About The Book:
A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time—Paris in the twenties—and an extraordinary love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.
In Chicago in 1920, Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and finds herself captivated by his good looks, intensity, and passionate desire to write. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group of expatriates that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
But the hard-drinking and fast-living café life does not celebrate traditional notions of family and monogamy. As Hadley struggles with jealousy and self-doubt and Ernest wrestles with his burgeoning writing career, they must confront a deception that could prove the undoing of one of the great romances in literary history.
My Thoughts:
Hadley and Ernest Hemingway were considered a "celebrity" couple of their time, but "The Paris Wife" is so much more than just a story of a marriage. Paula McClain takes her readers back to the roaring 20's when it seemed anything was possible and any goal was acheivable. The world was recovering from the unimaginable destruction of World War I, and the Hemingways were right in the middle of the intellectual and artistic group of people that were introducing a lively new way of life through their words, their art and their music.
However McClain doesn't paint her tale in all rosy hues. Both Hadley and Ernest suffered from depression and irratic mood swings, conditions that would eventually led to the downfall of their storytale life together. One wonders if the couple's relationship would have survived today with the advances in mental health treatments, and what wondrous works Hemingway could have continued producing.
"The Paris Wife" is a fascinating read that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves history as well as a great romance. Just don't expect a happy-ever-after ending.
About The Author:
Paula McLain received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan and has been a resident of Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She is the author of two collections of poetry, as well as a memoir, Like Family, and a first novel, A Ticket to Ride. She lives in Cleveland with her family. You can visit Paula McLain’s website to learn more about The Paris Wife at http://www.pariswife.com/.
My good friend Kathy Patrick, who hosts the delightful new book review show, "Beauty and The Book," interviewed Paula recently. Here is a video of the show -
(Be sure to check out Kathy's other interviews with some of the top authors today at http://www.beautyandthebookshow.com/)
My thanks to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for including me on this blog tour, and to Ballantine Books for the review copy of the book. I was not compensated for my opinion.
