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Liana
When Marc Royer, a wealthy white on the French Caribbean island of Saint Boniface marries Liana, a young mulatto, she finds herself an outcast from both worlds
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
2 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Martha Gellhorn
61 books317 followersMartha Ellis Gellhorn (1908-1998) was an American novelist, travel writer and journalist. She is considered to be one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century. The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism is named after her.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 24, 2012
Liked it, though sad and the men were blindly stupid.
June 24, 2012
If you've read Madame Bovary you'll get the general gist of Liana. Just move the setting from semi-rural France to a small Caribbean island, and you're all set.
I read (most of) this because I was interested in Martha Gellhorn, someone I had not heard of until the recent HBO movie 'Hemingway and Gellhorn'. The writing is straight-forward, journalistic I suppose, in the way that Hemingway's was. I think I would be more interested in her journalism than this novel.
I read (most of) this because I was interested in Martha Gellhorn, someone I had not heard of until the recent HBO movie 'Hemingway and Gellhorn'. The writing is straight-forward, journalistic I suppose, in the way that Hemingway's was. I think I would be more interested in her journalism than this novel.
Read
January 13, 2020Read Paula McLain's book, Love and Ruin , if you want to read about Gellhorn and Hemingway. Forget the movie, it was trash, read the book instead. McLain's writing is clear and brilliant and her research is extensive. It's a beautifully written book, I enjoyed it thoroughly. And it made me start researching Gellhorn.
February 2, 2017
Fascinating view of life on a tiny Caribbean island during WW II. Love between a black island woman, her wealthy husband, and a young Frenchman.
May 19, 2017
Depressing.
December 29, 2022
I can empathize with Leila, or anyone else who, for one reason or another, just doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. So, she had my sympathy and I also understood why she made the drastic decision she did, even though she regretted it but was then powerless to do anything about it. Society failed her, the two men in her life failed her, life failed her, and in the end, she failed herself.
A good (though depressing) novel. Maybe one of the problems Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway had, is that they were both authors, therefore competing in career, popularity (whose book sold more, who did the critics like more, etc.) and ambitions. Truth be told, they never should have gotten married, either to each other or anyone else.
A good (though depressing) novel. Maybe one of the problems Martha Gellhorn and Ernest Hemingway had, is that they were both authors, therefore competing in career, popularity (whose book sold more, who did the critics like more, etc.) and ambitions. Truth be told, they never should have gotten married, either to each other or anyone else.
October 10, 2023
I read the first third but then skipped to the end. It was dense. I liked it...didn't love.
Read
April 23, 2024DNF
September 7, 2022
I didn't know this was on my shelves until recently (bought as part of a lot of old hardbacks many years ago), but when I spotted it during a cleanout I recognized Gellhorn's name from relatively recent media attention as one of Hemingway's wives. She was a tough cookie and didn't put up with more than a few years of his nonsense, thankfully. This title was written during WW II and their marriage, so an interesting glimpse into the creative mind of a very busy journalist. Her writing is lovely and atmospheric; my only qualm is that the reader knows the story will not end well and there are no surprises to shake up the path toward the inevitable outcome.
February 10, 2019
Having read about Martha Gellhorn Hemminway's third wife I decided to read some of Gellhon's books. I read "Liana". Nice but sad story but not in par with Hemingway's novels. This is the only Gellhorn book I've read.
August 17, 2021
This was Gellhorn's most popular novel, and the only one that made the NY Times best seller list. An escapist tale about a love triangle between a French Refugee, a mulatto, and a rich Caribbean planter, its just what America wanted to read in 1944. Technically - no doubt due to Max Perkins and Hemingway helping out - its Gellhorn's best novel in terms of character development, plot, and pacing.
However, its still not a particularly good novel. Its depressing and there are no positive characters. And Gellhorn's writing - even at its best - is no more than adequate. Finally, her descriptions of Liana and the Caribbean blacks come off as patronizing and occasionally racist. Summary: Unless you're interested in Gellhorn or fascinated by race relations in the Caribbean, I'd skip it.
However, its still not a particularly good novel. Its depressing and there are no positive characters. And Gellhorn's writing - even at its best - is no more than adequate. Finally, her descriptions of Liana and the Caribbean blacks come off as patronizing and occasionally racist. Summary: Unless you're interested in Gellhorn or fascinated by race relations in the Caribbean, I'd skip it.
abandoned
May 29, 2018i read the first few chapters. i hate even saying this but her style reminded me too much of hemingway's and also i did not like any of the characters or even find them interesting. i still think gellhorn the human is very cool and inspiring, but this book was not the book for me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews