The Paris Wife

A Novel

By: Paula McLain

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

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 28-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 onto 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.

©2011 Paula Mclain (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“McLain smartly explores Hadley's ambivalence about her role as supportive wife to a budding genius.... Women and book groups are going to eat up this novel.” (USA Today)

“By making the ordinary come to life, McLain has written a beautiful portrait of being in Paris in the glittering 1920s - as a wife and one's own woman.... McLain's vivid, clear-voiced novel is a conjecture, an act of imaginary autobiography on the part of the author. Yet her biographical and geographical research is so deep, and her empathy for the real Hadley Richardson so forthright (without being intrusively femme partisan), that the account reads as very real indeed.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Written much in the style of Nancy Horan's Loving Frank ... Paula McLain's fictional account of Hemingway's first marriage beautifully captures the sense of despair and faint hope that pervaded the era and their marriage.” (Associated Press)

A hard listen.

The internal dialogue was so boring although the rather flat narration was a good match. It could have been a really great story, but fell very short.

Enjoyed the book, loved the narrator

I am an avid reader, but not a big Hemingway fan, so I didn't know what to expect from this novel. I found it to be a believable tale of "the wife behind the great man," told from the perspective of the wife. The author does an admirable job of creating suspense and action, even though the reader knows from the outset that separation and divorce and even worse await this loving couple. She also does a good job of giving life to the post-World War I lifestyle and culture of two expats with a thirst for adventure and the drive to seek it out.
As to the narrator, I disagree with those who have been critical of her. While I acknowledge that the "voice" she used for Hadley's direct quotes was too stereotypically high pitched and whiney, I thought she was a lovely reader, with an interesting "gruffness" for Hemingway and a calming style that made me look forward to my daily commute so that I could enjoy her calming voice. Bravo!

Thoroughly enjoyed this

If you liked Midnight in Paris and want to get a feel for the literary world of ex-pat Paris, then this novel is for you.

Loved It!!!

What did you love best about The Paris Wife?

It was exactly what I thought it would be and more.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Hemingway and the the way the story was told about him from Hadley's experience.

True to the lives of them both.

The Book was Wonderful - the audible version not so much

I read this book several years ago and absolutely loved it. So I was excited to listen to it now. Didn’t live the narration. It felt a bit stilted and took away from the story. Still a good listen - but I’d recommend reading this book rather than listening to it.

Quite a story

At the end, I was able to appreciate the beauty of every small detail woven in. Though, at times in the middle of the story the writing could feel simple. It was all part of putting you in the middle of it though - roll with it.

Great

Really great. Hemingway could have written it. I did think it was a little long for the actual story told…. Hemingway.

Loved this endearing story

A slow relaxing read and the narration was just perfect. I have never read a Hemingway book but I think they will be on my list next.

Wonderful novel, sad to read

I liked the perspective of the story being written from Hadley Hemmingway's point of view. As with many geniuses, Earnest Hemmingway was a troubled man and those around him were made to suffer too. Though this is a fictional autobiography, I found it to be enlightening and very enjoyable.

excellent story of its times

I thoroughly enjoyed this interesting portrait of Hemingway and of the artistic community of Americans in Paris in the post-World War I era. Told from an interesting perspective, it offers insights into the life of an important author and the early influences on his writing.