The Situation: Delphine Auber loves Paris, her hometown for all of your young life. She loves it even more now that the war is over and the Nazis have been defeated. But when tragedy strikes, she finds herself fleeing to New York to stay with friends, Blue and Delia, while also believing this may the opportunity for her to find the man her mother always said was her father: Ernest Hemingway. Delphine clings to the idea that Hemingway is her father - despite the doubts of those around her - almost as much as she clings to her dream of becoming a writer. And while Hemingway may be a well-known literary figure who is not too difficult to track down, the journey will take her years, and to places she never thought she would visit.
The Problem: Looking for Ernest Hemingway may be the goal, but staying away from Paris is also part of the plan, as Delphine believes she can never go back, not after what happened. And even though she finds safety and comfort with old friends of her mother's in New York, it is not long before Delphine finds herself in another difficult situation with a new friend. When she hears that Hemingway is in Havana, Cuba, she makes her way down there, determined to find him, not knowing that the Cuban Revolution is only a few years away. Regardless, Delphine is willing to take the risk to find the man she has idolized since childhood, the man she believes holds the answers to who she truly is.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in various locations, beginning in 1945, and ending 1964. Delphine's adventure will take her from her hometown of Paris, to a family friend's home in New York, to Havana, and then to Key West, Florida. Delphine's focus is devoted to two things: finding literary legend Ernest Hemingway, whom she believes to be her father, and becoming a writer herself. Throughout her story are letters to and from another family friend who remains in Paris, Louise, who is a nun that Delphine's mother had always trusted. Louise attempts to bring Delphine back home, and also closer to God, but the protagonist resists both options, holding onto the stubbornness that has both served her well, and also gotten her in trouble.
My Verdict: Characters that travel to various locations throughout their lives always appeal to me, for whatever reason. It could simply be because I also love to travel, or because having characters in different settings allows for different experiences with different types of people. And in this book, it was easy to justify Delphine's traveling, even to somewhere like pre-revolution Cuba, because she is literally searching for Ernest Hemingway. I admit to being dubious about this part of the story and how believable it would be, but it works out well, and Lemmie does not rely on it to carry the entire novel, even though it is Delphine's main motivation. There are some details that caused the narrative to feel a little clumsy in places, but overall it is an interesting and enjoyable story.
Favorite Moment: I love food, and I love to cook. The brief mention of Delia's southern cooking and how it was adding pounds to Delphine's body made me so unreasonably happy.
Favorite Character: It would be a tie between Delia and Louise. Both are doing their best to help Delphine, riding the line between being encouraging, but also honest and realistic.
Recommended Reading: I recommend On a Night of a Thousand Stars by Andrea Yaryura Clark.
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