Hemingway in Love: His Own Story by A.E. Hotchner… A Review

“Loving two women at the same time is the worst affliction a man can have.” 

Hemingway was passionate. In his work and in his life. Hemingway in Love, His Own Story, a memoir by long-time Hemingway confidant AE Hotchner exposes the great love he had for his first wife Hadley and his lifetime of despair over betraying her and losing her. It's a love story and a glimpse into Hemingway the man, whose writing came from his passion for life.

Following a second plane crash that Hemingway didn't think he was going to survive (but he did), he confided in his friend Hotchner the story that was closest to his heart, the story of how he gambled and lost the one true love of his life, his first wife Hadley, the woman who believed in him, who championed him on through lean times, and the only woman who could complete him and meet life head on just like he did. As his health was failing him, Hemingway wanted to make sure the story would be told if he couldn't do it himself. And that's exactly what Hemingway in Love does, it tells the story of the love he had for Hadley, his true love, how he betrayed her, lost her and continued to try and find her in the women he became involved with after her.

Oh how my heart ached for him! Hotchner did a wonderful job revealing the true heart of a man whose facade seemed so unshakeable, and all the while layering it with the people and places that served as Hemingway's playground. Paris comes alive, Cuba is revealed, Josephine Baker makes an appearance, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald. These are the people and places that became his stories, and here we see them without the flourish of the pen. Though Hemingway revealed his story to Hotchner prior to his suicide in 1961, it wasn't until now that Hemingway in Love was published out of respect for Hemingway's fourth wife, Mary.

Are you a romantic at heart? Then you will love this book! A slim 192 pages and small enough to fit in a pocket, it's a perfect little gift for that romantic on your list too! A definite 4 star book.