Monday, June 27, 2011

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Have you heard the song "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson?

That's how I'd describe the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. This relationship is detailed in a fictionalized account based on true events in the book The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. I don't know that it really mattered to my enjoyment of the story that this was based on true events, or that it was about the Hemingways - I'm not a particular fan of Hemingway's work. Really I just picked it up because I'd heard good things and it was high on the bestsellers list.

I read a quote somewhere that said Ernest had said of Hadley after their marriage ended (sorry, but I don't count that as a spoiler given that it's widely known that Hemingway had 4 wives and Hadley was the first) something along the lines of wishing that he'd not lived long enough to love anyone other than her. I thought that was such a tragically romantic thing to say, so I had to find out what happened in their story. I think that's how I'd describe the whole book - tragically romantic. Melancholy. How else can a love story be when you know it's going to come to an end? I think I just wanted to find out how it happened.

The book is wonderfully written. It really sucks you in. It makes you feel wistful and nostalgic. It would be perfect to read on a rainy Sunday, but there haven't been many of those in Baltimore lately and I enjoyed it just the same :) McLain sketches the characters clearly and powerfully. It's not light reading, but it's not heavy either. It moves quickly, and it's not hard to understand. It's dramatic and engaging.

The thing is, for all the melancholy and the drama and the tragic romance, it's not a sad book per se. Maybe because I believe it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all - maybe that's the most accurate thing to say about Ernest and Hadley Hemingway as well as this book describing their relationship.

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