We all agreed that although the book was all about Hadley Hemingway, it was really a very shallow portrayal of her. We would have liked to have known more about Hadley herself, and what made her so attractive to Ernest Hemingway, and her many friends in Paris. Several topics, such as Ernest's depression, were mentioned in passing, but not really shown to the reader. The many suicides in Hadley's family and Ernest's family were not mentioned until the end of the book. Knowing more about their shared history of family tragedy earlier in the story may have helped explain the Hemingways' relationship and its many complications.
Although it doesn't directly relate to her time in Paris, a little during-book-group-Googling told us that Hadley and Ernest's grandchildren are Mariel and Margaux Hemingway. It seems like this might be something that Hadley would have bragged about, or at least hinted at.
All told, we found the story interesting, but wanted more.
Next up: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Still Reading: Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Still Listening to: The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman. I am really not liking this book, but don't really have time to get to the library to get another. I'm on disc 3 now, and I'm having a hard time looking forward to another 10 discs. Either it will pick up and I'll be back raving about it, or it will drive me crazy enough to give up on it, in which case I will be sure to tell you why.
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