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This is a fictionalization of the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. It is the story of a romance with a talented and damaged man. It is set in the 20's when Hemingway and other artists lived and worked in post WWI Paris and visited other areas of Europe. I haven't decided whether the writing is intended to reflect Hadley's naive and straightforward personality or if that is the author's style (having never read anything else by her). It seemed at times that McClain was reaching to i
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Fascinating time/place/people...underwhelming exploration thereof. After waffling between 2 and 3 stars, I settled on 3 stars because of the "fascinatings" listed above. However, I don't feel that the memoir-style or tedious prose added much illumination to Ernest and Hadley's relationship that I could not have gleaned from a straight-up biography. If anything, I feel like I understand Hadley less after reading The Paris Wife. To me, the purpose of a novel is to get at emotional truths about lif
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Aww very well written
Such a good story about a struggling writer and a struggling first marriage. Ernest did not seem like a good husband but Hadley was so dedicated.
Such a good story about a struggling writer and a struggling first marriage. Ernest did not seem like a good husband but Hadley was so dedicated.
What a great book. It's along the lines of Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. I didn't know much about Ernest Hemingway's life. He doesn't seem like a very nice guy. But now I want to go read more about him and his various wives. I thought that this was a thoughtful historical fiction book about Hadley Richardson who was Ernest Hemingway's first wife. They married when he was 21 and she was 29. She was really a huge support in the early years before he had success as a writer.
I thought the book was w ...more
I thought the book was w ...more
i really enjoyed this novel. i feel like mclain did a great job giving voice to hadley hemingway. i recently read Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - where ernest and hadley make an appearance - so it was cool having another writer's creative perspective on the couple. one particular setting/time is covered in detail in each novel, so that was interesting. especially since ernest featured more in 'Z' and, obviously, hadley's perspective was stronger in 'the paris wife'.
great escapist read. good sum ...more
great escapist read. good sum ...more
I appreciate historical fiction novels in general. I enjoyed learning more about Earnest Hemingway, Joyce, Fitzgerald, etc. However I found that the character of Hadley was just so uninteresting!
I still hate Hemingway, but I liked this book. Complete review is at http://colreads.blogspot.com/2011/05/...
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Jul 26, 2011
Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB
marked it as to-read
Dec 27, 2011
Nasrudin muhammad
marked it as to-read
Jan 17, 2012
Cheri
marked it as to-read
Feb 29, 2012
Sheyla
marked it as to-read
Apr 14, 2012
Sally
marked it as did-not-finish
Jul 13, 2012
Jennifer N.
marked it as to-read
Jan 11, 2013
Jen
marked it as to-read
