The Paris Wife

This is a lovely book. It manages to feel exactly like a real autobiography, being told in the first person from the Paris Wife's perspective, although it is in fact a novel. The insights into the artistic mind - ruthless, arrogant, driven, slightly mad - of Hemmingway are very well drawn. Was she a 'doormat', or a muse, or the person who made his career possible? All three, probably. Did he love, use or abuse her? Again, all three, I felt.

I am loving this book, it is a fascinating insight into the literary world of the 1920s. It has inspired me to read mpore of the novels of the authors who inhabit Hadley's world. At first I thought that the voice of the narrator would irritate but she did an excellent job. Great read.

I have to admit it took me a while to get into this book. I listened to the first couple of chapters and gave up as I thought it was boring and I just could'nt get in to it. I went back to it after a month and then I got in to it. It's okay not great. The narrator sounds like the actress Candice Bergin I could imagine to some people her voice could be annoying but I was okay with it.

This has my 5 stars largely thanks to the superb narration, I loved the range of voices that Carrington MacDuffie brings to the dialogue, quite a range of characters, both male and female, and all of them felt right, many of them captivating, particularly Zelda Fitzgerald, 'Duff' and rather unexpectedly, Papa himself.

Very long winded and highly repetitious, this reads more like a biograph. If you want to know about Paris in the twenties, read George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London" - which is fun...!! Yhis is really about a group of self referential egoists living out their cliquey ambitions, I am sorry but it was dull.

I really enjoyed this book it sounded very much like an autobiography until Hemmingways voice was also heard - heady times entertainingly described. I too wished that Hadleigh hadn't appeared to be such a doormat - she certainly suffered for his art! But I daresay it reflected the culture at that time. It inspired me to read Hemmingways memoirs of his time in Paris. The narration was excellent (apart from dodgy irish accent!). On the whole a very enjoyable listen.

This audio book was a wonderful listen, a fantastic snap shot of the relationship between avant-garde France and America in the period between the two wars, and an engaging tale of love and heartbreak. The book is both a real tear jerker and compellingly romantic, yet achieves this without compromising any quality of writing.

The only downside to the book is that the main female appeared somewhat weak in character considering the plot of the story, but this is not a comment on the writing as such, which I felt was wonderful, more that I would have liked her to have just a little more fight.

All in all a good listen and strongly recommended.

I loved this book, one of my all time favourites, the 1920s impeccably brought to life by the beautiful narration of Carrington MacDuffie, I felt she really was 'The Paris Wife'.