Sylvia Howarth Howarth itibaren Kothavaripalle, Andhra Pradesh, Hindistan itibaren Kothavaripalle, Andhra Pradesh, Hindistan

I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel. It is based on the life of Ernest Hemingway & Hadley, his first wife. It was painful to read at times due to the infidelity, but interesting, nonetheless. It was interesting reading this after reading Hemingway's memoir, "A Moveable Feast", which chronicles their time in Paris. He wrote it at a time in his life, which makes one wonder if he regrets that way he treated Hadley/ended things...

I just reread this book and am struck by the beautiful descriptions of the imbalances of power among families and the struggles of mothering and yet still maintaining a sense of self! Such a truly lovely book!

Maybe the best of Cyril Hare's books--certainly featuring the best characters, the most realistic atmosphere, and (until the last chapter) the most gripping mystery of all that I've read so far. The Judge is such a well-rounded unlikeable character, it's suspense simply waiting to see if anything will happen to him after all. Unfortunately, the last chapter rushes at three times the pace as any of the other chapters, solving the mystery at breakneck speed at the expense of character, tone, and overall enjoyment. I'm blaming the editors of 1942, who probably didn't want a 450 page mystery, unless it was by Dorothy Sayers. This could've been as good as Gaudy Night.

I think I need to read a bit more about Wilkie Collins, because while I enjoyed the mystery and the construction of the story, I was also spent about the last two-thirds of the book thinking, "Did Wilkie Collins run over your dog or what?" There's a basis for this characterization, even outside of [redacted for spoilers], right? Guy has six or so volumes of letters, so I need to get crackin'.