The Paris Wife

The Paris Wife

By Paula McLain

I found a great he said/she said pair of books.  Published after Ernest Hemingway’s death, A Moveable Feast is his memoir of his experience starting as a writer in 1920’s Paris, with his wife Hadley Richardson.  It was put together by his fourth wife, Mary Welsh, who edited his personal manuscripts and notes containing his observations and stories.  The Paris Wife is a fictionalized account of these same Paris years as told in fiction by Paula McLain as if this is Hadley’s memoir.

The time period and characters are very well researched.  In an interview Paula McLain said, “I first came to know Hadley in the pages of A Moveable Feast. His reminiscences of Hadley were so moving that I decided to seek out biographies of her life—and that's when I knew that I'd found something special. Her voice and the arc of her life were riveting. She's the perfect person to show us a side of Hemingway we've never seen before—tender, vulnerable, and very human—but she's also an extraordinary person in her own right.”

The author takes the time to weave her story from before Hadley meets Hemingway, so that what shaped her character and personality are well understood by the reader.  The writing is entertaining, and each of the characters’ feelings comes across so intensely that you are drawn to them.  You’ll find this book hard to put down.  It’s written as if a friend is confiding in you all her hopes, desires, and fears, as well as sharing all her joys.

In this book you also encounter all the other writers and friends that Ernest Hemingway describes in his memoir, including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.  You read Ernest Hemingway’s impressions of these people as expressed to Hadley, but also you get Hadley’s feelings about each of these friends, and her insights into how they all interacted.

The author successfully paints a picture of the excitement, fervor, temptations, and creative energy of this Jazz Age period.  You can vividly imagine the conversations and scenes of these larger than life people.  You’ll be captivated by the evolution of the Hemingways’ relationship that was a profound first love.  It was so interesting to get to know Hadley’s warm sense of humor and personable charms, through this author.  You’ll also see a different dimension of Ernest Hemingway that is not often described in his legend.  As the author said, “The myth and reputation of the later Hemingway—all swagger and feats of bravery—stands in sharp contrast to his twenty-something self, and makes him all the more fascinating to me. He had incredibly high ideals as a young man, was sensitive and easily hurt. Hadley often spoke of his ‘opaque eyes,’ which showed every thought and feeling. She would know in an instant if she'd wounded him, and then feel terrible. That vulnerability alone will surprise many readers, I think.”

"The more I see of all the members of your sex," Ernest Hemingway wrote to Hadley in 1940, "the more I admire you." She remained untainted in his mind, an ideal that persisted and reminded him that the best luck and truest love he'd ever had he found with her.

Thereby hangs a tale . . .

Linda Evans' Savory Recipes for Life

Recipes for Life,
by Linda Evans
Start with a large serving of a lifetime of memories including appearances around the world, interesting stories with friends, including many other celebrities, and loves of her life. Season it with many vibrant pictures that spice up the stories. Then sprinkle that with the author’s favorite recipes, as well as some recipes shared by her celebrity friends. Finally, stir in a great sense of humor, and then you’ll feast on this savory memoir by award-winning actress Linda Evans.

The stories about her life and her celebrity friends are treats. You’ll get to know about Linda Evans, and also gain glimpses into other famous people’s lives and characters. It all begins with her childhood and her interesting parents who moved to Hollywood. How funny to find out that at 15, she worked as an usherette at the Paramount Theater in Hollywood, where year’s later her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was placed right outside.

I really enjoyed this memoir. I was interested in the change from jobs to career, friends she shares good and bad times with, and stories about the men in her life, her romantic loves. With Linda, love doesn’t end because a relationship does. Her loves are intense and long lasting, and so are her friendships.

The woman she is, her lifetime of experiences, the people and events who have influenced her, and she’s not done yet! Early on, Barbara Stanwyck had an influence during The Big Valley days. Known as “Missy,” Stanwyck was an adviser and an advocate, a living example, and a dear friend. The author notes how Barbara Stanwyck always treated her fans well and made time to meet them because she appreciated them. I can tell you by my experience that Linda Evans is the same way. I was fortunate to meet her at one of her book signings, and the line to meet her was epic. She took time with each person and was so gracious.

There’s so much I learned about Linda Evans, including how much she loves to cook and plan wonderful meals with family and friends. The recipes included each relate to the life story being told in the chapter. Delicious! Some are the favorite recipes that were shared by the author’s friends, for example John Wayne’s favorites shared by his wife Pilar.
From her beginnings in Connecticut, then the family move to Hollywood, to her discovery of a beautiful life here in Washington state, the author has stayed gracious and remarkable. From her big break with “The Big Valley” to the drama of “Dynasty,” she has remained delightful. And from what I’ve read, I think everyone needs a friend like her fun-loving Bunky.

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .

Linda Evans and me at her book signing

Once Upon a Project, an empowering reunion read

Once Upon A Project, by Bettye Griffin
It’s an invitation to a different kind of reunion. Its 50 years since the opening of the Chicago housing project, and one of the former residents wants to celebrate their past community. Many of the former residents come, spanning generations. This book focuses primarily on four women who grew up in the project as best friends. They halfheartedly kept in sporadic contact as busy adults, and now reunite as each is turning 50 years old. Each woman faces this milestone with different challenges on her horizon.

A clear message in this novel is that in life’s journey where you end up is not determined by where you begin. You plot your own path in life and make your way with dreams and persistence. Still, life has a way of throwing obstacles right across that path you’ve plotted. Once reunited, the four best friends feel their bond again as they help each other through decisions and circumstances they are facing.

Elyse and Franklin, her husband of 27 years, have just seen the last of their kids leave for college. They are looking forward to this chapter in their lives when they can have fun together and rekindle the couple they’ve been. Thirteen years her senior, Franklin is slowing down and has been disappointing Elyse by cancelling activities at the last minute due to fatigue. Is he losing interest and lazy, or is there something seriously wrong?
On the surface Susan appears to have an idyllic marriage and wealthy life. She has kept hidden from her friends her ordeal with breast cancer. She has survived, to find that her husband hasn’t been able to cope with what she’s gone through. Her marriage is faltering. At the reunion she sees a former flame and she starts to wonder if there’s more to life for her than this stale marriage.

Grace is a very successful and exciting executive. She travels all over the world and lives an eventful life in Chicago. Her focus is on herself, and she likes it that way. Twice divorced, is it her wild success that intimidates men and complicates her relationships? She does get lonely and doesn’t like the idea of growing old alone. Does she have to compromise her career, or her relationship aspirations?

After losing the love of her youth due to family conflicts, Pat never found another serious love in her life. She is surrounded by lots of friends and colleagues in her very full life, but she regrets what she lost. He is now married for the second time, and never to her. She is still pining for him and wishing for destiny to bring them somehow together. At the reunion, she’s also reacquainted with an old friend from her law school days. Can she let herself plot a new path? Can this opportune meeting turn into a head-over-heels romance so late in her life?

You’ll enjoy following the dramatic turns and choices these ladies make. You’ll be hoping for the best for each of them and wondering what will happen next. You’ll want to contact some of your old friends that you knew once upon a time, and you’ll remember to cherish the friends you’ve kept near.

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .