I finished reading the novel by Paula McLain, The Paris Wife, and I've realized that many of you have read it. It's always good to know that your friends and readers enjoy some of the same types of books that you do. I'm now thinking about continuing the theme of Paris throughout my reading selections, but we will see. I need a book suggestion TODAY, so if you have an idea of what I should read, please let me know. Keep in mind the types of books that I like, historical fiction and memoirs. As I've noted before my taste has changed throughout my lifetime, but for the past few years these are the types of books that I've enjoyed. And I don't even mind a good history book every now and then, books by people like David McCullough. I'm still on a waiting list at the library to get McCullough's book about the Brooklyn Bridge, by the way, so if you happen to have it and you'd like to loan it to me, I'm in.
I learned a lot by reading The Paris Wife. Although I've read several books by Hemingway, I didn't know anything about his travels, his personal life, and his wives. I've read The Old Man and the Sea and The Sun Also Rises, and I'd like to read A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway was a complicated man and had personal demons that haunted him throughout much of the time that he was married to his first wife, Hadley. Some of this stemmed from his time of active duty in the armed forces, and some of it may have stemmed from a genetic predisposition to being psychologically troubled troubled. The Paris Wife depicts his early years as a young married man in Europe. He was known as a lady's man and this ultimately ended his first marriage to Hadley, the mother of his first son. He had an affair with one of Hadley's friends, and although they tried to pretend the affair wasn't going on, it ultimately caused the breakup of the marriage. Hemingway went on to marry the woman. Hadley returned to the U.S. with her son and eventually remarried. Hemingway was married a total of four times. He and Hadley traveled all over Europe during the six years or so of their marriage, even though they never really had any money. Gertrude Stein and the other authors that he befriended while in Europe always had more money than the Hemingways did, but they tried to fit in. These relationships helped Hemingway's career, as his friends offered writing advice and encouragement along the way.
Hemingway was always very driven in his career, but drinking too much and his eye on the women sometimes created problems. Somehow he managed to become very successful, of course, and according to the novel, he gave Hadley all of the proceeds of his novel, The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway went on to marry a total of four times, and he ended his own life at the age of 61. Years earlier, his own father, sister, and brother had also committed suicide, perhaps revealing a genetic link to depression, anxiety, or other psychological problems. It's a tragic ending to a very talented man who skillfully crafted all of his works. We will never know what additional novels or poems he could have written.
I want to end today's post with a humorous experience that I had yesterday at my school. As you know, I teach English as a Second Language at a public elementary school here in Durham, NC. This is my tenth year there, and I love my students. All of my students this year come from Spanish-speaking families, so they often need extra patience when it comes to learning new vocabulary. When they are at home, the language that they hear is Spanish, but they seem to easily change over to English when they are at school. It's really quite remarkable to see how well they speak English when many of their parents don't speak it. Yesterday afternoon one of my students said something funny. I was asking the group what a "picnic" was. This particular group seemed to know the answer, but my earlier groups didn't know until I acted it out and described a picnic. This particular second grader, we'll call him ""Pablo," said "Oh yeah, I know what a picnic is. It's when you go somewhere like Duke Gardens and you lay something down on the ground and you get out your carnitas and you eat!" His cultural experience with picnics is obviously that they involve carnitas, not sandwiches, fried chicken, or hamburgers. It was very funny to me because his statement showed a blending of his cultures. Pablo is such a cute, smart boy who loves to learn new things, and so he was thrilled to be able to share the answer to my question. So, if you've never had carnitas, you should try them. They involved shredded pork and taste good. I enjoy carnitas in a tortilla at my favorite Latino restaurant in Durham, Chubby's Tacos, on Ninth Street near Duke. It's just a tiny restaurant with a few tables, but the food is cheap and very, very good. So, now you have my favorite anecdote of the week. I really should write these types of things down, because my students provide me with so many laughs.
Have a wonderful Veteran's Day,
Melissa Hill
Book Blogger: www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Used bookseller: mch seller
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