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)

Disappointed with content

Even though the book is vey well written, exciting even, at first... I was disappointed with the longing of the middle of the book which became hard for me to finish listening to.

Interesting

Learning about the dynamics of his relationship with his wife was interesting. How they justified some of the things in their marriage.

A lovely historical fiction.

An interesting historical fiction which provides insight on Ernest Hemingway's literary beginnings from the perspective of Hemingway's first wife. This book weaves the life of the Hemingways with other literary geniuses and artists of his time.

A True and Fine Love Story

This story is the truth about two real people who loved each other... Or it seems like the truth, anyway. I loved Hadley and Earnest and their story. I knew the facts of their lives beforehand, so I knew exactly what to expect,but I loved their story nevertheless.
The audio production was magnificent. I hope I can listen to more of the narrator's recordings. If you are a Hemingway reader, this is a must.

A glimpse into a life

An interesting view into interesting lives. The flawed human story is compelling and heart breaking.

fascinating, well read story draws you in.

What did you love best about The Paris Wife?

Story well written and executed. Very interesting. couldn't put in down. Narrator perfect for this story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hadley. she is strong and flawed and believable.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first time she and Ernest dance at the party in Chicago.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I wasn't sure if this book would be interesting, but I was so pleasantly surprised. It hooked me from the start.

Excellent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Great story, enjoyable, insightful, honest and real. I lived and felt Hadley and Ernest's relationship and learned more about life in the process. I don't want more from a novel.

Great read!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it to someone who is interested in turn of the century novels. Great Gatsbyesque.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Paris Wife?

The death of hadley's parents.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they made love before the wedding.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I love listening to books while cook. Poured myself a glass of wine and baked some zucchini bread, followed by some fritters and spaghetti Filipino style :)

Any additional comments?

Hadley herself is quite nondescript but everyone else brings the book alive.

A love story.

Because it was Hemingway, the story was all too predictable and familiar. How would any of his wives feel and react against him but the one presented here? Therefore the book held little interest for me.

What a stinker Hemingway was.

Would you listen to The Paris Wife again? Why?

Unlikely, as there are so many others to read.

If you could take any character from The Paris Wife out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would like to have dinner with Hadley,s second husband.

Any additional comments?

No.