The Paris Wife

Have just finished reading The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, and found it intriguingly enjoyable after a bumpy start.

It's one of those 'faction' books - books based on a real event, in this case the marriage of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson, and then fleshed out to create a story.

The book begins with the two characters meeting in the early 1920s, falling in love and then moving to Paris. Hemingway isn't yet published and the story weaves around his writing, their relationship and people they mix with, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda.

The reason it took me a little longer than expected to warm to the book was because I found the Hadley Richardson of the book, frankly, quite wet. Whether she really was or not, I have no idea, obviously, but her prime reason for existing seemed to be to bolster Hemingway. But I went with it and ended up quite admiring her.

It's the sort of book to read tucked up in bed with a cup of tea and an iPhone, purely to reference Wikipedia when a bit of background is required.

Have a lovely weekend. x