The Paris Wife in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 06, 2020 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, era-early-1900s, audio, based-on-real-life

... I could see the whole thing, but never felt it, not really. I wanted something grand and sweeping.

That quote (which is Pauline talking to Hadley about a broken engagement) perfectly describes how I felt about this book.

This was so dull. It’s all: we met this person, then we met this person, we went to this place, and this happened, and I met this person, and Ernest said this, then I met this person and felt a chill ... and so on. It’s full of foreshadowing about events that we of course

... I could see the whole thing, but never felt it, not really. I wanted something grand and sweeping.

That quote (which is Pauline talking to Hadley about a broken engagement) perfectly describes how I felt about this book.

This was so dull. It’s all: we met this person, then we met this person, we went to this place, and this happened, and I met this person, and Ernest said this, then I met this person and felt a chill ... and so on. It’s full of foreshadowing about events that we of course know about now, but Hadley would have had no idea about at the time. People can’t see the future coming. When you’re living your life, you don’t know which events to put extra emphasis on. That sort of thing is only clear in hindsight.

But I didn’t feel anything. I wanted something grand and sweeping, and instead I got this dry biscuit. There’s no passion in McLain’s writing, and there’s no passion in MacDuffie’s narration (MacDuffie had a curiously flat style, and it’s possibly I wouldn’t‘ve hated this as much if it had been read by someone else). The only passion in this story is between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and they barely make an appearance.

Hadley just has no personality - which is quite pathetic considering this book is mostly from her POV. And I say “mostly” because there were random sections from Hemingway’s POV - I have no idea why. I went into this assuming Hemingway was a bit of an asshole, and he definitely appears to be a huge asshole here. I wondered if the random bits from his POV were meant to get us to sympathize with him.

It didn’t work. I can’t have any sympathy for a cheater. And it turns out I can’t have any sympathy for the betrayed spouse, either, when she’s a proper doormat and allows the other woman to stay with them and vacation with them, all while she silently seethes. Why didn’t she put her foot down? Instead, she seemed to just go along and go along and expect everyone else to do what she wanted, although she was never articulating what it was she wanted. A book like this should give the reader insight into what exactly was going on in her head, but that didn’t happen.

I never fully understood their financial situation. The words say they were poor, but they also travel, and take long vacations at ski resorts and beaches, and employ a full time nanny after Bumby is born, and Hadley never has a job. I read elsewhere that Hadley had a significant inheritance from several relatives, so she brought some money into this marriage, but most of that is not mentioned here.

It annoyed me that Hadley seemed like such an absent mother, wandering Paris, playing the piano and drinking with friends while the nanny cared for Bumby. Maybe that’s how things were done back then.

I admit I wasn’t always paying attention, because I was so bored, but I never learned why Hadley & Ernest called each other “Tadie,” nor why she called him “Tiny” and he called her “Cat.”

The book does explain why they called their son Bumby: because he had a big (bumpy?) head as an infant. What the book does not explain is: what kind of people decide to call their son Bumby??? ...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, historical-fiction, romance, women

I like this book but I feel depressed after finishing it. You can't help but hate Hemingway a little bit after reading this book. Geniuses have their flaws - and for Hemingway, it was the woman. But I hate Hadley a little bit too, for her love that was too much, and I considered it as a weakness. Anyway, the book is great. As long as you don't have to think too much about all the real people in it. ...more

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May 05, 2011 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club-dm

Three and a half stars. I highly recommend reading A Moveable Feast first. ...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Erin (NY) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, romance, historical-fiction, read-in-2014

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!

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Jul 28, 2022 Paula rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! It’s put me on a rabbit hole of learning all I can about Hemingway, his life, his loves, his famous friends, etc
So excited to read and learn more! Highly recommend!

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