Heather's books

Sarah's Key
Room
Rainwater
The Help
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Lightning Thief
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Notebook
Eat, Pray, Love
The Time Traveler's Wife
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


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Thursday, July 4, 2013

A disappointing book club selection

The Paris Wife

The Paris Wife

By: Paula McLain

Genre: fiction

Pages: 314

Published: 2011

Read: June

2 out of 5 stars

I choose to read this book as a selection for the book club, in which I am the moderator. It is highly recommended by several women. It turned out to be one of my least favorite novels I have chosen in the last year and a half. The premise sounded very intriguing being an historical fiction about a love affair between Ernest Hemingway and a friend’s wife during his first marriage (he later married three more times).  The first 3/4th of the story, I found extremely boring with not much happening.  Narrated by his wife, Hadley, she tells how Hemingway began his career as a successful prolific author.  Although I thought this would be a great storyline, it lasted to long and dragged on, plus only a very small description of the beginning of his success. The last third was when the climax and excitement occurred with the actual affair and deterioration of their marriage. Similar to Loving Frank by Nancy Horan this novel surfaces around a known famous historical presence in the world and then discredits his “nice guy” image.  Although I know several women who absolutely loved this novel, I would recommend Loving Frank and bypass The Paris Wife.


Surprisingly, I could not find a personal website for Paula McLain.

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