Title: The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Pages: 320
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345521315
This is clearly a
book club type book – written to generate discussion between women
about the value of marriage, the importance of trust and respect in a
relationship, and when to call it quits.
I struggled at first to
connect with the main character, Hadley Richardson, who became Ernest
Hemingway's first wife, known as the Paris wife because that is where
they lived for most of their marriage. This is not a biography of
Hadley, but rather it is classified as a historical fiction. The
author researched Hadley's life, read the letters between Hadley and
Hemingway, and then imagined what their lives together might have
been like. Hadley is portrayed as mousy, insecure and struggling to
fine her own purpose in life. She is totally dedicated to
Hemingway's career, but doesn't feel like she fits into his circle of
friends. After losing Hemingway's packet of written stories, the
bond between them is broken, as Hemingway no longer trusts Hadley,
and the rest of the book is the slow moving train wreck of their
marriage, as Hemingway has an affair with a mutual friend, who
eventually becomes his second wife.
I guess people speculate about
Hemingway's true feelings and regret about Hadley, because his last
story before he died was in tribute to her. The story also explores
the difficulties Hemingway had as revolutionary writer.There is a brief explanation from the author about why and how she wrote the book along with a list of book club questions. In many ways, I found Hadley much like Bella (in the Twilight series - yes I read it, I'm a middle school teacher). Both were in love with volatile men, didn't understand their effect on people, and didn't feel worthy of being with the men or included in their circles. (And both are whiny.) However, from reading this book, I am more interested in learning about the real Hadley and hope to pick up some of the real biographies to see how close the historically documented one is to the fictional one.
