I read The Paris Wife earlier this year for a book club and really enjoyed it, so when I found out the same author was writing another book about another one of Hemingway’s four wives I knew I had to read it. In addition to learning about Martha Gelhorn’s life and her relationship with Ernest Hemingway in Love and Ruin, I love that the reader also learns so much about history and the way of life at that time. Marty Gelhorn is a young writer and journalist when she walks into a bar in Key West with her mom and brother. The other patron at the bar is Hemingway and the rest is history.

I love, love, love this book. It is definitely a slower read for me than most other books. I feel like reading it is like an afternoon down a lazy river and the end of it finishes with low-level whitewater rapids. It feels as real as can be and makes me feel that McLain did the best job when researching for this book. Neither book paints Hemingway in a favorable light but it does feel really honest. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in Hemingway or lady adventurers, because she goes on some wild rides.

5/5 Stars