Love and Ruin

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

     They say “behind every great man there is a woman” and Paula McLain has taken up the standard of bringing those women to the forefront, no longer standing behind anyone.  In her book Paris Wife we are introduced to Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife.  In this book we are given the story of Martha Gellhorn, his third.

     Marty stood behind no man and therein lies the problem.  Marty was a strong woman in her own right, alone in Spain covering the Spanish Civil War.  She found her reporting niche in the stories of the civilian victims of the war and her personal stories were heralded as some of the best.  She and Ernest were in Spain at the same time and drawn together like moths to each other’s light.  He was struggling and winning as he wrote the best book of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  She was traveling and writing and establishing her own career in a man’s world as a renowned war correspondent.

     Sometimes two strong personalities just clash.  No one is the best, no one is dominant and sometimes strong personalities just need to be at the top alone.  As World War II approaches, Ernest’s literary success puts Marty in his shadow always. She still has more to give the world and he needs to be the star that is shining.  Someone’s heart is going to be followed and someone else’s broken. But it’s Marty’s career that spanned sixty years.

     I appreciate Paula McLain’s books for introducing me to people I knew little about.