The Librarian

I finished The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain, over a week ago, but every time I think of it my throat constricts, my eyes get smudgy, and I realise I'm still a little bit heartbroken. The story, written as fiction, and told in the voice of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway's first wife, is based on known facts about their relationship. It's a love story, but as far as love stories go, it's pretty devastating. Hadley and Ernest meet at a party in Chicago, when he is only 21, and she six years older. Each carrying sadnesses and baggage, they fall in love. They marry and move to Paris, where, spurred on by new friends such as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, Hemingway begins to make tentative steps towards fiction writing. They become parents, he becomes famous, and they come apart. I cried. x Library Girl PS I feel abit guilty. I got a recommendation for this book from a friend, and rushed out to get it from the library. Somehow, in doing so, I actually p...

I should get this out in the open...I'm what they call a 'francophile'. It sounds a bit dinosaury but it's not. It's just that I'm mad on France. Anything French. The scenery, the language, the food, all those little churchy churches - I just love it all. So, I will pick up any book that promises a bit of a window into French life. I'm here to tell you there have been a few...but I have my favourites, and today I'm going share them with you, because even if you're not dinosaury-french-mad, I think you'll enjoy these books. My Life in France by Julia Child was definitely my 'book of the year' last year, because as well as being set in my fave part of the world, Julia Child is one inspiring woman! And such a nice love story too. It's a goodie. Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard is a light memoir written by an American girl who fell in love with a French boy and lived with him in Paris. This wasn't my all-time fave, but it wa...