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The Paris Wife

Paula McLain

Start date: April 1, 2012

Finish date: May 31, 2012

Discussion: Group Book Discussion

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What Members Thought

Jun 11, 2011 Elle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, book-club

I enjoyed this book a lot. Not only was it interesting to hear about the lifestyle in 1920’s Paris and to learn about Hemingway and the circle of artists in 1920’s Paris (Picaso, Joyce, Fitzgerald, etc.) but the attitudes were so different back then. I think the author did a wonderful job of making the characters, even the unsympathetic ones, come to life.

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Mar 06, 2012 Doreen rated it did not like it

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 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 a 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 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

Please check out my blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ...more

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May 15, 2012 Cyndie rated it it was ok

Shelves: kindle

I'd hope this would pique my interest enough to want to return to Hemingway books i read and hated in high school. Although i can probably better appreciate the craft and artistry of the writing now i don't think time has made me any more likely to appreciate the plots and characters. This book has satisfied any curiosity i might have had about Hemingway. The great body of work about the man and his life which could surely give a better overview of the man and his times doesn't beckon despite th ...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Patricia O'Donnell-Gibson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I will be reading this book again with my book club. We thought it would be a good idea to read it with Hemingway's The Moveable Feast. Nice to pair it like this - see the almost autobiography by the author and the book by McLain.

Oh, I did like it. However, such crazy lifestyles. The story had to end badly for just about everyone. ...more

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Nov 03, 2015 Erika Nerdypants rated it liked it

Shelves: women, library-reads, 2015-reading-challenge, set-in-foreign-countries, historical-fiction, gay-lesbian, writing, relationships, fiction, polyamory

Meh. I often feel like that after reading an overhyped book. Written in beautiful prose, but somehow it still failed to grab me.

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Jul 09, 2011 Lyn rated it liked it

With all the hype about this book, I have to say that I was fairly disappointed. It didn't really grab me and I found myself doing some page flipping/speed reading because I got rather bored. ...more

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