Hemingway in Love

July 20, 2015
Beneath the macho persona of the writer “who roams the earth looking for adventure,” Ernest Hemingway was a deeply conflicted human being, a now familiar observation which this memoir from friend and biographer Hotchner (Papa Hemingway) proves yet again. From notes, recordings, and memories of their conversations, Hotchner presents an account of Hemingway’s reminiscences, mostly from 1954 and 1955. Nearing the end of his life and shaken by living through two recent plane crashes, Hemingway looks back, observing, “Loving two women at the same time is the worst affliction a man can have.” In his own words (as reconstructed by Hotchner), we see a young writer in Paris, on the cusp of fame, torn between his first wife, Hadley, and a wealthy Southern flapper, Pauline Pfeiffer. Despite F. Scott Fitzgerald’s injunction to make up his mind, Hemingway vacillated between the two women, until Hadley chose for him. Their divorce allowed for his marriage to Pauline, which also proved unhappy. Though Hemingway is less mentally and physically healthy each time he meets with Hotchner, his stories remain just as compelling. The result is a portrait of triumphant highs, melancholic lows, and the pervading tone of the subject’s generation—a human being’s love lost. Agent: Paul Bresnick, Bresnick Weil Literary Agency.

June 1, 2015
Hemingway loved Hadley best. Fans of Hemingway may relish this memoir by Hotchner (O.J. in the Morning, G&T at Night, 2013, etc.), who has mined his 14-year friendship with the writer to produce a biography, an edition of their correspondence, and several other books. Here, Hotchner offers a verbatim recollection of conversations that occurred in several locations, over many years, about Hemingway's first marriage, to Hadley Richardson, which ended when he fell in love with Pauline Pfeiffer. After divorcing Hadley, he married Pauline, quickly discovering that he had made a huge mistake. Hadley, he confessed to Hotchner, was the love of his life. Although Hadley called her husband a romantic, he emerges here as self-absorbed, childish, and unbelievably naive. According to Hemingway, Pauline insinuated herself into his life by befriending Hadley and spending a great deal of time with the couple. Soon, she seduced him; captivated by her attentions and "explosive, wildly demonstrative" sex, he fell in love. When Hadley discovered their affair, he became angry. Why should it matter? "I wanted to have both of them just as they were," Hemingway told Hotchner. "I didn't know much about women, did I?" Hadley gave him 100 days to get over what he called his "peculiar passion," but to his surprise, she agreed to divorce before the time was up. "What I felt was the sorrow of loss. I had contrived this moment," he said, "but I felt like the victim." He felt even more surprise when Hadley quickly remarried, since he had nurtured the "fantasy that she would still be single when, as it seemed more and more likely, I would leave Pauline and return to her" and their son. Hotchner portrays Hemingway as sad and lonely, but he fails to generate sympathy for him. Papa's relationships with women have been so amply explored that this memoir offers little that is fresh or illuminating.

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September 15, 2015
Readers could take Hemingway pal Hotchner at his word that this book, like his memoir, Papa Hemingway (1965), is based on a series of recorded conversations. Or they could engage Hemingway's recommended BS detector. Either way, what we have here is a recasting of Hemingway's emotional journey through life, especially the longtime regret over busting up his first marriage to Hadley Richardson Hemingway, the subject of Paula McLain's popular novel, The Paris Wife (2011). Coming at a time when the popular culture is full of stories of Hemingway's wives (he had four), Hotchner's inquiry expands upon Hemingway's confession regarding Hadley, I wished I had died before I ever loved anyone but her. While Hotchner's apparent use of Hemingway's letters to inform his dialogues has been the subject of past permissions battles, he says he based this account on visits with Hemingway throughout the 1950s and up to a few days before the great American author put a shotgun to his own head in 1961. Hotchner's account is freighted with nostalgia and sadness on several levels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 1, 2015

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) biographer and longtime friend Hotchner (Papa Hemingway) recounts numerous conversations and experiences he had with arguably America's greatest author from 1948 to 1961. The topics tread ground familiar to any Hemingway reader--bullfights, fishing, sports, war, writing, etc.--but there is a special insider's focus on his romantic relationships. Much of this information is suppressed in other writings by and about the author so as to protect the feelings and privacy of the subjects. The book has a warm, breezy feel, somewhat of a fly-on-the-wall version of A Moveable Feast in its structure wherein Hotchner takes us around the world drinking and talking with the novelist. Much of the discussions recounted here describe his relationship with his fourth wife, Mary Welsh, but the book also pays substantial attention to others such as Hadley Richardson and Pauline Pfeiffer. In doing so, Hotchner offers the first complete understanding of the writer as man. The book is quite fun to read, bursting with colorful anecdotes the friends shared while punctuated often with quiet conversations about lost love, broken hearts, anger, and the uncomfortable silences that plagued Hemingway's turbulent love life. VERDICT An important book for any avid Hemingway reader or historian. Hotchner effectively fills in giant gaps in his subject's written history and comprehension of his personality, adding a new dimension to the author's work and characters as well as much needed primary source perspective to essential aspects of his life. Recommended to readers of Hemingway, American literature, and biography. [See Prepub Alert, 4/27/15.]--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2015

Published in 1966, Papa Hemingway offers an affecting personal portrait of Hotchner's close friend Ernest Hemingway. But there's more; apparently, in deference to Hemingway's fourth wife, Mary, and his publisher's lawyers, Hotchner kept quiet about some personal details that Hemingway had shared. Now he's decided to come clean. Among his revelations are Hemingway's thoughts on the end of his first marriage.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) biographer and longtime friend Hotchner (Papa Hemingway) recounts numerous conversations and experiences he had with arguably America's greatest author from 1948 to 1961. The topics tread ground familiar to any Hemingway reader--bullfights, fishing, sports, war, writing, etc.--but there is a special insider's focus on his romantic relationships. Much of this information is suppressed in other writings by and about the author so as to protect the feelings and privacy of the subjects. The book has a warm, breezy feel, somewhat of a fly-on-the-wall version of A Moveable Feast in its structure wherein Hotchner takes us around the world drinking and talking with the novelist. Much of the discussions recounted here describe his relationship with his fourth wife, Mary Welsh, but the book also pays substantial attention to others such as Hadley Richardson and Pauline Pfeiffer. In doing so, Hotchner offers the first complete understanding of the writer as man. The book is quite fun to read, bursting with colorful anecdotes the friends shared while punctuated often with quiet conversations about lost love, broken hearts, anger, and the uncomfortable silences that plagued Hemingway's turbulent love life. VERDICT An important book for any avid Hemingway reader or historian. Hotchner effectively fills in giant gaps in his subject's written history and comprehension of his personality, adding a new dimension to the author's work and characters as well as much needed primary source perspective to essential aspects of his life. Recommended to readers of Hemingway, American literature, and biography. [See Prepub Alert, 4/27/15.]--Benjamin Brudner, Curry Coll. Lib., Milton, MA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.