Love and Ruin: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A powerful novel of the stormy marriage between Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, a fiercely independent woman who became one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century—from the author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark
“Romance, infidelity, war—Paula McLain’s powerhouse novel has it all.”—Glamour
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • New York Public Library • Bloomberg • Real Simple
In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. There she also finds herself unexpectedly—and unwillingly—falling in love with Ernest Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.
On the eve of World War II, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must forge a path as her own woman and writer.
Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.
“Romance, infidelity, war—Paula McLain’s powerhouse novel has it all.”—Glamour
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • New York Public Library • Bloomberg • Real Simple
In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. There she also finds herself unexpectedly—and unwillingly—falling in love with Ernest Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.
On the eve of World War II, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must forge a path as her own woman and writer.
Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.
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Community Reviews
Love and Ruin by Paula McClain tells the story of Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway's third wife - yes...third. If you don't already know much about Ernest, this book will shed some light on the "man" he was. I use the word man loosely because while he was a brilliant writer, everything I've ever read about him clearly indicates that he was a whiny, childish, self-absored prick. He possessed very few qualities that I believe a real man should possess - namely the fact the he was a philandering asshole, and no self-respecting man spends his time falling in love with other women while he's married. But, that's not really what Love and Ruin is about (although you learn a lot of this!). Love and Ruin is about another woman that loved this impossible man and how she poured everything she had into him and almost lost herself in the process.
Martha Gellhorn is a writer - she's a real woman as this novel is historical fiction - and on a trip to Key West with her mother and her brother stubmles into Ernest Hemingway's life. He's married to Pauline right now (wife #2 after Hadley - The Paris Wife - another amazing novel by McClain). He has two boys (three children total) and has somewhat settled down in Key West. After meeting Marty though, he finds a spark in her that seems to be missing from his life, and for her, he is her literary hero - her white whale - her giant of the page. And her fascination with him is real and binding.
He takes such an interest in her and her writing as she's recently published her first novel, too and acts as mentor until they both land in Spain covering the war with Franco; that's when mentoring ends and a torrid and long love affair begins.
McCain captures the essences of their tragic love that is reminiscent of Wuthering Heights to me - both characters are flawed, both are deeply disturbed, and both are dreadfully dependent on each other. Their relationship is painted as a series of desperate attempts to control one another under the guise of love and failing miserably. We watch as she loses herself in him and then as she attempts to regain the strength and passion she once had for writing, he steals away bits and pieces of her out of spite. I found myself in awe of and angry at them both! Her for loving a married man and pursuing a relationship with him with very little resistance, and him for...well, see everything I wrote above. BUT - there's also something uniquely dynamic about Martha Gellhorn and her gumption to persist against the odds, her love for Ernest no matter how destructive, her maternal passion for his children, and her eye for finding the story of real people during tumultuous times. McCain makes her both a hellion and a hero.
McCain's writing is flawless. She stirs the reader right from the prologue with forceful introspective ideas, "It may be the luckiest and purest thing of all to see time slow to a single demanding point. To feel the world rise up and shake you hard, insisting that you rise, too, somehow..." to giving the reader an understanding of hope with the design of "...a talisman we were braiding back and forth, repeating the words without variation until they were links in a chain of hope, or faith, or whatever lies between."
She also exposed the life of a writer in these pages and many of the lessons I've taken to heart. Ernest Hemingway's comment that "if you force yourself into the yoke before dawn, you can do whatever yo like after," and her analysis of the writer noting, "[that] it had been my general understanding that if you were a writer, you pummeled your own soul until some words trickled out of the dry stream-bed, enough to fill a saucer or a teaspoon or an eyedropper. And then you wept a little, or gnashed your teeth, and somehow found the fortitude to get up the next day and do it again."
Love and Ruin not only gives insight into the life of Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, but also into the life of a writer with all its disastrous beauty and dangerous liaisons of the heart and soul.
"The page was snowy white. It still held all of its secrets.
There was nothing to do but begin."
I give this novel a resounding ☕☕☕☕☕ and recommend in to anyone that wants to real historical fiction done right. A truly great story - truly great writing.
I received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Love and Ruin will be published May 1, 2018. I'd reserve my copy now!
Martha Gellhorn is a writer - she's a real woman as this novel is historical fiction - and on a trip to Key West with her mother and her brother stubmles into Ernest Hemingway's life. He's married to Pauline right now (wife #2 after Hadley - The Paris Wife - another amazing novel by McClain). He has two boys (three children total) and has somewhat settled down in Key West. After meeting Marty though, he finds a spark in her that seems to be missing from his life, and for her, he is her literary hero - her white whale - her giant of the page. And her fascination with him is real and binding.
He takes such an interest in her and her writing as she's recently published her first novel, too and acts as mentor until they both land in Spain covering the war with Franco; that's when mentoring ends and a torrid and long love affair begins.
McCain captures the essences of their tragic love that is reminiscent of Wuthering Heights to me - both characters are flawed, both are deeply disturbed, and both are dreadfully dependent on each other. Their relationship is painted as a series of desperate attempts to control one another under the guise of love and failing miserably. We watch as she loses herself in him and then as she attempts to regain the strength and passion she once had for writing, he steals away bits and pieces of her out of spite. I found myself in awe of and angry at them both! Her for loving a married man and pursuing a relationship with him with very little resistance, and him for...well, see everything I wrote above. BUT - there's also something uniquely dynamic about Martha Gellhorn and her gumption to persist against the odds, her love for Ernest no matter how destructive, her maternal passion for his children, and her eye for finding the story of real people during tumultuous times. McCain makes her both a hellion and a hero.
McCain's writing is flawless. She stirs the reader right from the prologue with forceful introspective ideas, "It may be the luckiest and purest thing of all to see time slow to a single demanding point. To feel the world rise up and shake you hard, insisting that you rise, too, somehow..." to giving the reader an understanding of hope with the design of "...a talisman we were braiding back and forth, repeating the words without variation until they were links in a chain of hope, or faith, or whatever lies between."
She also exposed the life of a writer in these pages and many of the lessons I've taken to heart. Ernest Hemingway's comment that "if you force yourself into the yoke before dawn, you can do whatever yo like after," and her analysis of the writer noting, "[that] it had been my general understanding that if you were a writer, you pummeled your own soul until some words trickled out of the dry stream-bed, enough to fill a saucer or a teaspoon or an eyedropper. And then you wept a little, or gnashed your teeth, and somehow found the fortitude to get up the next day and do it again."
Love and Ruin not only gives insight into the life of Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, but also into the life of a writer with all its disastrous beauty and dangerous liaisons of the heart and soul.
"The page was snowy white. It still held all of its secrets.
There was nothing to do but begin."
I give this novel a resounding ☕☕☕☕☕ and recommend in to anyone that wants to real historical fiction done right. A truly great story - truly great writing.
I received this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Love and Ruin will be published May 1, 2018. I'd reserve my copy now!
Set in Spain, Cuba, New York, across several decades, marriages, and wars, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I enjoyed reading about Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway's third (and most interesting) wife, her burgeoning success as a writer, and her need to grow into her own greatness. Frankly I found Hemingway a bit unlikable in McLain's portrayal of his machismo, arrogance, and general attitude towards women. The book might have been better with less Hemingway and more Gellhorn, who was super interesting in her own right.
McLain writes poetically, dramatically, with a bit more romantic flourish than I enjoy... guess I should have expected that in a book about Hemingway's many but sizzling loves. If you like reading about strong female historical figures entangled in romantic cliches, you'll enjoy this book.
McLain writes poetically, dramatically, with a bit more romantic flourish than I enjoy... guess I should have expected that in a book about Hemingway's many but sizzling loves. If you like reading about strong female historical figures entangled in romantic cliches, you'll enjoy this book.
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