Hemingway

OK.  Hemingway thoughts....
First, for those of you (and you know who you are) who only read half of "The Paris Wife" I would suggest finishing it.  I think Michelle and Julie would concur, yes?  It does get a bit boring.  We all know the divorce is looming.  Not a whole lot of stuff happens.  But some how, at the end, you'll like the book.  I closed it with a very satisfied feeling, and immediately checked out "A Moveable Feast" by the late great Tatie himself.

The whole lifestyle they lead - cafes and absinthe and ski chalets and bull fighting - was thrilling.  Not sure how they did it on $3000 a year, or how they afforded that wonderful housekeeper/nanny once Bumby came along, but let it be a lesson to us all.  Live life to the fullest!

Hadley was a sad character a times, but at the end I didn't feel sorry for her.  Her and Hemingway's romance and marriage was real and true I think, so the fact that it fizzled out when he came into his fame isn't depressing, just expected.  Paula McLain does a good job of piecing together a fictionalized story from what is probably a well known and well documented relationship.

For anyone who may have caught the Hemingway bug... I have some suggestions.  "A Moveable Feast" is fun to check out after "The Paris Wife".  It's Hemingway's take on those days in Paris and gives an inkling of his style.  "The Sun Also Rises" would of course be another good choice after McLain's book, but my favorite novel has to be "For Whom the Bell Tolls".  If you want something shorter, just a taste of the man himself, you can't go wrong with "The Old Man and the Sea".  Or pick up a collection of his short stories.  I like his African ones the best probably - "Snows of Kilimanjaro", "Hills like White Elephants", "The Short and Happy Life of Francis Malcomber", etc.  But he has great war time ones too like "The Old Man at the Bridge".   I do have a collection of his short stories if anyone wants to borrow it :-)

Happy reading!