Hemingway's Girl
Hemingway's Girl book cover

Hemingway's Girl

Kindle Edition

Price
$10.99
Publisher
Berkley
Publication Date

Description

“Robuck’s breathtaking alchemy is to put us inside the world of Hemingway and his wife Pauline....Dazzlingly written and impossibly moving, this novel is a supernova.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Beautiful World “You’ll love this [novel]...Addictive.”—*Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of The Stormchasers “Richly realized...Readers will delight in the complex relationships and vivid setting.”— Publishers Weekly “A total reading pleasure—ultimately a story about seeking and finding the best in ourselves and in others.”—Historical Novel Society, Editor's Choice“I fell in love with Robuck’s Hemingway and with the fiery Mariella Bennet, but what I loved most was the novel's message: that we can inspire each other to be better human beings.”—Ann Napolitano, author of A Good Hard Look “Evokes a setting of the greatest fascination...This is assured and richly enjoyable storytelling.”—Margaret Leroy, author of The Soldier's Wife “Brings to vivid life the captivating and volatile world of a literary legend.”—Kristina McMorris, author of The Edge of Lost “An inspiring story of heartache and renewal. Readers will be sure to enjoy this ode to a literary icon.”—Sarah McCoy, bestselling author of The Mapmaker's Children “Colorful, atmospheric, and a pleasure to plunge into.”—Joseph Wallace, author of Diamond Ruby Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of The House of Hawthorne , Fallen Beauty , Call Me Zelda , Hemingway’s Girl , and Receive Me Falling . She is a contributor to the fiction blog Writer Unboxed, and she maintains her own blog, Muse. She is a member of the Hawthorne Society, the Hemingway Society, the Historical Novel Society, and the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.

Features & Highlights

  • From the bestselling author of
  • The House of Hawthorne
  • comes a historical fiction novel that gives life to the women behind novelist Ernest Hemingway in a “robust, tender story of love, grief, and survival on Key West in the 1930s.”*
  • In Depression-era Key West, Mariella Bennet, the daughter of an American fisherman and a Cuban woman, knows hunger. Her struggle to support her family following her father’s death leads her to a bar and bordello, where she bets on a risky boxing match...and attracts the interest of two men: world-famous writer, Ernest Hemingway, and Gavin Murray, one of the WWI veterans who are laboring to build the Overseas Highway.When Mariella is hired as a maid by Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline, she enters a rarified world of lavish, celebrity-filled dinner parties and elaborate off-island excursions. As she becomes caught up in the tensions and excesses of the Hemingway household, the attentions of the larger-than-life writer become a dangerous temptation...even as straightforward Gavin Murray draws her back to what matters most.  Will she cross an invisible line with the volatile Hemingway, or find a way to claim her own dreams?  As a massive hurricane bears down on Key West, Mariella faces some harsh truths...and the possibility of losing everything she loves.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(507)
★★★★
25%
(211)
★★★
15%
(127)
★★
7%
(59)
-7%
(-59)

Most Helpful Reviews

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She brings to life the politics and hurricane of 1935.

I expected to read about Hemingway's lifestyle in Key West. I was not disappointed.
I expected to read about the lifestyle of the poor in Key West. I was not disappointed.
What I did not expect was a very graphic description of the very first category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the US. I found this part of the book to be extremely interesting. I like the way the author brings to life a very violent storm and the politics surrounding the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.
7 people found this helpful
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good read

The only reason this book does not 5 stars in my opinion is that there were small inaccuracies regarding Key West. For instance, when Mariella looks out at sunset key (it was not sunset key when the story took place). However, these small inaccuracies did not take away from the story itself which was a fine and moving one. And other than these little mistakes in setting that only one that lives in the Keys would notice, the story did give the reader a very realistic picture of Key West in the days of Hemingway's residence on the island otherwise. Of course the action was all made up, but very plausible based on facts from the days. And of course, if you read of the Labor Day hurricane you will see that it was indeed as horrific as what was described here. A good read and one that any Hemingway aficionado will enjoy.
7 people found this helpful
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A far cry from Hemingway

I am pretty certain that "Papa" Hemingway would have disliked this book. It is poorly written, full of cliches, and the story line is poorly developed and predictable. One word that sums up this book is BORING -- something Hemingway abhorred. The thing I most disliked about this book was that as a reader you get no sense of what Key West was like in the early 1930s. It sounds more like Key West in 2008 than 1931.
7 people found this helpful
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Good Story Teller

I read this hoping to learn a little more about my favorite author, Ernest Hemingway. This book did not disappoint. Erika Robuck has written a compelling story weaving in known historical facts and characterizations of EH to produce this. She did an incredible job creating this believable story of poor Cuban girl Mariella working in the lush and opulent surroundings she did not know existed. The contrasts are excellent. I really got drawn into the story and the characters. I almost feel as if each of them is a real in historical character. Even after the ending where we all know Hemingway took his own life the author continues with Mariella and her Son visiting Papa Hemingway's writing cottage at the Key West house and reading a series of letters from Ernest and wife Pauline to Mariella. What a nice literary ploy to help the reader tie up some loose ends.
5 people found this helpful
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Heminingway!

If you like history and want to learn more about Hemingway, this is a good book. Well written and a good story
5 people found this helpful
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Not compelling, kind of cheesy

I have been a fan of Hemingway the man, since reading The Paris Wife. I think he was a terrible person to women and some friends, but I am still weirdly obsessed with him and his life. I found Hemingway's Girl a somewhat poor imitation of Paris Wife. It wasn't really well written, was nauseatingly lovey and cheesy at times, and not compelling to read.
5 people found this helpful
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Not very good

A really slow read. Not written very well. I gave up before the end and I always finish a book. Disappointing as I love stories about Hemingway.
4 people found this helpful
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Phenomenal

I experienced a hurricane while in the midst of a snowstorm. Writing superb. Characters real. I felt like I was in Key West. A man and a woman in an intimate relationship without ever being intimate. Intense. Dramatic. Emotional. Read it. I think you’ll agree. ~~
2 people found this helpful
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Brilliant

I couldn’t put this book down. I loved all the characters in this book especially Marbella and Gavin and their love story. Having been born in Cuban and living in Florida, the history and location pulled me right in. This book was recommended by Chanel Cleeton and it truly was one of the best books I ever read.
1 people found this helpful
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Delightful

As a big fan of Hemingway, I find this book delightful Ltd Key West during the ‘30s is pure magic.
1 people found this helpful