Title: The Paris Wife  

Author: Paula McLain  

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 314

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 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 her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

Review:

This book was way more emotional than I thought it would be! I was excited to read the story of Ernest Hemingway and his wife in Paris and their experiences. I love stories that take place in the early 20th century Paris, and Ernest Hemingway is a person I haven’t studied a ton, even though I’ve read a couple of his works. And I never realized how sad his story really was!

Paula McLain really encapsulated the emotion felt in the relationship between Hemingway and his wife. The love and turbulent times they experienced was written beautifully and I really enjoyed reading this roller coaster of a book. It’s tough to say anything else about the plot as I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you are looking for an emotional read, then I definitely recommend this. The only part I didn’t like is I felt like the middle of the book carried on a little too lit and I felt myself losing interest, but then it picked right back up near the end! Overall a great read!!

Happy reading!