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The Paris Wife

Paula McLain

Start date: April 1, 2012

Finish date: May 31, 2012

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What Members Thought

Apr 06, 2011 Vanessa rated it really liked it

Shelves: novelist, ew

I was destined to at least want to like this novel for a few reasons. I'm still high on my Midnight in Paris buzz. Ernest Hemingway's life fascinates me. And it gives me an excuse to listen to my collection of bal musette music. I cannot get enough of French people singing alongside an accordion.

(Just kidding. I don't even need an excuse. The neighbors love me.)

I wouldn't have continued to like this novel though if Paula McLain didn't write so meticulously, as trained poets tend to do, and had s I was destined to at least want to like this novel for a few reasons. I'm still high on my Midnight in Paris buzz. Ernest Hemingway's life fascinates me. And it gives me an excuse to listen to my collection of bal musette music. I cannot get enough of French people singing alongside an accordion.

(Just kidding. I don't even need an excuse. The neighbors love me.)

I wouldn't have continued to like this novel though if Paula McLain didn't write so meticulously, as trained poets tend to do, and had she not so almost perfectly captured the voice of Hadley Richardson Hemingway, Ernest's first wife and a love that by many accounts he never really recovered from. The story follows Ernest and Hadley's romance from their first meeting in Chicago in 1920, through their short courtship to their wedding to the eventful years of Paris, Gertrude Stein and Pamplona to their divorce in 1926.

The many literary cameos are dazzling (Stein, John Dos Passos, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, Ford Maddox Ford) but the real attraction is the stalwart Hadley and her story is no less dramatic for knowing how it ends-and for that matter, knowing the fate of endless other marriages when one spouse experiences the first vertiginous rush of fame. In this case, Ernest eventually cheats on Hadley with her friend Pauline Pfeiffer. As angry as I got at Ernest (polyamory? Really Ernest?), McLain avoids making him into a caricature or doing a hatchet job. Pauline Pfeiffer comes across much worse but then again, from what other reading I've done there doesn't seem to be a lot of good to say about her-not only did she parasitically attach herself to the Hemingways and sleep with her supposedly close friend's husband, she later was a supporter of the fascists during the Spanish civil war.

There are a few times when Hadley's voice slips and you can almost see the author peering out from behind her, steering the story Oz-like behind the curtain. But maybe it's a measure of how good the facade is otherwise that I even noticed.

And don't feel badly for Hadley. Her life turned out well and she said in one of her rare interviews that as much as she loved Hemingway, the divorce was surprisingly a relief. His moods, rules and the endless catering that his art required were enervating. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2011 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: _own-ebook, fiction, busy-as-a-bee-books-group, read-in-2012

I was intrigued by this book after so many of my bookish friends were raving about it. I am also a bit fascinated by Hemingway and was interested in learning more about him. I have read a couple of Hemingway's books (and A Farewell to Arms is one of my all time favorite novels) but I didn't really know a lot about him beyond how he died, the names of his novels & that he'd won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

What a nice surprise this book was - it is a really well told story about a fascinating I was intrigued by this book after so many of my bookish friends were raving about it. I am also a bit fascinated by Hemingway and was interested in learning more about him. I have read a couple of Hemingway's books (and A Farewell to Arms is one of my all time favorite novels) but I didn't really know a lot about him beyond how he died, the names of his novels & that he'd won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

What a nice surprise this book was - it is a really well told story about a fascinating time and some really interesting people. More than anything, this book really gave me incentive to do some research about Hemingway, his life, his novels, his colleagues and well, his wives. Fascinating! I kept finding myself switching over to the web on my Nook Tablet as I was reading to research some detail or person mentioned in the novel. If nothing else, the reading experience was very informative to me. But, its also just a good story. I don't think its a 5 star book ... there was a slowness in the book that was annoying to me at times which brought it down to a 4. But, it's a strong 4 and definitely worth reading!

This novel brought Paris of the 1920's come alive and I felt like I was sitting right there, observing the goings on of the Hemingway's and their friends. In many ways, this was a heartbreaking novel because it tells the story of how a relationship changes over time and how experiences and other people can come into your life & change everything in ways that you could never have imagined. There were times that I was very frustrated with Hadley & the decisions that she made and didn't make but, in the end, I could understand her motivations and, although I didn't agree with them, could see why she struggled with certain things.

I found this novel to portray a very balanced view of marriage and love. It showed the nuances of relationships in a multifaceted way that really spoke to me. There was a balance that McLain found in telling the story of these two people falling in love and what happens to them during their marriage. I think that balance gave the entire story its depth and made it feel very raw and real.

The only negative thing that I have to say about this novel is its pacing. There were entire passages and sections of the novel that felt very stiff and tedious - as if the author were so focused on getting the 'history' right that the storytelling was lost for a moment. McLain always got back to the storytelling but those small sections of flatness made the overall novel flow much less impactful than it could have been. Despite these forays into less than great storytelling, McLain does a fantastic job of making this time and these people come alive.

It can definitely be disconcerting to read about a marriage falling apart but I think that McLain's examination of the Hemingway marriage is one of the most nuanced and textured portrayals of marriage that I've read in awhile. It's really one of the things that I liked most about the book - the way that it made me think about marriage, love, friendship and the journey that we all take in our lives.

I definitely recommend this book - its a good read, very educational and compelling! ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2011 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, historical-fiction

I loved, loved, loved this book. McLain did a fabulous job of bringing Mr. and Mrs. Hemingway to life, together with their circle of well-known friends in 1920s Paris. The writing was perfect, and I felt part of this group of interesting, but seriously flawed, people.

There's quite a bit going on with this story. There's the issue of marriage and the role of the wife, particularly when it comes to careers. There's also the struggle that writers and other artists go through in trying to become fa ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2011 Bookmarks Magazine rated it really liked it

Shelves: may-june-2011

Critics praised The Paris Wife for rounding out the portrait of Hadley Hemingway, often overlooked in scholarly treatments of Hemingway and, in fact, in Hemingway’s own works. In McClain’s deft hands, Hadley, who narrates her love, confusion, struggles, and wavering support for her husband, comes alive amidst evocative, excellently researched descriptions of Left Bank cafes, culture, and artistic life. A few reviewers commented that Ernest’s artistic and literary coterie often overshadows the mo ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 10, 2011 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, best-of-the-best, booktopia-2013, very-best-of-2013

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said already! I was hooked from the first page. I knew nothing of Hadley or Ernest Hemingway. Ashamed to say I never read any of his books. That's what made this book so good, that the author could draw me in and keep me totally involved in their lives. Now I want to read A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises. If I could I would give this book 6 stars!! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2011 Linda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chcpl, booktopia, e-book, fiction, vt-2013-author

What a fantastic read! A fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson. The author "channeled" Hadley after reading correspondence between the couple as well as any books available.
I never wanted to put this book down. I was completely involved, thrilled to come across many familiar names (Ezra Pound, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Sherwood Anderson), delighted to discover new books to add to my TBR and sorry when the book, as the ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2011 Antonia rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, botns-book

Loved it. (But it didn't make me like Hemingway any better.) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 22, 2011 Gayla Bassham rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-reads

Beautifully written in general, although there are a few spots where the exposition gets a bit clunky. A well-realized poignant ending. But my beef with this book is that it doesn't add any new insight to what we already know about Hemingway's relationship with Hadley. More than that, it seems to take Hemingway's view of Hadley and their marriage at face value. When I finished the book, I was no closer to understanding what Hemingway saw in Hadley in the first place, because the Hadley who narra ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Denise rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, historical-fiction, fiction, female-author, 2012-reading-challenge

I have always been a Fitzgerald fan, and I love reading anything Paris and Roaring 20's related so I really devoured this novel. Living in the St. Louis area, it was also fun to read about a fairly famous person from that city.

This is the story of Hadley Richardson, a young woman from St. Louis and family wealth, and her marriage to a young Ernest Hemingway before he had been published. Some will walk away from this book thinking Hemingway is a real jerk because of how he treated Hadley, but so ...more

1 like · Like · see review