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Book Review of The Paris Wife

The Paris Wife
The Paris Wife
Author: Paula McLain
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 379 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5


It is not surprising that Nancy Horan enthusiastically endorses this book since it is remarkably similar to her book, Loving Frank, about Frank Lloyd Wright. Both FLW and Ernest Hemingway were driven to succeed at any cost, and both were amazingly oblivious to the needs of everyone in their lives.

Hadley Hemingway was a victim of her obsession with Ernest and lived in his shadow until he tired of her. It is difficult to feel empathy for someone who so willingly subjugated herself to her husband, and I was incredulous about what she endured at the end of their marriage when Pauline became the third member of their marriage.

The seemingly dissolute lifestyle of the generation of writers who lived in Paris during the 1920s was lamentable because their excesses took precedence over their literary talents. I found the recounting of these excesses eventually became tiresome, and I simply couldnt summon much interest in what happened to Ernest or Hadley. Although fictionalized, this book apparently is an accurate reflection of Hemingways first marriage