"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. Some way. That you come awake and stretch, painfully. That you change, completely and irrevocably - with whatever means are at your disposal - into the person you were always meant to be."



As a fan of Paula McLain's previous works, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of her newest book, Love and Ruin, from Random House, in exchange for an honest review (thanks Random House!). I jumped into it right away, needing a break from my big YA kick as of late and hoping that some historical fiction / romance would be the cure.



McLain does not disappoint. She's adept at taking historical figures and fictionalizing them in a way that is loving and respectful, even when the picture she is painting isn't always beautiful. This time around her subject is Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, as she traces their love story from its illicit beginnings during his marriage to Pauline Pffifer through to it's (yes, you guessed it..) ruin. I had a passing familiarity with Gellhorn as a journalist, but didn't know much about her, at least in comparison to Hemingway, and this is a theme in the novel - the ways in which Hemingway's star burned so brightly that it drew everything to it while simultaneously eclipsing it. McLain's written about Hemingway before, in The Paris Wife, but here it takes a turn. While in that narrative, we watch through Hadley's eyes as their marriage crumbles apart, in this novel, we watch from Martha's perspective as she comes into her own as a writer, and Ernest begins to crumble. Martha was truly a woman before her time, and it's clear in the novel that Hemingway struggled with her strength and desire to cultivate a career and a life as a writer and war correspondent in a time period where she was breaking barriers and norms. Frankly, Hemingway comes across as quite the asshole throughout the novel, self absorbed, unable to empathize or see Martha's perspective, and petulant when he doesn't get his way. Even through these moments, it's made clear that their love was deep and real, even if it couldn't withstand the internal strain and external pressures placed upon it.



Overall, a really lovely read. I'm a fan of McLain's style, and after three excellent novels in a row (including Circling the Sun), I'm excited to see who's inner life she shines a light on next.



4/5 Stars.

Martha Gellhorn was the beautiful daughter of a prominent St. Louis doctor. However from an early age, she was interested in traveling the world. She also had engaged in several affairs with married men who promised to marry her but didn’t.

When Generalisimo Franco’s forces began their war for dominance of democratic Spain, volunteers from all over the world came to Spain to join the resistance. Among the volunteers was Ernest Hemingway, a novelist with several best selling books. Martha, who had been writing feature stories for magazines in the US, and had met Ernest while on a family trip to Key West where the Hemingway family lived.

He had told her that he was going to Spain to fight and suggested she come over to cover it as a news correspondent. Her mother had been friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. Martha got a magazine to sponsor her and pulled other strings to get permission to go to Spain.

It was in Spain that Martha connected with and fell in love with the married Hemingway. The two wrote eventually became inseparable. The twice married Hemingway had tired of his wife Pauline and had been looking for someone new. Martha and Ernest eventually moved to Cuba and bought a home there. Both writers started new novels. Unfortunately Martha’s books were not as well received as Ernest’s books.

After several years together and the publication of the classic, For Whom the Bells Toll, Hemingway was able to divorce Pauline and marry Martha.

This story examines the relationship between Martha and Ernest. Although they both claimed to love each other deeply, they lived separate lives and were more interested in their careers. Martha wanted to be known professionally as Martha Gellhorn not Mrs. Hemingway. Ernest had many demons and could be cruel and demanding when he was not the center of attention.

I enjoyed the book but not as much as the author’s story of the relationship between Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, in The Paris Wife.

I had a really hard time getting into this book, even by the halfway point. Ms. Gellhorn was a journalist, novelist, war correspondent and the third wife of Ernest Hemingway. The book was very factual and written sort of manner-of-fact. which didn't help draw me into the plot/book.

Obviously this book is going to be compared to the Paris Wife and I loved the Paris Wife. When I started reading this book, I thought this is so different, I don't think it's as good. Then I realized of course it's different, Martha and Hadley are completely different women and their stories are going to be different. Once I started getting to know Martha and getting involved in her story, then I really fell in love with the book. Ernest is still his obnoxious yet fascinating self and it was so interesting to learn about their relationship as the world was changing. I recommend this book to anyone and now I am going to try and move on and find the next great read.

3.75 Stars
I received an Uncorrected Proof file of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
There were a number of peaks and valleys for me while reading this book. It took me some time to get interested at the beginning. I even went back to the description of the book to remind myself why I was ever interested in reading it in the first place. Once I was about a quarter of the way through, I hit a peak, became very invested in the story, and eventually fell in love with the main character Martha “Marty” Gelhorn. I very much enjoyed the descriptive flow of McLain’s writing style. Often using words I would never imagine to describe something, but once I’d read them, they were exactly right.
At about the three-quarter mark, I hit another valley. I believe these “valleys” were most likely deliberate. A way to make you feel somewhat like the character did; as if things were very low, and you’re butting your head up against the wall, not progressing or moving forward despite best efforts… however, they also made for a convenient place to just set the book down (and if you hadn’t promised to give your honest review, possibly not pick it back up again).
In the end, I still wanted to be Marty’s best friend. I was grateful for the Author’s note that gave more of Marty’s story after the book’s end, because after all that preceded it, I felt the ending was a little abrupt.

Paula McLain has written the most wonderful book about Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. This book is not to be missed! There's so much to learn from this book about Hemingway and his muse and later very famous and brave wife in her own right. The story moves along quickly and you feel like you are right there with the characters. The characters are so well developed. The author really did her research on this one! I loved it and I know it will stay with me a very long time. Worth a million stars!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own.

I liked Hadley better, as a person, but thought that Marty Gellhorn was so fascinating to read about. There is a lot more history in here - I feel like I learned a lot about so many different wars and conflicts. I didn't love the relationship that Marty and Hem had - so unstable and destructive - but it made for great reading! I hope she writes about wives 2 & 4!

Love and Ruin is an appropriate title for Paula McLain's historical fiction about Martha Gellhorn. I did not know Martha "Marty" Gellhorn before reading this book. Ms. Gellhorn was a journalist, novelist, war correspondent and the third wife of Ernest Hemingway. The book was very factual but I found it lacking in emotion. Even the defining scenes of Ms. Gellhorn's life were not very expre

I really enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed The Paris Wife, so I must have a thing for Ernest Hemingway's love life. I didn't really see the necessity of the prologue but once I got past it, the book grabbed my interest. Prior to reading this, I didn't know too much about Martha Gellhorn but her character was so well developed that I now have much respect for her as a woman and a writer. She knew what she wanted and went after it despite the fact that she was a woman and automatically faced obstacles because of that. She wanted to prove herself and she did. I admire how she gave everything her full attention including Ernest. I'm sure he was a difficult man to be involved with yet she gave that relationship all she had while still retaining her sense of self. I'm grateful to have been given an advance copy and look forward to seeing it's success when it is published.

If you enjoyed The Paris Wife, I am sure you will enjoy this book. This books is about Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway's third wife. It is very descriptive of Gellhorn's time spent covering several wars as a journalist.

In my opinion, Hemingway was a selfish, alcoholic that had to have someone catering to him. Gellhorn did not do this. She actually challenged him which is probably what led to the end of their relationship.

I personally did not enjoy this book very much but that is not to say the story or writing was bad.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books

This book is about the marriage of Ernest Hemingway to Martha Gellhorn. Two writers who fall in love but face many struggles after Hemingway’s book, “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, is published. Martha is a strong, independent woman who doesn’t want to succeed because she is married to Hemingway. The ups and downs of their marriage is the basis of the book. I enjoyed this book immensely.

This novel chronicles the journalistic rise of Martha Gellhorn and her relationship with Ernest Hemingway. Maybe I’ve just read too many books about Hemingway and those that he loved, hurt, destroyed, etc. but this book was just an average read for me.

Ms. Gellhorn was still struggling to find her career path when she and her family met Hemingway while in vacation in Key West, Florida. He convinces her to come to Spain with him and report on the civil war going on there, she is able to secure a press pass and joins him there. It is while here that she gets her first taste of war correspondence and she likes it. Ernest makes a play for her and even though he is still married to Pauline Pfeiffer with whom he has two sons, they begin a love affair.

The interesting part of this book for me was Ms. Gellhorn and her accomplishments. I was so impressed that I spent hours looking up files about her on the internet and it made for interesting reading. I found that she had such a long career that she covered everything from the Spanish Civil War, Vietnam, the wars in El Salvador and Panama. She truly had a love of traveling and getting the story out. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know that she had published novels, but I plan to check them out.

The love affair, then marriage and then “ruin” of her time with Hemingway seemed like a repeat of so much I had read about him and his exploits before that all I felt was relief when Martha finally divorces him and lives her own life.

Of the three books that I’ve read by Ms. McLain I think this is probably my favorite and I would certainly look forward to the next novel by this talented author.

I received an ARC of this novel from publisher through NetGalley. Will also post to Amazon upon publication.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long time to finish, partly because it's dry and had trouble holding my interest. It reads alternately like a school book or a travelogue of sorts, with no real catharsis other than the drama of war and Marty's relationship with Hemingway.

The most interesting aspect of Marty's career doesn't occur until near the end, and is given short shrift. Of course I had to look up several of the real-life characters afterwards, and was disappointed at some discoveries, including a key one that's left out of the Author's Note at the end. (view spoiler)

Even though I'm a journalist, I wasn't quite aware of Marty's legacy. Hopefully this book will show that she deserves to be known as something more than just Hemingway's third wife.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine for the ARC.

‘Love and Ruin’ by Paula McLain is a first rate novel in the genre of Historical Fiction. The novel dives deeply into the tumultuous relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his third wife Martha Gellhorn.

At first I thought Hemingway would be the draw for me. I was surprised to find myself loving the unique individual who is Martha Gellhorn. While prior to reading this book, I knew nothing about Ms. Gellhorn, I came away wondering why I hadn’t heard of her sooner. Why hadn’t she been celebrated before? She was outrageously brave, committed to work as one of the few women war correspondents and finally foolishly and deeply in love with Ernest Hemingway.

‘Love and Ruin’ is Gellhorn’s version of her relationship with Hemingway. It is written from her point of view. Martha Gellhorn was a remarkable woman in so many aspects of her life. “ she became one of the 20th century’s most significant and celebrated war correspondents, reportin on virtually every major conflict for sixty years – from the Spanish Civil War to the Bay of Pigs, from Vietnam to El Salvador to Panama, where she covered the invasion at the age of eighty-one.”

Martha Gellhorn had a backbone. She didn’t fall all over the famed American author. She fought for who she was as a person not as Mr. Hemingway’s wife. She maintains a sense of self and continued her work as a war correspondent all while being Mrs. Hemingway. It was never easy because Hemingway didn’t make it easy and at times so painful that she is indelibly ingrained in my mind forever. She is a strong and endearing individual.

The author’s amazing writing captures the true essence of this remarkable woman. The book is so well written that you absolutely get lost in the story and come away feeling like you are reading a memoir instead of Historical Fiction.

Kudos to Ms. McLain. I have a distinct feeling this book will be on the best seller list for quite awhile.

I would like to thank the publisher, Ms. McLain and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.75 stars rounded up to 5.

As a huge fan of the Paris Wife, I was thrilled to learn that Paula McLain was returning with another story of Hemingway's personal romantic past. Somehow, Love and Ruin manages to capture the tale - retaining the allure and romantic aura surrounding Hemingway, while unveiling the damaged underbelly of his fragile ego and fractured, tortured relationship(s). Paula McClain writes so convincingly as Martha (Marty) Gellhorn that I often forget I'm not reading a biography or memoir. She manages to capture such an authentic, time-specific voice that as a reader I am transported back to pre-WWII Europe, Cuba and the USA. She does a really masterful job of describing the physical details and and the emotional turmoil that Ernest and Marty can't quite seem to stop inflicting on one another. I had never heard of Marty Gellhorn prior to picking up the book and was fascinated to learn of her access, her independence and her fierce spirit and fight to be viewed as a legitimate writer in her own right-completely separate from the reputation of her much more famous husband. I am inspired to seek out her novels and her articles and hear her voice indpendently.

My one complaint is that I simply wanted more. I wanted all of the mysteries solved. All of the holes and cracks filled in. In the Epilogue, we learn that Marty ended her life after burning many personal effects including letters from Ernest. I have no doubt that Paula McClain filled in every crack she had access to or could even intelligently guess at. I suppose I'd just like to be a fly on the wall!

*advance digital copy recieved in exchange for an honest review.

Always love Paula McClain. This will be one of our book options for September.

Another winner by Paula McLain, this novel tells the fascinating story of Martha Gellhorn, better known as one of Hemingway's wives, yet a fascinating and adventurous writer in her own right. I enjoyed learning about all of her wartime reporting and what an exciting life she lived apart from her famous husband and then ex-hus

This book took me a few chapters to get in to but really enjoyed the end. I could easily visualize their home in Cuba as well as the war zones the author described. The life of a war journalist or the wife of Ernest Hemingway couldn't have been easy . I would recommend this book to others!

This is not my usual choice of reading material. I have never read about Ernest Hemingway before, I am glad I did, but honestly I am not a fan of his.. Martha Gellhorn, on the other hand, is so interesting and admirable. A woman before her time. Ernest and Martha have a very passionate, tumultuous relationship as she strives for recognition of her own talent.. Very well written story by Paula McLain.

I loved the Paris Wife, and the author once again tackles one of Hemingway's Wives, but this one did not hold my attention like the first. I could walk away from it, and then come back which I could not do with The Paris WIfe. I have visited both of Hemingway's homes in Key West and outside of Havana, and I have spent time in Madrid, and that made the book somewhat interesting to me, but the setting never became a part of the story in the same way that Paris did in the first one. There was much reference to Hemingway's childishness, but it didn't make the impact on the story that it should have.

The book was certainly worth reading, and I will recommend it to others who read the Paris Wife but not with the same enthusiasm. The author's note on Martha Gelhorn at the end of the book portray a much more interesting person than her character in the book. Maybe she should write a novel based on her life after Hemingway! I read this book thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.