BOOK REVIEW
Love and Ruin
Author: Paula McLain
Paula McLain has again presented us with a part-fiction account of life as one of the wives of Ernest Hemingway.
Martha Gellhorn was Hemingway’s third wife.
She was well known as a successful writer in her own right and more importantly as a war correspondent who covered major world conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to the Panama crisis. After stowing away on a hospital ship, she was the only female present at Omaha Beach during the Allied Normandy landings during World War 2.
Martha (or Marty, which was Hemingway’s name for her) met Ernest in Florida. They were staying at the same hotel and became instantly attracted to each other. Ernest, at the time, was married to his second wife, Pauline and had two sons from that marriage.
Ernest and Martha shared a common interest in writing and both their careers were ignited by their ‘union’ but when Ernest’s biggest literary success of his career, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was published, Martha felt that she had been somewhat ‘left behind’. And so she forged a path for herself and became a War Correspondent working for Colliers Magazine.
Martha’s absence from their idyllic home in Cuba became all too frequent for Ernest and, while he too was covering aspects of World War 2 in a journalistic fashion, he decided their marriage was no longer viable. Martha, on the other hand, was still very much in love with Ernest but could not relinquish her career for the sake of their marriage.
This story is captivating, heartbreaking and compelling reading.
McLain has once again introduced us to a character of strength but at the same time very human and vulnerable where we can identify with the love Martha had for Ernest and his sons and her concern for their well-being.
This is beautifully written and I applaud Paula McLain for such an amazing piece of writing.
ROSALIE HOWARTH
Author: Paula McLain
Paula McLain has again presented us with a part-fiction account of life as one of the wives of Ernest Hemingway.
Martha Gellhorn was Hemingway’s third wife.
She was well known as a successful writer in her own right and more importantly as a war correspondent who covered major world conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to the Panama crisis. After stowing away on a hospital ship, she was the only female present at Omaha Beach during the Allied Normandy landings during World War 2.
Martha (or Marty, which was Hemingway’s name for her) met Ernest in Florida. They were staying at the same hotel and became instantly attracted to each other. Ernest, at the time, was married to his second wife, Pauline and had two sons from that marriage.
Ernest and Martha shared a common interest in writing and both their careers were ignited by their ‘union’ but when Ernest’s biggest literary success of his career, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” was published, Martha felt that she had been somewhat ‘left behind’. And so she forged a path for herself and became a War Correspondent working for Colliers Magazine.
Martha’s absence from their idyllic home in Cuba became all too frequent for Ernest and, while he too was covering aspects of World War 2 in a journalistic fashion, he decided their marriage was no longer viable. Martha, on the other hand, was still very much in love with Ernest but could not relinquish her career for the sake of their marriage.
This story is captivating, heartbreaking and compelling reading.
McLain has once again introduced us to a character of strength but at the same time very human and vulnerable where we can identify with the love Martha had for Ernest and his sons and her concern for their well-being.
This is beautifully written and I applaud Paula McLain for such an amazing piece of writing.
ROSALIE HOWARTH
