The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

 

It's been quite a break in between posts this time around! I have been reading a little, but mostly I've been relaxing and enjoying my summer before the hustle and bustle of the academic year begins again. I am still here, however, and getting back on track with blogging now. I read The Paris Wife  back in June and wrote most of this review. However, I never ended up wrapping it up and posting it. I finally got around to it today!

In keeping with my tradition as of late, I picked up The Paris Wife simply because it was the next book on top of my to-be-read stack. I've had this one on my shelf for ages, but I don't often reach for historical fiction, so I never ended up picking it up. Plus, the plot of this one centers around Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife. Hemingway is probably the most famous author I know nothing about, so I also hesitated to pick this one up because I wasn't sure if I would be able to appreciate it without having any background knowledge. The rules of the stack are the rules of the stack though--I read whatever is next on it. The Paris Wife was next, so I gave it a try.

As I mentioned, this novel is a fictionalized account of Hadley Richardson and her marriage to Ernest Hemingway. The story is told almost entirely from Hadley's point of view and begins right around when she first meet Ernest while staying with friends in Chicago in 1920. The pair are drawn to each other right away and maintain a long-distance relationship through letters after Hadley returns home at the end of her trip. The distance between them does nothing to dampen their feelings and eventually they get married. Their early life together is quite difficult--Ernest is struggling to make it as a writer, money is extremely tight, and Ernest's PTSD from his time serving in WWI periodically throws him into serious bouts of depression. Hadley is determined to help him make it though, and they move to Paris so that he can be close to the developing literary scene there. Through the mentoring of figures like Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, Ernest finally begins making some progress in his writing. Troubles are lurking on the horizon, however, and soon a secret will be revealed that will change Hadley and Ernest's relationship forever.

I ended up really loving The Paris Wife, and I was not expecting to feel that way. McLain's writing was slow paced and elegant. Reading it really made me feel like I was in 1920s Paris with all of its glamour, rusticity, and ugliness coming out at the right times. The details were well chosen and beautifully described. This was a lovely novel to fall into and escape, and I came to regard my reading time with it as a special treat. A lot of the historical fiction I read is centered around some type of large-scale tragedy, like wars or scandals, but this was a much smaller and quieter type of story. I appreciated the more private vibes I got with this one.

McLain's character development was similarly excellent. She wrote Hadley in a way that felt relatable and genuine, and I developed a lot of empathy for her throughout the novel. I was worried about not knowing much about Hemingway before starting this, and it turned out that I really didn't need to because this is Hadley's story, through and through. I'm sure there are references to things sprinkled throughout that went over my head, but I never felt like I was missing anything at any point. 

So in the end, The Paris Wife was a nice surprise for me. I went into it not expecting much and came out with a lovely reading experience. I felt like I got a peek into the past and learned a little bit about a famous author from a different perspective. Funnily enough, this book did not make me want to actually read something by Ernest Hemmingway. He was a very troubled man who hurt a lot of people, but I know that's true of a lot of authors. I'm sure I'll eventually come around and give him a try. This book, however, I would definitely recommend to anyone. 

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 11/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 8/24