Bonjour!

The Paris Wife, written by Paula McLane and published in 2011 is one of my favorite books of all time.  The reason I am writing about it for this blog post is because to me, it is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read.  The Paris Wife follows the story of Earnest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  The novel is partly based on true events, which makes it an even neater read!  I love reading any kind of historical fiction, and this book fits the bill.  I feel as if the author portrays the feelings of Hadley so accurately.  I just get so enveloped in her emotions that I cannot ever put the book down.  Even though the thoughts of the author are not the thoughts of Hadley, the story is still intriguing.  I usually get very attached to literary characters, but I don’t think I have ever connected to someone as much as Hadley.     

I first read this book after I had read lots of Hemingway for school.  Hemingway is hard to grasp at first, but I soon came to love his writing.  I enjoyed how clean and crisp his writing style is.  Because I was so interested in Hemingway when I first read The Paris Wife, it was like a collision of worlds in my head and I totally loved it. I was luckily in the right place at the right time so my enjoyment of the book was about 10 times higher had I read it before actually reading any Hemingway.  I have a great appreciation for the author and the fact that she tackled and fictionalized the personal life of such a literary giant.

I enjoy a love story just like any other girl.  To me, I feel as if The Paris Wife captures real aspects of love and loss.  I can say that this story doesn’t have a happy ending without completely giving the plot away.  What I really liked about this book is the fact that a good novel didn’t have to end typically with the boy and the girl living happily ever after.  The outcome of Hadley and Ernest was a real thing, and I appreciated that the author portrayed life so accurately.  This book means a lot to me because I was able to invest so emotionally in it.  I intend to read it again and again!