First thursday book club discussion questions the paris wife by paula mclain oct 3, 20, 2pm. Here are discussion questions to guide your reading. The hemingways spontaneously opt for paris over rome when the get key advice from sherwood anderson. The paris wife book club discussion synopsis youtube. The paris wife book club discussion questions arlenes. Reading guide for the paris wife by paula mclain discussion guide for book clubs. If there is a the paris wife sparknotes, shmoop guide, or cliff notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. Paula mclain is the author of the new york times bestselling novels, the paris wife and circling the sun. The paris wife random house readers circle deluxe reading group edition. Paula mclain new york times bestselling author new. Although ernest hemingways name is one of the things that would make you read this book, the main character really is hadley richardson his first wife and big love. Discussion questions when cecilia finds the letter addressed to her from her husband, to be opened only in the event of my death, she is tormented by the ethics of opening it. A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, the paris wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people.
Hadley richardson is a quiet twentyeightyearold who has all but given up on love and happiness. The the paris wife community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. I may be biased, but moms book nook is the best online moms book club youll find. As i read the first person narrative i felt frustrated at hadleys submissiveness to a selfish author and also admired her ability to see and believe in hemingways greatness.
The story of their romance and subsequent marriage is captured in the paris wife, a novel based on the true story of hemingways first wife. The paris wife by paula mclain book club discussion. Throughout the paris wife, hadley refers to herself as victorian as opposed to modern. Mclain decided to write from hadleys perspective after reading a moveable feast, hemingways account of his early years in paris. The paris wife is a 2011 historical fiction novel by paula mclain which became a new york times bestseller. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to.
Hadley richardson is a quiet twentyeightyearold who has all but given up on love and happinessuntil she meets ernest hemingway and her life changes forever. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will. She now introduces her latest title, love and ruin. As the pages turn, hadley engages us in her life with ernest until both the marriage and the story draw to a heartwrenching close. A novel topics for discussion paula mclain this study guide consists of approximately 48 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the paris wife. The paris wife tells the story of ernest hemingways marriage to hadley richardson, from its beginning to its end. This is a fictionalized account of ernest hemingways marriage to hadley.
There is a great group of questions in the back of the book about hadley so i. I highly recommend the paris wife for book club discussions, and i have a feeling that it is going to be a very popular choice over the next few years. The paris wife dives into hemingways first big love. Based on letters and biographies, and on hemingways own ample recollections of paris, the novel proceeds by. There is a reading guide available with twenty thoughtprovoking questions. Houghton mifflin harcourt, 2010 fiction 341 pages a deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, the paris wife captures a remarkable period of time paris in the twentiesand an extraordinary love affair between two unforgettable people. And to make your book club meeting extraspecial, there are also recipe ideas and hemingway inspired cocktails. The paris wife by paula mclain book club discussion questions. Hadley richardson is a quiet 28yearold who has all but given up on love and happiness until she meets ernest hemingway and her life changes forever. A moveable feast, ernest hemingway book club discussion. This is a fictionalized account of ernest hemingways marriage to hadley richardson written from mainly hadleys perspective. The paris wife raises fewer questions about hadleys thinking than it does about ms. Both chronicle the same time period and visit the same places and people.
It is a fictionalized account of ernest hemingways marriage to the first of his four wives, hadley richardson. Book club questions for the husbands secret by liane. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. It is well written, as far as the actual prose is concerned and is a fairly easy read. Whether accompanied by croissants or champagne, this delectable debut novel depicts the paris of the belle epoque and the present day with vibrant and stunning allure. Book club discussion questions this page gives you a full list of all the books featured on this site, split between fiction and non fiction. We try to provide as many as we can an in a timely manner on our discussion questions page, but most of the time discussion questions arent even available for books until it comes out in paperback. Theres a certain inevitability, then, about what happens in the paris wife. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Throughout the paris wife hadley refers to herself as victorian as opposed to modern. Based on historical events, michelle gables a paris apartment will entertain and inspire, as readers embrace the struggles and successes of two very unforgettable women.
One of the most wrenching scenes in the book is when hadley loses a valise containing all of ernests work to. Its hard to strike a balance between questions that are openended and inclusive, but not so broad that certain members ahem. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. We announce the book selection on the first monday of the month and discuss on the last monday of the month at. The paris wife is a richer and more provocative book than many. The paris wife summary and analysis free book notes. Please put your comments in for the paris wife book club discussion questions below in the comments area discussion questions. An 11yearold boy named michael boards a ship crossing the indian ocean and the suez canal. How do her early years prepare her to meet and fall in love with ernest. Did you enjoy the paris wife, and would you recommend this book. The paris wife by paula mclain the paris wife is written as a novel but tells the true story of ernest hemingways first marriage. How did hadleys initial feelings about paris differ from ernests and why. Our february pick for the pbs newshour new york times book club is meg wolitzers the wife. The author says that she was at great pains to make it as accurate as possible.
We meet in a private facebook group and chat about a new book every month. The paris wife book club discussion questions arlenes book club. The paris wife dives into hemingways first big love paula mclains new novel, the paris wife, tells the story of hadley richardson, ernest hemingways first wife and companion during his paris. The story begins in chicago where hadley had come to visit her friends kate and kelsey smith sister and brother who had a large apartment and rented out rooms to friends.
Sounds like life of pi, but in this tall tale form the seas, parts of the story are retold in his adult. Every book page contains useful information for your book group including book club questions. The paris wife, by paula mclain, is the story of hadley richardson and ernest hemingway during the years between 1920 and 1927. The paris wife, three years old, sits comfortably within the top 8,000 amazon books, and the top 30 of its genre. General book club questions for study and discussion. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Entertainment weekly a deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, the paris wife captures the love affair between two unforgettable people. The henna artist opens a door into a world that is at. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the paris wife random house readers circle deluxe reading group edition. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. This novel draws heavily on research, but it does so in confounding ways. About paula paula mclain is the author of the new york times bestselling novels, the paris wife and circling the sun.
Want to see these questions in action, and join a fun monthly online book club no awkward silences, promise. No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. After being abandoned by both parents, she and her two sisters became wards of the california court system, moving in and out of various foster homes for the next fourteen years. The paris wife is a fictionalised story of hemingways first years as a struggling writer in paris in the 1920s, told from the point of view of his first wife, hadley. New york times bestseller a beautiful portrait of being in paris in the glittering 1920sas a wife and as ones own woman. What was life like for them when they first arrived. And to make your book club meeting extraspecial, there are also. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. First thursday book club discussion questions the paris wife. Unfortunately, their time together was not all that long, as ernest being the bastard that he was, had an affair about 4 years into their marriage and ended up divorcing hadley to marry wife number two. The paris wife paula mclain, 2011 random house 320 pp. Part of mclains accomplishment in this origin story is to make us look again at the paris husband behind the paris wife. Freebooknotes found sites with book summaries or analysis of the paris wife. Paula mclain was born in fresno, california in 1965.
235 1198 1208 919 515 1088 494 1071 523 375 1134 325 1134 594 82 806 1180 1472 116 870 107 1422 178 1494 607 1442 1284 1228 240 1408 862 489 1465 1116 1018 609 63 1301