The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

I've had a love/hate relationship with Ernest Hemingway since reading The Sun Also Rises in eleventh grade, which is admittedly more than twenty years ago now. I even made the requisite pilgrimage to Key West and goosbumps when I saw the desk in the loft where E.H. wrote.  As a teenager, I was both star struck and frustrated by reading A Farewell to Arms. I believed then in the importance of happy endings for couples who were in love. It was only as I grew older that I came to recognize what a hopeless misogynist E.H. truly was. In my opinion, his female characters are invariably two dimensional. I always thought he was rather cruel with Lady Brett Ashley, in the same way that Shakespeare was with Cressida. Lady Brett sort of fails to be sympathetic and in the end comes accross as merely a promiscuous, self deceiving slut. When I was young, I thought that if Jake had been able, then it might have worked out between them. But as a mature woman, I know that Lady Brett was too set in her ways to change even if Jake had not been wounded.

So, who was Hadley Richardson and did she even matter in the story of Hemingway or in his stories? About Hadley, E.H. once said "I wish I had died before I ever loved anyone but her" and "he looked back at his marriage to Hadley as the happiest time of his life." However, in the novel, in what should be the heady, romantic early days of the relationship. Hemingway comes accross as a complete narcissist. Everything in this couples'  lives is for and about him. Still, I will admit to being impressed by the courage of this woman as depicted in the story. Think about how she travels to Paris to embark on the adventure of a lifetine with her new husband. There are red flags from the begining. E.H. always puts himself first. He rents a place where he can work apart from Hadley and his son. As a writer, this really struck me. You can put your craft first or your family. E.H. obviously chose the first. In his book On Writing, Stephen King describes how when he first achieved some success, he bought a huge, fancy desk. The desk sort of represented the importance of writing in his life. Later, King realized that it made the "work," as Hemingway put it, was more important than the people.

I enjoyed this book. Hadley is a gently brave and softly bold protagonist. I admired that she refused to remain the codependent victim of her husband's infidelity and narcissism.

The only part of this novel that annoyed me is when Hadley reflects on what a "lucky girl" she was to have had E.H. way back when, before success and his ego ruined him. I thought this was too pat. Was she really lucky? The man put her through hell. But I guess that the point for McLain is that the journey, the experience was worth the pain in the end.

Overall an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars.