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)

Beautifully told!

The person that narrated this book was absolutely PERFECT for the part! I enjoyed every minute of it, even though it was a bit sad and tragic... Glad I read it! Very moving in unexpected ways!

Loved the story!

Loved this story about the young Hemingways and their exciting and turbulent time together, but I struggled with the narrator’s voice for Hadley. It seemed much too old for the young wife.

Narrator makes main character annoying

As read by the narrator, poor Hadley comes across as whiney, juvenile and someone I wouldn't wish on anyone--even E. Hemingway. Her "true and brave" statements were delivered in a Shirley Temple-esque style. Cute in a young child but from an adult? I have a feeling the narrator is the reason I ended the book with little sympathy for Hadley, but I'll need to wait awhile before I buy the book to confirm.

Not Even Slightly Interesting Dreary ExWife BS

I refuse to believe that anyone other than his Mother would have called Hemingway 'Ernest '.

The Paris Wife: A Novel

Would you listen to The Paris Wife again? Why?

No, I very rarely listen to a book twice. I already know the ending.

What did you like best about this story?

The drama, the way she describes the artists, friends, etc...

Which scene was your favorite?

The Lost Manuscripts....

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Angry, at the ignorance of the second wife, and of course him.

Any additional comments?

Excellent read, I have a tendency to fact-check when I read a book like this, and for the most part that I can see this author is "dead-on." I just downloaded Sara and Gerald Murphy's book "Everybody Was So Young." Talk about living the "beautiful life and trend setting," THEY WERE THE ONES THAT DID IT, AND YOU NEVER HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, DO YOU????

Nice read, good story

Worth the time to listen. Good narration, story and characters.
Enough fact to keep it interesting

could be better

I kept thinking that this story could be interesting but the narration was so bad, so amateur, that I had to stop listening.

Fantastic story!

I thought it was a beautiful love story and became lost in their lives instantly - the nights in Paris drinking absinthe, the ski and beach holidays all over Europe, the caviar and champagne in the afternoon with the Fitzgeralds, and their intellectual banter.. it all seemed just like it might have been. I missed their world when the book ended.. its been almost two weeks and I can still hear Carrington's voice in my head.. and I wish the story could have continued!

Learned something while being entertained.

This story inspired me to learn a little more about Hemmingway. I was fascinated by the story and then would do a little research to see if the events were true. I really enjoyed listening to this story.

Paris Wife: Papa's Girl

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator. Too much simper in the Wife's voice.

Would you be willing to try another book from Paula McLain? Why or why not?

Sure, I'd try another on because she obviously is talented and looks as though she has the chops to dig deeper than she did in this book.

What three words best describe Carrington MacDuffie’s voice?

Soft
Lilting
Refined

Did The Paris Wife inspire you to do anything?

No. But nothing inspires me to anything. Except maybe coffee.

Any additional comments?

Keep writing, Paula. Get a little grittier.