Yes I know... I am a terrible person and should be punished, but I have a good reason!
So as you know, two weekends I jetsetted (megabused it) to the Hamptons with a group of my sorority sisters from college for a reunion weekend full of sand, tans, drinks by the pool, and..... some other stuff :)
Anyways, as the day of my departure for this trip was closing in, I realized that the copy of The Girl Who Played with Fire, would not be arriving in time. What did arrive just in time was a 30% coupon to Borders which I happily accepted!
So, to make a not so long but uninteresting story short, I got two books including this one that I read this weekend:
Throughout the book, the intensity of their relationship is protrayed by their inability to be apart from one another for too long, their similar dress and hair cut, and even the way the call each other the same name, "Tatie". I was drawn into the story because of their attraction, especially when it seemed like everyone else in the book had taken on another lover, they both only had eyes for each other. Which is one of the reasons why the end of the book was so hard for me to take. I didn't want to believe that they were losing each other, I was constantly hopeful that I would turn the next page and everything would be right again. Even though McLain is very upfront with you about what will happen at the end of the book, for those who aren't familiar with Ernest's life, it was honestly hard to take.
It is interesting to note that Hemingway was married 4 times, and during his last marriage he wrote A Moveable Feast, in which he wrote, "I wish I had died before I ever loved anyone but her", before putting a gun to his head. The irony is that Hadley's father also took his own life this way, because of his unhappy marriage.
I really did enjoy this book though. Paula McLain is an excellent writer, and it was very easy to read and become sucked into the story line. I only wish there had been a happier ending, but that isn't something that she could have changed :)