Claudette

Where's Hadley?

Revisado: 07-17-11

I got so tired of this audiobook by 3/4 of the way for one sad reason: the hole in the middle of it where the central character should be. In the author's rendition (and the narrator's cartoony voice) Hadley Richardson comes across as mousey, bland, passive, nearly invisible.

Friends in my book group raised the question: Was that simply how she was? I doubt it. Hemingway's own account of her in "A Moveable Feast" conveys a woman he loved dearly and trusted as a peer (until he lost his rudder in the storms of fame, at least). I suspect she was a much more lively, independent-minded woman than McClain portrays - but if she really was such a passive mouse, she makes an odd choice for the central character of a novel. The insights I wanted into the woman who was Hemingway's first and arguably deepest love, who loved him long before he was famous and long after, are unfortunately few and thin.

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Luvly!!

Revisado: 06-30-09

I loved this book. This time and place in history, London and Guernsey during and post-WWII, is fascinating. I learned quite a lot, through very engaging characters and beautiful writing - and excellent readers who brought it all to life. Yes, it's a tad predictable in places, but by then I had left my cynicism behind and let the story unfold. A very rewarding, enriching book.

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Beautiful book, beautifully read

Revisado: 06-23-09

I loved this book. The two narrators, the woman and the young girl, are fascinating characters - totally believable, funny, thought-provoking and deeply touching. I really, really cared about them, and I won't forget them. And two readers are two of the best I've heard on audiobooks. At times the story's arc is as eccentric as the characters but stick with it, especially if you have any interest in philosophy, language, Japanese film, commas, the perspective of outsiders, or the meaning of life.

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Good book, weak reader

Revisado: 03-19-09

This is an intriguing and well-written story but the ridiculously bad accents of the reader are a serious distraction. The reader makes or breaks an audiobook and I'm afraid in this case she almost breaks - certainly fractures - it.

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