Paula McLain has written another outstanding novel about, what appears to be, one of her favorite subjects, Ernest Hemingway but also introduces Martha Gellhorn, a very strong and independent young writer.
Like her previous novel, The Paris Wife, McLain uses the voice of Hemingway's love interest, in this case writer/journalist Marty Gellhorn, to tell the story. Unlike The Paris Wife, if my memory serves me correctly, the reader is now exposed to Hemingway's thoughts, through italicized chapters, which makes him less of a predator cad and more of a sympathetic, complicated and troubled sort of man.
Marty first meets Hemingway by chance in one of his Key West haunts while traveling with her mother. He is cordial and charming as he gives them a tour of Key West and then to visit his home and family. As an accomplished author he offers his help to the struggling young writer even arranging connections for her to reach war torn Madrid to cover the front lines for Collier's. He'll be there too, of course, to help a friend film a movie to raise money for ambulances.
Marty is conflicted when Hemingway makes advances towards her. She's met his wife and sons, after all. But being Hemingway she can't hold him off for long and their illicit love affair commences.
Mclain's clear and concise writing takes their years together to the Spanish Civil War, happy, lazy days in Cuba, sailing towards the gulf stream on Hemingway's fishing boat, Pilar. With the advent of World War II, their relationship sours, Gellhorn has the opportunity to report from the European Theater leaving Hemingway alone to wrestle his demons but he's a vindictive character and has a talent for getting things his way. As the title of this novel implies, all good things come to an end but what a time it was.
McLain's writing is top notch and gives those with wanderlust an enjoyable read through an historical era and for those who want to more clearly gain some knowledge into Hemingway's troubled soul something to chew on and consider.

Love and Ruin
by Paula McLain (Goodreads Author)
6482072
Heather Fineisen's review Apr 28, 2018 · edit
really liked it

A languid imagining of the relationship between Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway. Not only a love story, but a depiction of war and chaos of the time, as Gellhorn travels as one of the first female correspondents. The unravelling of their relationship is raw and angry and inevitable. This is McLain' s second novel about the women in Hemingway' s life and the novel reflects the knowledge of the subject.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

The historical novel Love and Ruin portrays the story of Martha Gellhorn and her stormy relationship with Ernest Hemingway. Martha Gellhorn was a strong female journalist who went after what she wanted in both love and career. I found Love and Ruin to be compelling from beginning to end and will be recommending it to my book clubs.

Enjoyable historical fiction novel following Martha (Marty) Gellhorn, the most popular female war correspondent in the 19th century and Ernest Hemingway’s third wife. I really enjoyed learning more about the couple and Marty’s bravery and drive visiting many war countries during conflicts. She wanted to change the world. It was also interesting reading about her and Hemingway’s relationship, both being writers and the competitiveness Gellhorn had to deal with given Hemingway’s personality and popularity.
Fans of McClain will enjoy this book.

First let me start off by saying I loved Circling the Sun by Paula McLain. 5 out of 5 stars! I never read the Paris wife so was excited to receive the arc for this book about war correspondent, Martha Gellhorn, and her passionate but stormy relationship with Ernest Hemingway during the civil war in Madrid. I loved the beginning and could relate to Gellhorn’s relationship with her parents and her drive to prove herself to her father. Then about 20 percent in I found myself skimming through the text. 40 percent in I stopped reading, which I rarely do. I did not find myself connecting with Martha any longer. I do believe there is an audience out there that will LOVE this book. Paula McClain is a beautiful writer. I will not give up on her and look forward to reading and reviewing her next book!

Paula McClain has done it again. She has written an absorbing, fascinating tale of the relationship between Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. More than that, it is a portrait of Martha Gellhorn. McClain gets us inside Gellhorn's head and heart as she navigates her career in a male dominated field, and her relationship and marriage to a dominant male. Love and Ruin is beautifully written and was a joy to read. I will continue to pick up McClain's books. They are consistently good!

I grew up reading Ernest Hemmingway and loved The Paris Wife so I was drawn to this book. The stormy relationship between Ernest and Martha reads like something of modern time even though it takes place in 1930s.
Martha Gellhorn was Hemmingway’s third wife and his mistress. Martha has always been painted in a negative light and I have never been a fan of that so I was excited to read Paula writing her in a different light. I know that this is a fiction novel but I feel that sometimes a strong man over powers a woman and if that woman is strong that she is painted in a negative light.
The writing in this book is amazing and I look forward to read more from Paula McLain.

This story has such an interesting premise, one of the first female war journalists on the front lines of WWII in several countries such as Spain, China, and Finland. Additionally, the women's rights issue of the struggle between career and marriage to a successful professional writer. However, the writing is lukewarm, there is no real feeling in the story. Because of all the sacrifices she makes, I think she loves him but I don't get a sense either way. Hopefully someone else will find a way to enjoy this fascinating look at Ernest Hemingway and his third wife. Thank you NegGalley for the ARC.

Martha Gellhorn is fascinating- and would have been so even without her tie to Ernest Hemingway. Having loved The Paris Wife, I'm so glad Paula McLain returned to Hemingway long enough to tell Martha's story. I'm a little sad that I didn't know about Martha before reading this book- she was an incredibly talented and accomplished writer. The book is a fascinating look at Martha's life during the time period she was involved with and married to Hemingway. Gellhorn seems to have been prolific in her writing during this time, and her fervor to dive into battles as war raged around her to tell the stories that were happening radiated off the page. While McLain did a great job telling the story of Martha and Ernest's tumultuous, competitive, passionate relationship, for this reader, the story really shines when she is telling of Martha's fierce drive to report on World War II and the lengths she goes to in order to be there. Love and Ruin was a fiercely engaging and wonderful look at a period in the life of a woman who should be remembered far more than she is.

Paula McLain is an outstanding historical fiction writer, and her three most recent novels have transported me to a vividly recreated time and place with very real and well-drawn characters. “Circling The Sun” was one of my favorite books of 2015. However, because “Love and Ruin” and “The Paris Wife” highlighted Hemingway’s abysmal treatment of women, particularly his wives, those books weren’t a comfortable read for me. That’s no reflection on McLain’s writing skill, in fact it’s a testament to it. The pain that Hemingway caused Martha and Hadley was written so realistically that I frequently wanted to punch Hemingway in the face, or some other body part. When I could put Hemingway’s behavior in the back of my mind and focus on Martha (and Hadley), I really enjoyed both “Love and Ruin” and “The Paris Wife.”

My review was posted on Goodreads on 4/25/18.

I must confess I started the Paris Wife by Paula McLain, but didn't finish it. After reading Love and Ruin, I need to go back and try it again. It was the content, not the writing that I had a problem with. There are some similarities in Paris Wife and Love And Ruin. They are both stories about Ernest Hemingway, his love life, infidelity, his marriage and again infidelity. Love and Ruin is the story of Hemingway and his third love and marriage to Martha Gellhorn. She became one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century. Beginning when she met Ernest in late 1936, traveling to Madrid and later to the Spanish Civil war with him. She covered every war that broke out in her lifetime, until 1990's when her health began to give out. She wrote several novels, novellas and two short stories during her carrier. Two of her novels she wrote and published before meeting Hemingway. The detail in which Ms. McLain writes takes you on an unforgettable journey. She captures the subtleties of this complex relationship. Putting into words their deep emotions and volatile love affair. As Paula McLain wrote about Hemingway, it could be said of her. “a brilliant painter of people in his “her” work.” It was due to Paula”s excellent writing that I was able to rate this book so high. I received a copy of this book from Random House Ballantine Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

'And yet here we were, anyway, hurtling through the dark toward each other under a hundred million stars, and set to collide disastrously. Logic wouldn’t save us and neither would the dwindling pile of days. We had all the time in the world to make a terrible mistake.'

Ernest Hemingway was stormy weather, why should a love affair with the man be any less tumultuous. This is a gorgeous story about Hemmingway and his lover and third wife Martha Gellhorn. She knows falling in love with the married father of two sons will spell disaster and yet it is inevitable, their mutual need undeniable. At the beginning of the novel, Marty is a disappointment to her father, living a little too carefree for the times. Passionate about a literary career, and certainly not one to settle down and live the life of the ‘little woman’, her writing comes off as vulgar to her father who shames her. A distance opens between them, if war is a shadow so is the shame that remains in her heart after her father’s death. Martha travels to Madrid to write about the Civil War, at great risk to herself, and is moved by the horrors and struggle of the people. Ernest falls in love not just with her youth and beauty but her hunger and courage to the cause.

Hemingway and his women often leave a sour taste in the mouths of wiser ladies, but it’s not hard to imagine how someone as brilliant as Gellhorn could fall under the spell of her idol. She was in awe of him when they met, already a fan and when his attention turns to her, well she caved. It’s not hard to think of his long-suffering wife Pauline Pfeiffer with compassion, birthing his children, steering Ernest as well as only the best of women could and then left for someone younger. She too was a journalist when she met Ernest, and its interestig to note while she supported Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, he supported the Republicans. A point of contention? Hemmingway needed his woman to understand his passions, to support his causes and Gellhorn was on his side, using the might of her words to bring attention to the suffering. She is born to passion in his embrace, but she notices the early warning signs about Ernest, the weather within him, the resentment and sulking, over exaggerated anger when he isn’t getting his own way.

Martha was a bold woman, meeting Ernest opened doors, it cannot be denied, but she had to claw her way to write as a woman during the war. Suffering the dismissal of critics simply for being tied to him and their forbidden love, she was blasted in reviews. Ernest wasn’t her sole passion, she traveled all over the world to write about pressing issues as a great war correspondent, writing on every conflict during her long career. She was unorthodox, an original and if you detest her for stealing a married Hemingway then she redeems herself by choosing her work rather than giving in to his demands that she be still, anchor herself where he wills her. If it meant being punished for her comings and goings, so be it. She dared to leave Ernest, and there is no return to love after that. Everything in Hemingway’s life is beautiful so long as his career is flourishing and Martha is there when he needs her. Ernest was a connoisseur of women, that’s no secret but he was also tortured, and one always wonders how someone tries to fill themselves to quiet the noise in their own mind. He surrounded himself with exciting people, most alive in dangerous situations (an adrenaline junkie?) had a bottomless need for adventure and yet at times his mood would turn and he’d close up into himself. Could he have loved more than one woman, or the ideal of her, why not? It’s his staying power that is questionable. His family certainly has struggles with mental illness, and there is so much conflicting information out there, was he bipolar, or was it possibly head traumas that one thing is certain, he had inner battles and how could that not have been a source of trouble in his love life? Maybe turning to fresh new love was running away as much as his escape to Key West or wherever he went to get away from his family.

At the start of their affair, Martha desperately needs his approval. It was a ‘wonderful and awful’ love. In the raw days, she is of use, she fits in with the people who surround Hemingway and even in the moments when she feels small, and monstrous things are happening around her, this is still the life she would never trade. “I had said yes. And yes always came with a price.” Even if he belonged to someone else, she could not let him go. She is as hooked as the many fish he catches. When they are away from the madness of the world, in Cuba (their own little heaven), the days seem to stretch before them in this paradise. But time will feast on the lovers, as it does us all, and the world won’t be kept at bay. When Time magazine takes a bite out of Martha, diminishing her success Ernest is concerned only with himself. It is the beginning of their love souring, it is as if he must eclipse all those who love him and she is no exception.

Martha went on to have a full, rich life as a war correspondent after her marriage to Ernest. If you’ve read anything about Gellhorn, she is quoted as saying feminists “did a disservice to women branding us as ‘women writers’.” Her argument being, no one says ‘men writers’ about material written by men and yet she was a trailblazer, herself a woman working in a field dominated by men in the 20th century, and it cannot be ignored that the war zones weren’t exactly teeming with women. She lived her life as she wanted it, known to be a prickly, irritable person, intolerant of ‘bores’, a fighter for humanity and yet not a great lover of people individually. A private person. She was so much more than just ‘Hemingway’s lover.’ This is a woman who stowed away on a hospital ship to come ashore on D-Day, how is that for feminism? If Hemingway was her idol in her youth, she outgrew him.

We’re not supposed to care much for the ‘other woman’, are we? The funny thing is, I cared more about her than her idol (Ernest). Anyone could see that Martha and Ernest’s paradise wouldn’t last, because his heart was fickle, he had his own demons within’, his need was all consuming and she was becoming a woman who would not be confined by love anymore than society’s expectations. Was it her awe of him, the war raging around them, or selfish desires that pushed them together, who can say? It was passionate while it lasted, and they loved each other enough to marry, he took Martha as his wife 3 weeks after his divorce from Pffiefer was final. Martha was a woman who could never be happy with a diluted life. That she should choose between Ernest and a career was the end of it all. Love that wants to swallow a woman, make her forget her outside interests and dreams was not a love for Martha. Yet, when they first collide and love explodes it sets them afire, for a time.

Paula McLain wrote a beautiful love story not just about Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn’s affair and marriage, but a love for one woman’s purpose in life that eventually surpassed what she shared with Hemmingway. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: May 1, 2018

Random House

Ballantine

4 obsession stars

There are some people who are driven. It can become an obsession that ultimately destroys what is good, what is needed, and even love if it is allowed to continue unabated.

For Ernest Hemingway, his obsession with life and writing was eventually something that would be his downfall. He was a person who believed himself to be bigger than life, perhaps even better that life itself. He was in so many ways his own sunshine and the people who fell at his feet nurtured that in him. When he meets and falls in love with Martha Gellhorn, still being married to his second wife Pauline, they embark on a journey that will ultimately leave the both of them bereft and adrift. For Ernest, he easily moves on to the next Mrs Hemingway, but for Martha driven herself to be the competitor in Ernest's life, she seems to always be burdened with finding the next windmill to battle. For Ernest if you didn't love him and acquiesce to his needs, you were thrown out and dismissed, not one to be trifled with. He was so caught up in himself that he neglected to see others. He was the ultimate man's man, a person who men wanted to be and women wanted to be near. Martha was a woman who wanted desperately to be independent, be her own person, go her own way. The fact that they were both writers and ultimately competitors was a prophet of doom foretelling where this union would end.

Martha was also a driven person. She always was looking to insert herself into danger, into situations where people were obsessed with the throes of wartime and warfare, also chasing that dream of being acknowledged, being worthy meaning something other than being Mrs Hemingway. They were happy for a time. They fed into each other's egos, but the writing was on the wall and as they both struggled for recognition, they forgot the things that brought them together. Jeremy Irving once said "Determination becomes obsession and then it becomes all that matters" To Martha and Ernest the fire, the love, the obsession they once had for one another originally burnt too bright for it not to eventually fizzle and die.

Thank you to Paula McLain who in her books has made the Mrs Hemmingways become alive to this reader and both Ballantine Books and Netgalley for making an advanced copy available to me.

I only moderately enjoyed Paula McLain’s last two books, but I had seen other reviews which said this book was better. But I can’t say I found it to be much of an improvement. In the beginning, Martha Gelhorn comes off as the stereotypical socialite rebelling against her background. And for all her talk of independence, Marty never feels complete without a man.

She quickly meets Ernest Hemingway and he sweeps her into a different life. I actually had to do the math. He comes off as much older than her, when in actuality, there’s just a 9 year age difference. It doesn’t help that he calls her “Daughter”.

Initially, I had trouble connecting with Marty. She goes to Spain as a reporter, but it’s ages before she actually writes anything. It doesn’t take long before she becomes Hemingway’s lover. And if I didn’t connect with her, I had nothing but revulsion for him. He speaks of love but he just uses women and obviously thinks nothing of fidelity.

The book is at its best when McLain is describing the war scenes, whether in Spain, Finland or during WWII. It only came alive for me when Marty was on her own. It’s at its worst when Marty is describing her lovesickness for Ernest. The sappiness of the writing made me cringe. “His bed was an operating table, and this was heart surgery.” The sections that are written in Ernest’s voice never rang true. Meant to be all emotional and dark, they just fell flat to me and I could never believe it was his voice.

The ending is the best part of the book. McLain does a great job of describing the downward spiral of their marriage. And the author’s note, which tells of Gelhorn’s later years, seemed to capture her spirit best of all.

My thanks to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this novel.

Despite having read several novels concerning Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, I found this to be a welcome addition to the compendium of literature surrounding these two writers. McLain has clearly done her homework and I learned more about the wars that they covered. The book begins with Martha meeting Ernest while he was still married to his second wife Pauline. It shows the evolution of their tempestuous relationship and ultimate marriage while attempting to delve into their inner mental life, providing a glimpse into their drive and fears. The development of the characters was very solid, and once again we are provided an inside glimpse into the life of Martha, a clearly independent spirit, way ahead of her times in women's rights, her strong work ethic and her astonishing body of work as a war reporter, often at the front lines. A really enjoyable read while broadening one's sense of these dynamic individuals.

This is the story of Martha Gellhorn, the third of Hemingway's wives and a novelist and reporter in her own right. Theirs was a love story that flamed bright and then went out just as quickly. They were jealous of each other's successes, and were constantly seperated as they each went off to report on the war. She was a fascinating woman who loved the danger and excitement of being on the front lines and seeing everything first hand.
I knew so little about Hemingway and even less about his wives so this story was really intriguing to me. She was empowering in a time when women were not meant to be empowered, and her accomplishments were great. This is a very captivating story that makes you feel as if you were there at her side.

Although this book is about the relationship between Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway, I enjoyed reading about her journalistic endeavors much more than I did her romance and marriage to Hemingway.

Martha first met Ernest on a holiday in Key West and from there they formed a friendship which turned into a romantic relationship that spanned from 1937 and the Spanish Civil War up until the end of World War II. Their relationship was consumed with writing, travel and quite a bit of alcohol.

Ernest is a bit larger than life and his needs seemed to suffocate Martha. Martha had an adventurous spirit and was not content to stay at home and be only a housewife. Ernest seemed to think that once married, Martha was to be at his disposal at all times. Ernest comes off as extremely self-centered. Having read Paula McClain’s earlier novel, The Paris Wife, I think it’s safe to say that Ernest was a successful writer, but an awful husband.

The book was a slow read for me and at times seem to drag on. I found much of the writing about Martha and Ernest to be filled with superficial content, such as what they were eating or how their writing was coming along. My favorite parts of the book were when Martha was on assignment in Finland and later in Europe--most especially her time in Normandy on D-Day. Martha’s life is wonderful as a story of it’s own. It’s a shame she often was known simply as one of Hemingway’s wives.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I love Paula McLain’s historical fiction and always feel like it’s so well done I start to believe it’s real. In this novel, McLain moves on to Hemingway’s third wife, Martha Gellhorn and follows her struggle between being independent and going after her own dreams as a writer and her love for Ernest Hemingway. McLain’s writing and descriptions of places are just beautiful. Definitely a must read if you enjoyed The Paris Wife.

An amazing story of love at its best and at its worst. Martha (Marty) Gelhorn is a writer who meets Ernest Hemingway while he is still married to his second wife. Marty and Ernest begin a torrid love affair in Spain that continues into Cuba, where they seem to settle and write. But she is a war correspondent and eager to travel and write about WW2. That eventually becomes their downfall. This was a great read, and a nice follow-up after reading The Paris Wife.

Having read The Paris Wife, I was excited when I saw this book was coming out. I started reading it with high hopes, but instead got bogged down with thoughts of "This AGAIN?" More of Hemingway torturing the people he supposedly loved the most, all while looking out for himself and his wants and needs. I made myself finish it. If you are a Hemingway scholar, or don't know anything about his life, you may find this to be a good book. It is very well written, but the subject matter just got to me.