The Paris Wife by Paula McLainMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I do believe Hemingway would roll over in his grave had he ever caught sight of this book much less read it....I kidd... maybe. I tried - really tried- to like this book seeing as it got some raved reviews and seeing as how much I am intrigued by Hemingway, esp after reading A Moveable Feast; HOWEVER I felt as if 1) the characters were flat 2) Hadley as narrator was inconsistent, one moment loving Hemingway and the next hating her life and while I understand a thwarted woman must feel this way, I didn't feel as if I could relate to her or believe her. I wish the author did more with that. 3) The narration killed me. We were in Hadley's head most of the time and sometimes it was boring/ a little romance novelish 4) The author pretty much ripped off a bunch of stuff from Hemingway's works, I understand that it is based on actual events but having read Hemingway it felt unoriginal. I really don't mean to sound like a hater and there were some brilliant moments in this book. I especially like the line, I wish I had the book so I could quote it, where Hemingway doesn't feel like anything is true unless he tells Hadley but is torn when he realizes the truth about his affair will break her heart twice due to the fact that he is having an affair with her best friend; but I can list those moments on one hand. I finished it b/c I wanted to see how Paula would handle it all and found myself unmoved by the novel as a whole.
I tend to agree with your assessment of Hadley (she grates) although I don't judge the novel as a whole quite so harshly. I also find the novel's Hemingway to be abrasive (which may be true to real life form) and completely unsympathetic. None of the characters seemed likable to me but, having listened to the audiobook rather than read it, I didn't struggle to finish it.
ReplyDeleteI was inspired to reread Hemingway while listening to this novel due to the extensive quotes. If Paula is an uber fan of Hemingway, she accomplished that much but I am still not a fan myself.
I also did some research on Hemingway's life and found that to be an interesting complement to the novel.
I like learning so that's a plus. ;)