Even if you’ve never been able to get through one of Earnest Hemingway’s novels (and I confess I haven’t), this book about his relationship with first wife Hadley Richardson still fascinates. Hadley is neither confident nor glamorous but she is kind and loyal, and she and her husband share an unshakeable belief in his brilliance. This belief sustains them through some desperately poor times in 1920’s Paris, but Ernest’s eventual success lures him further and further away from Hadley. Apparently Hadley bore no grudges, made a good second marriage and kept in touch with Earnest for the rest of his life, while he became more and more lost, eventually committing suicide. This book paints an amazing picture of their life in Paris and brings home just how much he lost when he let go of her. Quite beautiful.
