fell in love. Shortly after their marriage in 1921, they moved to Paris at the urging of Sherwood Anderson (Winesburg, Ohio) so Hemingway could advance his writing career. Their circle of friends quickly included Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, Ford Maddox Ford, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and Gerald and Sara Murphy. Socializing with this crowd included professional and sexual jealousy, heavy drinking and drugs.
Hadley was a stablizing influence on Hemingway that allowed him to focus on his writing and it was mostly money that she had inherited that paid for their living expenses and gave them the ability to travel around Europe. Part of the author’s goal in telling this story was to show how crucial Hadley’s influence was in launching Hemingway’s career.
Ernest and Hadley’s marriage only lasted from 1921 to 1926 and it’s heartbreaking to see it start as a true love story and then see it unravel under the pressure of Hemingway’s obsession with his writing and his betrayal of Hadley with one of her good friends.
This book was a page turner for me. It’s extremely well written and I felt like I was transported to Paris in the 1920s. The author does a great job portraying the complexities of Ernest and Hadley’s relationship and I’ve already started on a biography of Hemingway during the Paris years and am looking forward to getting to A Moveable Feast which is Hemingway’s account of his first marriage. I would highly recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member msf59
“Love is a beautiful liar.”
E.H.
Hadley Richardson was born and raised in St. Louis. She was a shy, reclusive child, made worse by her father’s sudden suicide and the ongoing pressure of an over-bearing mother. In December 1920, while visiting an old roommate in Chicago, she meets a dashing
This well-researched but fictionalized account, follows Hadley’s marriage to Ernest, their move to Paris in early 1922, Ernest’s struggling effort to establish a writing career and their introductions and eventual friendships with many of the more popular writers of the day, including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This becomes the best period in both of their lives and then, seeming to coincide with Hemingway’s blossoming fame, he has an affair with a mutual friend, Pauline Pfeifer and everything is turned upside down.
Much of this material was covered in Hemingway’s memoir [A Moveable Feast] but this time the story is told through Hadley’s eyes and what a fascinating glimpse it is.
E.H.
Hadley Richardson was born and raised in St. Louis. She was a shy, reclusive child, made worse by her father’s sudden suicide and the ongoing pressure of an over-bearing mother. In December 1920, while visiting an old roommate in Chicago, she meets a dashing
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young man named Ernest Hemingway, eight years her junior and her life is abruptly changed forever.This well-researched but fictionalized account, follows Hadley’s marriage to Ernest, their move to Paris in early 1922, Ernest’s struggling effort to establish a writing career and their introductions and eventual friendships with many of the more popular writers of the day, including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This becomes the best period in both of their lives and then, seeming to coincide with Hemingway’s blossoming fame, he has an affair with a mutual friend, Pauline Pfeifer and everything is turned upside down.
Much of this material was covered in Hemingway’s memoir [A Moveable Feast] but this time the story is told through Hadley’s eyes and what a fascinating glimpse it is.
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LibraryThing member Carmenere
What I know about Ernest Hemingway could fit inside a thimble so I am not the person to judge the accuracy of Paula McLain’s new book scheduled to go on sale 3-8-11. Yet, by using various sources McLain weaves a compelling and very readable story based on the courtship and marriage of Ernest
It seems theirs was a love, deep and true. Although from wealthy families, on their own, they were poor and struggling yet what good times they shared together and with their artsy circle of friends. One such friend, Sherwood Anderson, recommended they move to Paris where Hemingway could network with fellow writers and seek their guidance and connections. I felt a part of the scene as Hadley and Hemingway viewed the running of the bulls in Pamplona, skied down Swiss mountainsides or simply shared another brandy with them and their friends at a Parisian café. How sad when the good times ended for them, still so much in love but unable to go on as they were.
After reading The Paris Wife I feel I can now enjoy Hemingway’s novels so much more fully. I think I have gained a better understanding of his writing technique and the times in which he lived.
I have the highest praise for Ms. McLain! She has presented a very complex writer and his wife in a truly memorable manner and I look forward with great anticipation to future works by this author.
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Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson. It is told through the eyes of Hadley and may, at times, reflect some partiality in her actions and inactions which causes the reader to yearn to know what was really going through Hemingway’s mind but, all in all, it seems Hemingway is given a fair shake. It seems theirs was a love, deep and true. Although from wealthy families, on their own, they were poor and struggling yet what good times they shared together and with their artsy circle of friends. One such friend, Sherwood Anderson, recommended they move to Paris where Hemingway could network with fellow writers and seek their guidance and connections. I felt a part of the scene as Hadley and Hemingway viewed the running of the bulls in Pamplona, skied down Swiss mountainsides or simply shared another brandy with them and their friends at a Parisian café. How sad when the good times ended for them, still so much in love but unable to go on as they were.
After reading The Paris Wife I feel I can now enjoy Hemingway’s novels so much more fully. I think I have gained a better understanding of his writing technique and the times in which he lived.
I have the highest praise for Ms. McLain! She has presented a very complex writer and his wife in a truly memorable manner and I look forward with great anticipation to future works by this author.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
A Moveable Feast is my perfect book, the one I read over and over (twice last year). Hemingway captures Paris at a specific time, painting a picture of expat and artistic life at a time when great writers all hung out together in the cafes and nightclubs and racetracks of Paris. His descriptions of
So I wasn't sure a fictionalized account of Hemingway's first marriage, told from Hadley's point of view was needed. After all, she is presented in A Moveable Feast as a strong, cheerful, grounded woman; not a bad way to be remembered. And my own irrational love of the book Paula McLain based this book on left me determined both to read her book and to sneer at it. And now, having read the damn thing, I can't. McLain has done a good job at untangling the chronology and relationships. She's kept the speculation to a minimum and has clearly read Hemingway's books and biographies until they were coming out of her ears. Her writing is even similar in tone, without descending into parody. I liked it.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Maddox Ford, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and many others are well worth the price of admission. A Moveable Feast is also the story of a writer learning his craft, and the story of a marriage that is strong until Hemingway brings it down. He's clear that the death of his marriage was his own fault and if he doesn't go into laborious detail, neither does he gloss over his own culpability. Hadley, his wife, is the only one who emerges unsullied.So I wasn't sure a fictionalized account of Hemingway's first marriage, told from Hadley's point of view was needed. After all, she is presented in A Moveable Feast as a strong, cheerful, grounded woman; not a bad way to be remembered. And my own irrational love of the book Paula McLain based this book on left me determined both to read her book and to sneer at it. And now, having read the damn thing, I can't. McLain has done a good job at untangling the chronology and relationships. She's kept the speculation to a minimum and has clearly read Hemingway's books and biographies until they were coming out of her ears. Her writing is even similar in tone, without descending into parody. I liked it.
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LibraryThing member momgee
Oh, I'm afraid this one was a yawnfest for me. A recitation of Ernest Hemingway, his first wife Hadley and the "lost generation" of writers and artists who hung out mostly in Paris during the 1920's. The list of writers was probably the most interesting part of the book. It is definitely a "tell
The story, and I use that term loosely, is coldly told from Hadley's perspective. She is just an adjunct to Ernest having almost no interests of her own other than playing the piano. I got no feelings of emotion from her even when her husband is playing around with Pauline who would become his second wife. Hadley always took the path of least resistance.
If you think you're going to read great descriptions of Paris, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed in this one.
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me" not a "show me" book. In no part of the story did I get invested in any of the characters and frankly I could not care how many times they got drunk or who slept with whom. It seems all they did was drink.The story, and I use that term loosely, is coldly told from Hadley's perspective. She is just an adjunct to Ernest having almost no interests of her own other than playing the piano. I got no feelings of emotion from her even when her husband is playing around with Pauline who would become his second wife. Hadley always took the path of least resistance.
If you think you're going to read great descriptions of Paris, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed in this one.
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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Well-written, but oh, so sad, this is the story of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage as told by Hadley herself, and I loved her voice. Even knowing it was all going to come to grief, I was rooting for Hadley and Ernest in their early years. I could feel her attraction to his charm and good looks;
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the yearning for love fed by his attention. And she was "right" for him then. Her unwavering support and encouragement, her willingness to put his needs ahead of her own gave him freedom to write. Together they were "the same guy", and inspired their friends to believe they did marriage like nobody else, that they were "tethered to something higher" that made them indestructible. Hadley was a woman slightly out-of-time, surrounded by early feminists, yet clinging to her own more traditional take on marriage and determined not to turn into the kind of woman who ruled the household "with iron fists", like her mother and Ernest's had done. Although she never quite fit in with Hemingway's hard-drinking free-loving crowd, she did make fast friends there, and ultimately sparked more loyalty among them than he did, precisely because true loyalty meant something to her that her platinum plated bastard of a husband could never quite grasp. In the end, she rose above the dual betrayal by Ernest and their friend Pauline, finding the strength to learn who she was and what she could bear. Despite a loss that she would never stop feeling, she made a new life for herself and faded into the background of his, where she became "just the early wife, the Paris wife" of the "most important writer of his generation". Show Less
LibraryThing member Schatje
I read this book thinking I might learn more about Ernest Hemingway and so might find something to like about him. In the end I liked him no more and didn't like his starter wife, Hadley Richardson, much either.
The book is a novelization of Hemingway's first marriage to a woman eight years his
Hemingway, at this point, has not yet morphed into his boozy Papa persona, but there is certainly forewarning of the drunk-sodden bully he became. He is boastful, insensitive, mean-spirited, insecure and egotistical.
Hadley comes across as a fine and decent but uninteresting person. She is bland, interesting only because of her proximity to a famous writer. Admittedly she led a sheltered life before meeting Hemingway, but she seems very naive for her age. Even when her husband betrays her, she is too good-hearted and continues to see him as some sort of romantic hero. One might not expect her to behave like a modern woman faced with her husband's infidelity, especially since she herself describes herself as Victorian, but some anger and meanness would be normal. Her one negative flaw is her distant, rather indifferent relationship with Bumby, her son, a relationship certainly influenced by her husband's view of a child as anathema to the Bohemian lifestyle he favours. Hemingway describes his first wife as "everything good and straight and fine and true" but those are not, perhaps regrettably, the qualities of an interesting literary character.
There is nothing in the book to suggest that the marriage was special in any way, other than perhaps the fact that it survived as long as it did in an era of open marriages. Their romance seems rather tepid. What's with the stupid, unexplained nicknames? Hemingway may have loved her, but there is little evidence of his love, other than his avowals which are negated by his actions. Hadley does meet his needs: she has faith in his talent, has a small but useful inheritance, and is willing to follow him anywhere. Her only contribution is to serve as Hemingway's doormat?
The book becomes tiresome. The scenes are repetitive and mundane: endless gatherings of friends, excessive drinking, and vague descriptions of travels. The emotional life of Hemingway's first wife is not developed. The characters are not brought to life so the reader is not engaged. In the end, the book lacks substance and feels flat, much like Hadley.
The book is a novelization of Hemingway's first marriage to a woman eight years his
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senior. The couple lived primarily in Paris where Hemingway became part of the literary scene (which included notables such as Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald) as he forged his career and reputation. The book is a fictionalization of Hemingway's memoir, "A Moveable Feast," which was published posthumously. Hemingway, at this point, has not yet morphed into his boozy Papa persona, but there is certainly forewarning of the drunk-sodden bully he became. He is boastful, insensitive, mean-spirited, insecure and egotistical.
Hadley comes across as a fine and decent but uninteresting person. She is bland, interesting only because of her proximity to a famous writer. Admittedly she led a sheltered life before meeting Hemingway, but she seems very naive for her age. Even when her husband betrays her, she is too good-hearted and continues to see him as some sort of romantic hero. One might not expect her to behave like a modern woman faced with her husband's infidelity, especially since she herself describes herself as Victorian, but some anger and meanness would be normal. Her one negative flaw is her distant, rather indifferent relationship with Bumby, her son, a relationship certainly influenced by her husband's view of a child as anathema to the Bohemian lifestyle he favours. Hemingway describes his first wife as "everything good and straight and fine and true" but those are not, perhaps regrettably, the qualities of an interesting literary character.
There is nothing in the book to suggest that the marriage was special in any way, other than perhaps the fact that it survived as long as it did in an era of open marriages. Their romance seems rather tepid. What's with the stupid, unexplained nicknames? Hemingway may have loved her, but there is little evidence of his love, other than his avowals which are negated by his actions. Hadley does meet his needs: she has faith in his talent, has a small but useful inheritance, and is willing to follow him anywhere. Her only contribution is to serve as Hemingway's doormat?
The book becomes tiresome. The scenes are repetitive and mundane: endless gatherings of friends, excessive drinking, and vague descriptions of travels. The emotional life of Hemingway's first wife is not developed. The characters are not brought to life so the reader is not engaged. In the end, the book lacks substance and feels flat, much like Hadley.
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LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader
From the opening pages of Paula McLain's novel I was captivated by her historical fiction interpretation of the love story of Ernest Hemingway and his (1st) wife Hadley.
"People belong to each other only as long as they both believe. He's stopped believing."
Historical fiction when done well
I am looking forward to reading Paula McLain's "Love and Ruin" - the story of Martha Gellhorn—a fiercely independent, ambitious woman ahead of her time, becoming one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century and at one point in her personal history - the 3rd wife of Ernest Hemingway.
"People belong to each other only as long as they both believe. He's stopped believing."
Historical fiction when done well
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transports the reader not only in the time period of the history of the time but envelops the reader and makes the reader feel like an invisible eyewitness to every scene and every conversation. They are no longer characters in a novel but become transparent to the historical figures remembered and capture the very essence of the individuals. The reader's reactions are more immediate and emotions felt during reading the novel become even more raw. I was immersed in this evocative presentation.I am looking forward to reading Paula McLain's "Love and Ruin" - the story of Martha Gellhorn—a fiercely independent, ambitious woman ahead of her time, becoming one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century and at one point in her personal history - the 3rd wife of Ernest Hemingway.
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LibraryThing member mrstreme
So many books and movies focus on the lives of authors that we often forget the muses in their lives. That's why I was eager to read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - a story that features Hadley Richardson, the first wife of Ernest Hemingway, and their life together in 1920's Paris.
We meet Hadley
The Paris years are marked with highs and lows. Ernest's career, while promising, takes a while to kick into high gear. The couple is poor but manage to stay afloat, thanks to Hadley's inheritance. They are in love, though, and surrounded by friends who feed their appetites and souls. However, Ernest's depression, wandering eye and eventual affair with another woman put an irreversible dent in their marriage, and Hadley decides to leave him and her life in Paris.
McLain does a commendable job capturing the artistic fever of 1920's Paris. The Paris Wife is a veritable who's who of the writing and art scene. What I can't determine is McLain's motive for her characters because, for me, not one of them was likeable. Hadley was spineless and too accommodating. Ernest was self-centered and chauvinistic. Even the minor characters were less than likeable. It made liking The Paris Wife a hard task.
If a lesson can be learned from the story it's this: If you marry a man with a lot of baggage, you'll end up packing yours in the end. I think Hadley would certainly agree.
We meet Hadley
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as a 29-year-old, unmarried woman who is visiting friends in Chicago after a long stint providing care to her now-deceased mother. While in Chicago, Hadley is swept off her feet by a young Ernest Hemingway (a man almost 10 years her junior). Ernest is a fledging writer, fresh out of World War I, and ready to move to Europe to begin his writing career. He eventually proposes to Hadley, and together, they move to Paris.The Paris years are marked with highs and lows. Ernest's career, while promising, takes a while to kick into high gear. The couple is poor but manage to stay afloat, thanks to Hadley's inheritance. They are in love, though, and surrounded by friends who feed their appetites and souls. However, Ernest's depression, wandering eye and eventual affair with another woman put an irreversible dent in their marriage, and Hadley decides to leave him and her life in Paris.
McLain does a commendable job capturing the artistic fever of 1920's Paris. The Paris Wife is a veritable who's who of the writing and art scene. What I can't determine is McLain's motive for her characters because, for me, not one of them was likeable. Hadley was spineless and too accommodating. Ernest was self-centered and chauvinistic. Even the minor characters were less than likeable. It made liking The Paris Wife a hard task.
If a lesson can be learned from the story it's this: If you marry a man with a lot of baggage, you'll end up packing yours in the end. I think Hadley would certainly agree.
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LibraryThing member greeneyed_ives
I have to admit, I was torn about requesting The Paris Wife when it was offered as an Early Reviewer option. Though I have an interest in the people that made up the Lost Generation, Ernest Hemingway has to be one of my least favorite authors of all time. I wondered if I would enjoy a story about
Paula McLain tells the story of Hadley Richardson, the woman who is best known as being the first wife of Ernest Hemingway. The story details their courtship, their years in Paris, and the eventual disintegration of their marriage. All of the supporting characters are present as well: Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, the Fitzgeralds, etc.
The novel is beautifully written. Despite my dislike of Hemingway, I was made to understand how someone could fall in love with a man like him. It also opened my eyes to the many layers that made up Hemingway's personality and how complicated his relationships were with pretty much everyone who knew him, especially the women in his life. Hadley herself was a fascinating woman, though it was sometimes difficult to be sympathetic to some of her problems. There were many moments within the novel that I so desperately wanted her to stand up for herself, despite that being the opposite of who she was.
Overall, I highly recommend this fictional first hand account to anyone who has an interest in Hemingway, the Lost Generation, or the women who exist behind some of the greatest literary minds of the 20th century.
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his first marriage, but my curiosity got the best of me and I clicked request. Now finished with the novel, I'm glad I did. Paula McLain tells the story of Hadley Richardson, the woman who is best known as being the first wife of Ernest Hemingway. The story details their courtship, their years in Paris, and the eventual disintegration of their marriage. All of the supporting characters are present as well: Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, the Fitzgeralds, etc.
The novel is beautifully written. Despite my dislike of Hemingway, I was made to understand how someone could fall in love with a man like him. It also opened my eyes to the many layers that made up Hemingway's personality and how complicated his relationships were with pretty much everyone who knew him, especially the women in his life. Hadley herself was a fascinating woman, though it was sometimes difficult to be sympathetic to some of her problems. There were many moments within the novel that I so desperately wanted her to stand up for herself, despite that being the opposite of who she was.
Overall, I highly recommend this fictional first hand account to anyone who has an interest in Hemingway, the Lost Generation, or the women who exist behind some of the greatest literary minds of the 20th century.
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LibraryThing member echaika
Paris in the 1920's, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, women bobbing their hair and fighting for the vote, and for equal education with men, or, as Virginia Woolf so eloquently wrote a room of their own. What an exciting, intellectually fertile time and place. By some sort of reverse
Hadley is completely boring. She has no ideas or even real opinions. All she does is sit around and wait for Hemingway to marry him, and, after she does, she sits in her apartment in Paris waiting for him to come home. She does drink a lot and does get drunk--and that sums up Hadley.
We see her completely from the outside. She makes no perceptive comments, ponders no political or philosophical questions, indeed, seems not to notice the intellectual and artistic ferment around her. Ernest has told her about writing "pure," so she recounts that, but with no esthetic judgment or comment. She just says what Ernest is trying to do. Most of the time, however, if she's not having headaches, she is chronicling what jobs he's managed to snag. For this you go to Paris?
Oh, she's a bit careless. On her way to Switzerland to meet Ernest, she manages to lose his case with all his writing in it. Ironically, this is the only instance I recall in this book in which Hadley independently decided to do something. That is, Ernest hadn't asked her to bring the case. She did it on her own.
She also, on her own, forgot her diaphragm. Apparently, she wanted to have a baby, but Ernest didn't. Although she is incredibly passive, she does in this one instance, give Ernest her reason. Guess what? She feels the biological clock ticking. No, she doesn't use that wording, but she does tell her husband that she is already 31 and if she waits she won't be able to get pregnant. The problem with this bit of fiction is that doctors did not yet know about the correlation between fertility and youth. That was a late 20th century discovery.
Again, when Ernest starts his affair with Pauline, who is destined to be wife #2, Hadley's inner turmoil, her rage, the blurred vision of despair, none of this is described. Instead, she does tell Ernest that Pauline is a whore, and, later, bloodlessly tells him she'll give him a divorce. No description of what it's like to be seething with jealousy, the sick feelings of abandonment. If we don't get a clue about what Hadley is thinking and feeling or how she perceives her surroundings, we get even less about Ernest, except for his reason for his unadorned writing style.
At no time did I become emotionally involved with the Paris wife. That is because McLain, who apparently did extensive research about her, never lets us feel what Hadley is feeling. For example, when she lost the writing case, there is no description of any inner turmoil. She is described as running around to look for it, and it is stated that she was annoyed the police, and that she thinks the case was thrown in a dustbin when the thief found it had nothing of value in it. That's it.
When Ernest gets the news that In Our Time was accepted for publication, she does say "It was an epic moment..." but instead of describing Hadley's surge of joy (I presume she must have had one) or her elation so that we could feel as she did, instead we get, "It was the end of Ernest's apprenticeship...He would never again be unknown. We would never again be this happy." When they got the news, how could she have known that? If the book were narrated by an omnicient author, those statements would have been warranted, but it is a first-person narration, and, at this point such a prediction doesn't ring true.
The picture that is painted is of a woman who, except for apparently was willing to have sex with her husband, is the typical 19th century appendage called a wife. She mopes around waiting for her man. She has headaches. When Ernest became famous "...the quintessential Left Bank Writer...the very sort of artist that had made him cringe two years before..."her only reaction is "I didn't want to hold him back. Not when things were finally beginning to hit for him." The noble, long-suffering wife. She says nothing and apparently feels nothing about the fact that he's clearly distancing himself from her. She should have been in a turmoil of emotions or at least felt sad, instead she says, in effect, "it's okay if he throws me out with the trash, so long as he's happy." In sum, Hadley is portrayed as vapid, uninteresting, uninspired.
I have read biographies with more emotional impact than this--far more emotional impact. Oh, I almost forgot, on p. 113, she does have a feeling: "...I felt a cold rush go through me." This is in response to her hearing about the possibility of another war.
Perhaps if the writing itself had not been so pedestrian, this would have been more palatable. There are scenes set in Switzerland and Italy--places with gorgeous mountain views, spectacular sunsets, charming or splendid architecture. Yet, McLain doesn't describe the wonders of these settings. Instead she writes like a travel guide, letting us know locations.
If you have a special interest in Hadley or Ernest, perhaps you will like this more than I did. What makes me wonder are the comments of Nancy Horan who wrote the magnificent, compelling, bio-novel of a married woman's affair with Frank Lloyd Wright, Loving Frank. She says "This remarkable novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage is mesmerizing. Hadley's voice, lean and lyrical, kept me in my seat, unable to take my eyes and ears away from these young lovers. Paula McLain is a wonderful writer who creates a world you don't want to leave. I loved this book."
I have enormous respect for Nancy Horan and her writing, so maybe I'm just a grinch. I could barely finish this book. I never felt as if I was in a fictional world, and I found the writing pedestrian to the point of plodding. Go figure.
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miracle, Paula McLain writes about Hadley, Hemingway's first wife, and Paris in the 1920's and makes it excruciatingly boring.Hadley is completely boring. She has no ideas or even real opinions. All she does is sit around and wait for Hemingway to marry him, and, after she does, she sits in her apartment in Paris waiting for him to come home. She does drink a lot and does get drunk--and that sums up Hadley.
We see her completely from the outside. She makes no perceptive comments, ponders no political or philosophical questions, indeed, seems not to notice the intellectual and artistic ferment around her. Ernest has told her about writing "pure," so she recounts that, but with no esthetic judgment or comment. She just says what Ernest is trying to do. Most of the time, however, if she's not having headaches, she is chronicling what jobs he's managed to snag. For this you go to Paris?
Oh, she's a bit careless. On her way to Switzerland to meet Ernest, she manages to lose his case with all his writing in it. Ironically, this is the only instance I recall in this book in which Hadley independently decided to do something. That is, Ernest hadn't asked her to bring the case. She did it on her own.
She also, on her own, forgot her diaphragm. Apparently, she wanted to have a baby, but Ernest didn't. Although she is incredibly passive, she does in this one instance, give Ernest her reason. Guess what? She feels the biological clock ticking. No, she doesn't use that wording, but she does tell her husband that she is already 31 and if she waits she won't be able to get pregnant. The problem with this bit of fiction is that doctors did not yet know about the correlation between fertility and youth. That was a late 20th century discovery.
Again, when Ernest starts his affair with Pauline, who is destined to be wife #2, Hadley's inner turmoil, her rage, the blurred vision of despair, none of this is described. Instead, she does tell Ernest that Pauline is a whore, and, later, bloodlessly tells him she'll give him a divorce. No description of what it's like to be seething with jealousy, the sick feelings of abandonment. If we don't get a clue about what Hadley is thinking and feeling or how she perceives her surroundings, we get even less about Ernest, except for his reason for his unadorned writing style.
At no time did I become emotionally involved with the Paris wife. That is because McLain, who apparently did extensive research about her, never lets us feel what Hadley is feeling. For example, when she lost the writing case, there is no description of any inner turmoil. She is described as running around to look for it, and it is stated that she was annoyed the police, and that she thinks the case was thrown in a dustbin when the thief found it had nothing of value in it. That's it.
When Ernest gets the news that In Our Time was accepted for publication, she does say "It was an epic moment..." but instead of describing Hadley's surge of joy (I presume she must have had one) or her elation so that we could feel as she did, instead we get, "It was the end of Ernest's apprenticeship...He would never again be unknown. We would never again be this happy." When they got the news, how could she have known that? If the book were narrated by an omnicient author, those statements would have been warranted, but it is a first-person narration, and, at this point such a prediction doesn't ring true.
The picture that is painted is of a woman who, except for apparently was willing to have sex with her husband, is the typical 19th century appendage called a wife. She mopes around waiting for her man. She has headaches. When Ernest became famous "...the quintessential Left Bank Writer...the very sort of artist that had made him cringe two years before..."her only reaction is "I didn't want to hold him back. Not when things were finally beginning to hit for him." The noble, long-suffering wife. She says nothing and apparently feels nothing about the fact that he's clearly distancing himself from her. She should have been in a turmoil of emotions or at least felt sad, instead she says, in effect, "it's okay if he throws me out with the trash, so long as he's happy." In sum, Hadley is portrayed as vapid, uninteresting, uninspired.
I have read biographies with more emotional impact than this--far more emotional impact. Oh, I almost forgot, on p. 113, she does have a feeling: "...I felt a cold rush go through me." This is in response to her hearing about the possibility of another war.
Perhaps if the writing itself had not been so pedestrian, this would have been more palatable. There are scenes set in Switzerland and Italy--places with gorgeous mountain views, spectacular sunsets, charming or splendid architecture. Yet, McLain doesn't describe the wonders of these settings. Instead she writes like a travel guide, letting us know locations.
If you have a special interest in Hadley or Ernest, perhaps you will like this more than I did. What makes me wonder are the comments of Nancy Horan who wrote the magnificent, compelling, bio-novel of a married woman's affair with Frank Lloyd Wright, Loving Frank. She says "This remarkable novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage is mesmerizing. Hadley's voice, lean and lyrical, kept me in my seat, unable to take my eyes and ears away from these young lovers. Paula McLain is a wonderful writer who creates a world you don't want to leave. I loved this book."
I have enormous respect for Nancy Horan and her writing, so maybe I'm just a grinch. I could barely finish this book. I never felt as if I was in a fictional world, and I found the writing pedestrian to the point of plodding. Go figure.
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LibraryThing member liz_di
I loved this book and was sad when I finished it. It truly was an easy read and a great book to curl up in bed with and escape from the world. If you liked Loving Frank and The Woman, you will love this book. It brings us into the world of great writers before they have become discovered. You will
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immediately get sucked into the world of a young Ernest Hemmingway and his first wife Hadley. You will have empathy for Hadley as she is forced to compete with Ernest's art (wrting) and will wonder if being a writer is a curse or a gift. Show Less
LibraryThing member bymerechance
I can't help but wonder whether Paula McLain wrote The Paris Wife, a novel from the perspective of the first of Ernest Hemingway's four wives, simply because other authors (Nancy Horan and TC Boyle) had success with their fictionalized accounts of another early twentieth century artist (Frank Lloyd
Narrator Hadley Richardson first encounters Hemingway at a friend's house in Chicago in 1921, and after a brief courtship through letters, they marry and relocate to Paris. There, Hemingway befriends other writers like Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, while he attempts to jumpstart his own career. The rotating cast of other couples, necessary because Hemingway keeps burning his bridges, becomes confusing. Somehow, despite their limited finances, Hadley and Hemingway are constantly traveling around Europe (occasionally on his journalistic assignment, but more often vacationing). Hadley's pregnancy causes conflict for the couple, but as soon as the child is born, he becomes nothing but an afterthought in the narrative. I found Hadley and Hemingway's strange nicknames for each other grating, and Hemingway himself rather whiny.
I admit I've never read The Sun Also Rises, which the Hemingway character pens and publishes during the course of The Paris Wife, or anything written by the other writers in Hemingway's circle save for Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Maybe I'd have enjoyed McLain's book more had I been more familiar with this generation of authors, but at the same time, her work should have inspired me to seek out Hemingway's, and instead I'm convinced that I'm not missing much.
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Wright) and his wives/mistresses. Personally, this mini genre has only gotten more tiresome with each iteration, so The Paris Wife felt a little flat.Narrator Hadley Richardson first encounters Hemingway at a friend's house in Chicago in 1921, and after a brief courtship through letters, they marry and relocate to Paris. There, Hemingway befriends other writers like Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, while he attempts to jumpstart his own career. The rotating cast of other couples, necessary because Hemingway keeps burning his bridges, becomes confusing. Somehow, despite their limited finances, Hadley and Hemingway are constantly traveling around Europe (occasionally on his journalistic assignment, but more often vacationing). Hadley's pregnancy causes conflict for the couple, but as soon as the child is born, he becomes nothing but an afterthought in the narrative. I found Hadley and Hemingway's strange nicknames for each other grating, and Hemingway himself rather whiny.
I admit I've never read The Sun Also Rises, which the Hemingway character pens and publishes during the course of The Paris Wife, or anything written by the other writers in Hemingway's circle save for Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Maybe I'd have enjoyed McLain's book more had I been more familiar with this generation of authors, but at the same time, her work should have inspired me to seek out Hemingway's, and instead I'm convinced that I'm not missing much.
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LibraryThing member Gaslight1975
Maybe a reader has to be a Hemingway fan to enjoy this book, but I've sometimes found the artist interesting even if I don't give a fig for their art. Sometimes an author has even given me a new appreciation for someone I was previously ambivalent about. This didn't happen here, and I found the
It's a straightforward novelization of Hadley Hemingway's life with Ernest. Too straightforward. Most of the time, the research seems to dominate the storytelling, as if the author loves the subject so much that not a detail must be spared. It just felt a bit tedious to be told that Ernest reported for work in Toronto on September 10, and they heard on September 14 that Smyrna was burning in the Greco-Turkish war. There was too much of obsessing with "Who said what, and where" that the actual people in the story had all the dimension of a Wiki article. I didn't know what Hadley looked like (who can keep track of all those wives?), and it's not until quite a ways into the book that we're told of her facial features and hairstyle. It's as if the author assumes the reader is already right there beside her in the Hemingway knowledge and love. A paragraph about Hadley looking at the meats and vegetables at a Paris market is but an example of this saturation of minutae about the Hemingways and their travels and experiences. Riveting no doubt to a rabid fan, but for the casual reader, *yawn*.
There's lots of cameos by other Lost Generation members, but they have all the substance of cameos. I dunno, I think I'd much rather read non-fiction about somebody than a dull novel that reads like somebody took a biography and added dialogue to it. And that's what this one felt like. So I'd recommend it for the Hemingway fan who wants to read a book with moments where they can exclaim, "They've moved to Paris! Yay, we're at the part where Ernest and Gertrude Stein are falling out! Oh, and now they're meeting F. Scott and Zelda!"
Fine book for those who like that, but not for me. I'm not sure this is strict "literary fiction," more "literary crush fiction." And I like my historical fiction to be more meaty than this.
ARC rec'd from Goodreads Giveaway.
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prose so flat and uninvolving that I bailed on page 207. It didn't seem worth the time and effort to continue.It's a straightforward novelization of Hadley Hemingway's life with Ernest. Too straightforward. Most of the time, the research seems to dominate the storytelling, as if the author loves the subject so much that not a detail must be spared. It just felt a bit tedious to be told that Ernest reported for work in Toronto on September 10, and they heard on September 14 that Smyrna was burning in the Greco-Turkish war. There was too much of obsessing with "Who said what, and where" that the actual people in the story had all the dimension of a Wiki article. I didn't know what Hadley looked like (who can keep track of all those wives?), and it's not until quite a ways into the book that we're told of her facial features and hairstyle. It's as if the author assumes the reader is already right there beside her in the Hemingway knowledge and love. A paragraph about Hadley looking at the meats and vegetables at a Paris market is but an example of this saturation of minutae about the Hemingways and their travels and experiences. Riveting no doubt to a rabid fan, but for the casual reader, *yawn*.
There's lots of cameos by other Lost Generation members, but they have all the substance of cameos. I dunno, I think I'd much rather read non-fiction about somebody than a dull novel that reads like somebody took a biography and added dialogue to it. And that's what this one felt like. So I'd recommend it for the Hemingway fan who wants to read a book with moments where they can exclaim, "They've moved to Paris! Yay, we're at the part where Ernest and Gertrude Stein are falling out! Oh, and now they're meeting F. Scott and Zelda!"
Fine book for those who like that, but not for me. I'm not sure this is strict "literary fiction," more "literary crush fiction." And I like my historical fiction to be more meaty than this.
ARC rec'd from Goodreads Giveaway.
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LibraryThing member missjomarch
I've always thought to live a life like Ernest Hemingway would be a dream. Living a life full of adventure with a carefree attitude, writing a book about it and having it published would be quite like heaven. In A Paris Wife, a fictional account of Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson we learn
In 1920 Hadley Richardson is 28 years old and she is close to giving up on love. Enter young Ernest Hemingway who proceeds to sweep her off her feet. After a whirlwind courtship they marry and set sail for Paris.
Once they have up residence in Paris and settled into their new life they meet all the great names, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald and as such defined as the Lost Generation. It's the Jazz Age and there is no better time to be in Paris. Although deeply in love, parties and drinking is the mainstay of their lives. In the midst of all this distraction Hemingway struggles to write and get published and will do anything to achieve this goal. Hadley is the traditional wife living then a very modern and untraditional kind of life. She is supportive and understanding to the extreme while Hemingway, self-absorbed and callous is her opposite.
This was a very different kind of romance, while the kind of life the Hemingway's lived might be unattainable to most it had very real elements which successfully allures one into their story.
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that his life was not always blissful.In 1920 Hadley Richardson is 28 years old and she is close to giving up on love. Enter young Ernest Hemingway who proceeds to sweep her off her feet. After a whirlwind courtship they marry and set sail for Paris.
Once they have up residence in Paris and settled into their new life they meet all the great names, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald and as such defined as the Lost Generation. It's the Jazz Age and there is no better time to be in Paris. Although deeply in love, parties and drinking is the mainstay of their lives. In the midst of all this distraction Hemingway struggles to write and get published and will do anything to achieve this goal. Hadley is the traditional wife living then a very modern and untraditional kind of life. She is supportive and understanding to the extreme while Hemingway, self-absorbed and callous is her opposite.
This was a very different kind of romance, while the kind of life the Hemingway's lived might be unattainable to most it had very real elements which successfully allures one into their story.
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LibraryThing member MollyChase
A book about Ernest Hemingway's early life in Paris, sounds interesting.... But sadly, this book did not capture my attention.
I found the characters very unlikeable. Hadley, Hemingway's first wife, was a bore! She left a life of spinsterhood to marry Hemingway. This could be a very exciting
I would only recommend this book to HUGE Hemingway fans. Even then the recommendation would come with a strong caution. Don't expect too much.
I found the characters very unlikeable. Hadley, Hemingway's first wife, was a bore! She left a life of spinsterhood to marry Hemingway. This could be a very exciting
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adventure. However, Hemingway used her trust fund money and they lived a poor life drinking themselves to drunk most nights. Hadley had very little intrinsic interest, and was not at all the interesting character you would think she should be. Hemingway was portrayed as a spoiled, self-absorbed little boy. Not at all an enjoyable character to read about. The story seemed to drag, and I found myself hoping for the story to end.I would only recommend this book to HUGE Hemingway fans. Even then the recommendation would come with a strong caution. Don't expect too much.
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LibraryThing member DMO
I love reading biographies, although I don't typically read fictionalized ones. And I really like reading biographies of people who give me an unusual perspective on something (or someone) well-known. Given this, I thought I would like this book more than I did. By the end, I thought Hemingway was
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even more of a jerk than I did before I started the book, and I was furious at Hadley. Still, the book did make me want to know more about the period and some of the people from that time (Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, for instance). I also was baffled by some of the blurbs in the book that talked about the author's lyrical style. While she's a gifted writer, I didn't think the language of the book was particularly striking. Show Less
LibraryThing member MEENIEREADS
This was a wonderfully written book. It reminded me f Nancy Horan's Loving Frank,another absolute favorite.
I have nothing more to add to the review descriptions below. They express much about the book and I agree with their opinions.
There is one thing I would like to point out.
LOOKING AT THE HUGE
SO MY QUESTION FOR LIBBY MCGUIRE,THE PUBLISHER IS THIS:
WHY DOES THE PHOTO ON THE COVER OF THE BOOK SCREAM DIOR'S new look and 1947?????? WHY NOT A PHOTO USING A WOMAN DRESSED AS ACCURATELY AND BEAUTIFULLY AS THE ACTRESSES ON BOARDWALK EMPIRE?
IS IT BECAUSE AN UNREAD MILENNIAL PICKED THIS PHOTO?
I have nothing more to add to the review descriptions below. They express much about the book and I agree with their opinions.
There is one thing I would like to point out.
LOOKING AT THE HUGE
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SUCCESS THAT THE HBO SERIES BOARDWALK EMPIRE IS ESPECIALLY WITH THE MILENNIAL GENERATION I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THE PUBLISHERS COULD CASH IN ON THIS SEEING AS BOTH THE TV SERIES AND THE BOOK TAKE PLACE IN THE EXACT SAME TIME AND PLACE IN HISTORY....STARTING IN 1920.SO MY QUESTION FOR LIBBY MCGUIRE,THE PUBLISHER IS THIS:
WHY DOES THE PHOTO ON THE COVER OF THE BOOK SCREAM DIOR'S new look and 1947?????? WHY NOT A PHOTO USING A WOMAN DRESSED AS ACCURATELY AND BEAUTIFULLY AS THE ACTRESSES ON BOARDWALK EMPIRE?
IS IT BECAUSE AN UNREAD MILENNIAL PICKED THIS PHOTO?
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LibraryThing member Marzia22
Simplistic YA romance novel based on the lives of Ernest and Hadley Hemingway. First half of the book was deadly. Second half redeemed itself a bit.
LibraryThing member bettyjo
While I enjoyed learning about Ernest Hemingway's personal life before he hit his stride as one of America's most popular authors, I did not like the man as a character. His first wife Hadley Richardson was much more likable than her famous husband. For readers who liked the novel, Loving Frank, I
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can recommend this book. Frank Lloyd Wright was an unlovable as Ernest Hemingway and the women who love these types of self-centered men makes for an interesting read. However I got a bit bogged down in some of the author's descriptions concerning all of the drinking, traveling, and talking of the long generation in Paris. They seem a bit too entitled for my taste and the story got boring after awhile. Show Less
LibraryThing member GarySeverance
The Paris Wife is a story of Ernest Hemingway’s first of four marriages. It is told from the point of view of Hadley Richardson, a shy, mildly pretty, somewhat socially backward woman (she lived with her family until she was 28) who met Hemingway at a friend’s house in Chicago. Even during
Paula McClain maintains a consistency in the voice of Hadley that reveals the Paris wife’s constricted, conventional views of marriage and family even though the couple lived adventurous lives of expatriates in Paris and other European settings during the chaotic 1920s. Hadley is portrayed as being somewhat flat of affect and limited in artistic vision but game in socializing, playing, and drinking in the fast set of Hemingway’s successful artistic mentors and friends. Hadley’s attitudes keep the novelist in check in his exuberance but become restrictive to his expansive joy of life. Ezra Pound warned Hadley against this restriction of spirit in the artist, but Hadley thought she was being a responsible sport and not a wet blanket. Her inadvertent smothering activities opened the door for Pauline, Hemingway’s second wife, to awkwardly lift the blanket and release the couple from a marriage that they knew could not be sustained.
As McClain maintains Hadley’s point of view she tries to justify what could be considered the glacial pace of Hadley’s development by including several italicized descriptions of what Hemingway was thinking a various points during his early artistic and social life. This intrusion of McClain’s assumptions about Hemingway’s life of the mind is quite a stretch and a somewhat poor literary device for showing that the two were not exactly on the same motivational wavelength. In this respect, McClain’s novel is parallel to Carlos Baker’s biography of Hemingway that never missed a chance to characterize the writer as a bullying, insecure, self-centered, and petty competitor with other people. Both McClain and Baker missed the charismatic and joyful nature of the novelist that was depicted by A. E. Hotchner in Papa Hemingway. Hadley may have been a stable platform for Ernest’s early writing career but she also seemed to be a stifling force on his talent rather than a muse for his creativity.
I enjoyed reading this novel very much and predict it will appeal to many readers who are fascinated with Hemingway’s art and life. I believe it will reach the top of the Amazon and New York Times best sellers lists. I think McClain’s injection of her own personality into Hadley led to a remarkably insightful and entertaining novel. The story is not so much romantic as it is a bitter sweet description of two mismatched people, incompatible because of different reactions to their common backgrounds. It reminds me of the line in the song, Send in the Clowns – “one who keeps tearing around, one who can’t move.” Given that view, Pauline is not a home wrecker but rather an almost innocent dupe who showed Hemingway and Hadley what they already knew; their relationship could only be temporary.
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their first contact, Hadley seemed to meet a basic need in the future Nobel Prize winning author for stability, security, and grounding in Midwest United States values and behavior expectations.Paula McClain maintains a consistency in the voice of Hadley that reveals the Paris wife’s constricted, conventional views of marriage and family even though the couple lived adventurous lives of expatriates in Paris and other European settings during the chaotic 1920s. Hadley is portrayed as being somewhat flat of affect and limited in artistic vision but game in socializing, playing, and drinking in the fast set of Hemingway’s successful artistic mentors and friends. Hadley’s attitudes keep the novelist in check in his exuberance but become restrictive to his expansive joy of life. Ezra Pound warned Hadley against this restriction of spirit in the artist, but Hadley thought she was being a responsible sport and not a wet blanket. Her inadvertent smothering activities opened the door for Pauline, Hemingway’s second wife, to awkwardly lift the blanket and release the couple from a marriage that they knew could not be sustained.
As McClain maintains Hadley’s point of view she tries to justify what could be considered the glacial pace of Hadley’s development by including several italicized descriptions of what Hemingway was thinking a various points during his early artistic and social life. This intrusion of McClain’s assumptions about Hemingway’s life of the mind is quite a stretch and a somewhat poor literary device for showing that the two were not exactly on the same motivational wavelength. In this respect, McClain’s novel is parallel to Carlos Baker’s biography of Hemingway that never missed a chance to characterize the writer as a bullying, insecure, self-centered, and petty competitor with other people. Both McClain and Baker missed the charismatic and joyful nature of the novelist that was depicted by A. E. Hotchner in Papa Hemingway. Hadley may have been a stable platform for Ernest’s early writing career but she also seemed to be a stifling force on his talent rather than a muse for his creativity.
I enjoyed reading this novel very much and predict it will appeal to many readers who are fascinated with Hemingway’s art and life. I believe it will reach the top of the Amazon and New York Times best sellers lists. I think McClain’s injection of her own personality into Hadley led to a remarkably insightful and entertaining novel. The story is not so much romantic as it is a bitter sweet description of two mismatched people, incompatible because of different reactions to their common backgrounds. It reminds me of the line in the song, Send in the Clowns – “one who keeps tearing around, one who can’t move.” Given that view, Pauline is not a home wrecker but rather an almost innocent dupe who showed Hemingway and Hadley what they already knew; their relationship could only be temporary.
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LibraryThing member rainbowsoup
I found Paula McLain's, 'The Paris Wife', an absorbing read. It is a fascinating piece, set in Paris in the 1920's from the viewpoint of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife. Paris in the 1920's was fast paced, swinging and the Hemingway's found themselves in a circle of friends
As the story continues to unfold, Hadley continues to tell of her life and experiences in Paris with Ernest and the ups and downs of the times vs.their relationship. Ernest was beginning to be recognized for his first novel and their lives became more frantic. With the birth of their first child, Hadley finds their marriage crumbling as well as impossible as Ernest's fame increases. Their relationship is a heartrending depiction of a broken marriage. Their relationship showed so much promise, Hadley was Ernest's equal on many levels and it was obvious that Ernest loved and revered her. Sometimes life gets in the way.
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including the likes of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein as well as many more. Ernest has not yet published his first novel in this very colorful, heavy drinking, hard hitting life. As the story continues to unfold, Hadley continues to tell of her life and experiences in Paris with Ernest and the ups and downs of the times vs.their relationship. Ernest was beginning to be recognized for his first novel and their lives became more frantic. With the birth of their first child, Hadley finds their marriage crumbling as well as impossible as Ernest's fame increases. Their relationship is a heartrending depiction of a broken marriage. Their relationship showed so much promise, Hadley was Ernest's equal on many levels and it was obvious that Ernest loved and revered her. Sometimes life gets in the way.
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LibraryThing member mzkat
Although I thought the book began slowly as it described young Hemingway’s initial meeting with Hadley Richardson, once the couple marries and heads to Paris, it gathers momentum. The style, deliberate and careful, reflects the personality of Hadley, who as Hemingway’s first wife, willingly
Hadley emerges as a sympathetic character caught up in, and in the end, overwhelmed by the frantic and competitive artistic/bohemian world of post WW I Paris. Pound, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, and others weave through the lives of Hadley and Hemingway, but it is primarily a world created by and for Hemingway. McLain describes the crossroads where the old way of life is being cast aside in favor of an alternative, “modern” way. Parallels between women of that period wanting to be modern and the feminist movement of the late 60s automatically come to mind.
Offering neither enormous wealth, artistic passion, or wild abandon, Hadley’s marriage is doomed to be eclipsed as Hemingway’s success as author rises. It’s the old story of what can happen to a marriage, but McLain makes you want to know the narrative as it unfolded for these two people. And more importantly, you come to care what happened to them.
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dovetails her needs to those of Hemingway. Whether Hadley truly recognized the full dimensions of her husband’s challenging temperament and personal demons, as she does in this story, is a question which could only be answered by repeating McLain’s historical research. Given all the historical references, though, McLain does seem to offer a convincing portrait of the real Hadley. In the end, however, this remains historical fiction rather than biography.Hadley emerges as a sympathetic character caught up in, and in the end, overwhelmed by the frantic and competitive artistic/bohemian world of post WW I Paris. Pound, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, and others weave through the lives of Hadley and Hemingway, but it is primarily a world created by and for Hemingway. McLain describes the crossroads where the old way of life is being cast aside in favor of an alternative, “modern” way. Parallels between women of that period wanting to be modern and the feminist movement of the late 60s automatically come to mind.
Offering neither enormous wealth, artistic passion, or wild abandon, Hadley’s marriage is doomed to be eclipsed as Hemingway’s success as author rises. It’s the old story of what can happen to a marriage, but McLain makes you want to know the narrative as it unfolded for these two people. And more importantly, you come to care what happened to them.
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LibraryThing member FAR2MANYBOOKS
3 stars only because I didn't know much about them, so I learned some things.
To me, this book felt flat.
Like a travel diary with lots of name dropping.
We went _____, we met _____.
I didn't really feel for Hadley.
I didn't really feel for young Ernest.
She lost him to another woman.
She was better off
Favorite:
In the epilogue, Hadley, who's moved on with her life, described him as an "enigma - fine and strong and weak and cruel. An incomparable friend and a Sonofabitch".
To me, this book felt flat.
Like a travel diary with lots of name dropping.
We went _____, we met _____.
I didn't really feel for Hadley.
I didn't really feel for young Ernest.
She lost him to another woman.
She was better off
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anyway.Favorite:
In the epilogue, Hadley, who's moved on with her life, described him as an "enigma - fine and strong and weak and cruel. An incomparable friend and a Sonofabitch".
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LibraryThing member noranydrop2read
I rarely toss aside a book without at least skimming to the end, especially when I received an advance copy and feel an obligation to write a comprehensive review. But, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain has defeated me. I've peeked at LibraryThing and Amazon reviews, which are glowing, so I want to
The Paris Wife is about Hemingway and 1920s Paris, shown through the eyes of Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife. I was very excited about this one. I enjoy fictionalized accounts of real people. I'm fascinated by the 1920s, and what a juicy setting is the expat community in Paris at that time? But this book left me cold. I tried a dozen times over three months to plough through it, but I simply never cared about the characters. The writing is fine, though the dialogue is stilted. Hadley is not a well-drawn character, and certainly lacks the depth to carry a first-person narration. Hadley before Hemingway is boring, and I didn't care about her at all. She tells us some of her feelings about being a spinster, but McLain stops short of giving her breath. She's a paper doll, well-dressed in 1920s fashions, but with nothing behind them. I was relieved when Hemingway came on the scene, because he can't possibly be dull, right? Well, apparently, he can when told through a fictionalized Hadley's eyes. When they finally arrive in Paris, I was again relieved, because at least there's the interesting expat community. But that, too, had a shallow feel, and it never evinced any emotion from me except a mild, "Oh, look, Gertrude Stein" or "Hey, there's James Joyce." Because everything is told through Hadley's eyes and Hadley is not a nuanced, interesting character, nothing she sees has any depth. I would have learned more about who Hemingway really was as a human being by reading a biography.
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make the disclaimer that this book is simply not for me. I appear to be an exception, so you may well love this book. I'm going to explain what I didn't like about it, which may be exactly what you're looking for in a beach read.The Paris Wife is about Hemingway and 1920s Paris, shown through the eyes of Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife. I was very excited about this one. I enjoy fictionalized accounts of real people. I'm fascinated by the 1920s, and what a juicy setting is the expat community in Paris at that time? But this book left me cold. I tried a dozen times over three months to plough through it, but I simply never cared about the characters. The writing is fine, though the dialogue is stilted. Hadley is not a well-drawn character, and certainly lacks the depth to carry a first-person narration. Hadley before Hemingway is boring, and I didn't care about her at all. She tells us some of her feelings about being a spinster, but McLain stops short of giving her breath. She's a paper doll, well-dressed in 1920s fashions, but with nothing behind them. I was relieved when Hemingway came on the scene, because he can't possibly be dull, right? Well, apparently, he can when told through a fictionalized Hadley's eyes. When they finally arrive in Paris, I was again relieved, because at least there's the interesting expat community. But that, too, had a shallow feel, and it never evinced any emotion from me except a mild, "Oh, look, Gertrude Stein" or "Hey, there's James Joyce." Because everything is told through Hadley's eyes and Hadley is not a nuanced, interesting character, nothing she sees has any depth. I would have learned more about who Hemingway really was as a human being by reading a biography.
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Awards
Ohioana Book Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2012)
Society of Midland Authors Award (Winner — Adult Fiction — 2012)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Historical Fiction — 2011)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011-02-22
Physical description
336 p.; 6.63 inches
ISBN
9780345521309