historical fiction
The Paris Wife describes the brief love story and marriage
of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.
This fictional account told from Hadley’s point of view is a
slice of life story from the time Ernest and Hadley met until their divorce.
It was filled with romance, tension, and some juicy details which kept me
engaged for the most part. It was tough
to read the tragedy of Hemingway’s wandering eye in the midst of friends who
were, apparently, of a time and place where philandering was the norm. The amount of time that was allowed to pass
without him being held accountable for Hadley’s unhappiness felt interminable. Although,
it is true that Hadley had also done a few (un-premeditated) terrible things
for which Ernest had forgiven her. Mostly, I found their lifestyle fascinating—living
and vacationing in various spots in Europe for long chunks of time, attending
never-ending parties, drinking in excess, and hands-off motherhood norms from that era. They certainly
lived large with very little money. It was also very interesting to read about
Hemingway’s methods of writing and his drive for success. He had been friends
with many famous people but alienated many of them after a while. I appreciated Paula McLain's research and thought she did a good job bringing Hadley to life.
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