Write your own review!
Bea C. (Liberty Lake, WA)
(12/03/10)
Early Hemingway: Behind The Scenes
The first part of this book (about 130 pages) is about the courtship and first years of marriage of Hemingway and his first wife, before he became a known writer, and I found it kind of boring. Then I got to part where she takes all of his original manuscripts with her on a trip to meet him somewhere in Europe, then finds the valise, in which she has placed the sum total of his writing to that point, is missing. It is such a shocking moment that it jolted my interest to keep reading just to find out if she finds it. This book gives a behind the scenes view of Hemingway's life while he was writing some of his early books, and the reality was surprisingly close to the fictional books. It made me want to read his books that I missed and re-read the ones I read so long ago. I would recommend this book to Hemingway lovers.
Mary S. (Pinson, AL)
(12/02/10)
The Paris Wife
I loved reading this novel about the courtship and marriage of Hemmingway to his first wife, Hadley, as told through Hadley’s eyes. Paris in the twenties was an exciting time and Ernest and Hadley’s literary friendships with Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald make this a very interesting story. My only knowledge of Hemmingway until now has been required reading; For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms, but after Paula McLain’s novel I want to read A Moveable Feast, Hemmingway's memoirs of this time.
Marion T. (Palatine, IL)
(12/02/10)
The Paris Wife
I really enjoyed reading this book. Paris in the 20's with all the noteworthy friends of Hadley & Earnest came to life. A different time and different life. This book reminded me of "Loving Frank" in the way it told the story of the first wives of important people of the time. I will recommend this for my book clubs.
AzKate (Glendale, AZ)
(11/29/10)
The Paris Wife
While I liked the book, I didn't LOVE the book. To me the characters were flat and stiff with the exception of Ernest who came away as a most selfish man. I felt deeply sorry for Hadley and her life with Hemingway.
Leann A. (Springfield, IL)
(11/29/10)
The Paris Wife
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. Something was missing. The facts were there, but I never quite connected with the main character, Hadley. I did, however, enjoy reading about "The Lost Generation"--American Expats in 1920s Paris. That alone was worth the read.
Jill S. (Chicago, IL)
(11/22/10)
Mesmerizing Inner Look at Hemingway's First Marriage
Before Earnest Hemingway was ERNEST HEMINGWAY -- one of the most revered, studies, analyzed and parodied authors of American literature -- he was a young man with a burning talent, staking his claim to a bright future. And part of this future included Hadley Richardson, his first wife, a woman who was his equal in many ways -- a risk-taker, adventurer, copious drinker. Paula McLain sympathetically captures her voice in this highly addictive, page-turning debut. She pushes deep in to the lives of her characters while remaining true to the facts. I found this to be a fascinating book, which has compelled me to re-read Hemingway's Moveable Feast (which also examines those years). Recommended highly for any Hemingway fan or anyone who is seeking an in-depth look at a complicated marriage in the 1920s.
Marie
(11/15/10)
Great portrait of the young Hemingay
This book is a great companion to A PORTRAIT OF HEMINGWAY AS A YOUNG MAN, Jerome Tuccille’s hilarious parody of Hemingway and Hadley during the same period, Paris in the 1920s. Cry over Paula McLain’s novel, and then enjoy a few laughs with Tuccille’s spoof of Hemingway.