Community Library Notes
“Hemingway’s Girl” by Erika Robuck is the story of Mariella, who was hired as a housekeeper. The story opens with Mariella in 1961 bringing in a Marlin and needing the help of her son Jake. It weighs 326 pounds. Returning to her house, she sees a headline in the newspaper that reads “Papa passes. Hemingway dies of gunshot wound.” Then author Robuck takes the reader back to 1935 where Hemingway referees a fight. Mariella bets and loses all her money.
When next she sees Papa, his wife Pauline is cutting his hair. Ada Stern is the boy’s governess and the most important rule is to never disturb Hemingway when he’s writing. When she is introduced to him, she feels a bolt of electricity go through her. The next day, he takes her into his writing cottage and tells her not to snoop. She says she might. He likes her honesty. She reads “The Sun Also Rises” and realizes he puts himself and real people into his books.
The next night a soldier, Gavin, is going to fight Big Bear. Gavin knocks Big Bear out. She wants to talk to Gavin but Hemingway leads her to her home in the Cuban section. He kisses her on the forehead. At her home, her sister Lulu has a fever and the doctor is there. Mariella feels guilty that she was gone and unable to help. The doctor puts Lulu in a cold bath. Her sister Estelle and her mother are both frantic with worry. Lulu recovers.
The next day, as she cleans the crystal chandelier, Hemingway tells her to quit for the day and takes her to a café for lemonade and key lime pie. When he sees she’s saving some for her sisters, he has the kitchen prepare a bag with sandwiches and a pie for them. He later takes her out in his 38-foot yacht. He calls her daughter. They catch a load of fish and a shark comes to eat them. He gives her a rifle and allows her to shoot the shark.
The next Sunday she goes to church. Gavin comes in and sits next to her. When he takes her home he kisses her hand. The following Saturday he takes her and her sisters to the beach. When a man out at sea yells he needs help, Gavin swims out to save him. She goes to find Gavin’s house and meets John, a crippled vet who lives with him. The house and garden are neat and freshly painted. She and John become friends. He plays the guitar for Lulu. He’s in a wheelchair with two stumps for legs. Gavin had saved his life during the war. John tells her Gavin wants to charter fishing, sunset cruises one day. She wants to do this too.
Gavin works on building a road in another area and takes care of a vet named Fred. He covers for him at work and wakes him at midday. Mariella goes to see Gavin at his job. He tells her about his time in the war and she tells him about her father’s death. But she doesn’t know he killed himself. She returns to Key West. The next day the family and Mariella fly to Bimini, the Bahamas, for summer vacation. Papa greets them and seems happier than ever. He tells her the characters in his books are flawed and deeply human.
Gavin and Papa fight when everyone returns home. Papa wins and Mariella holds ice to his bloody nose. Is this too intimate? She sees a painting of her father’s boat on the wall at John’s house. Gavin had found the boat, hadn’t told her. She’s pleased it is at dry dock. It is named “ForEva”, her mom’s name. John and Mariella’s mother become good friends. John is worried about Gavin because hurricane season is coming, and Gavin worries about the families who live at the camp. He can’t go to Key West over Labor Day as his boss needs him to help when the storm comes. He gathers some of the families and takes them in a truck to an area further north. It will take hours for a train to come that could get them away. Author Robuck keeps us in suspense as the storm arrives and destroys the area. When the train does arrive, it’s pulled from the track by a surge of water.
Hemingway writes an essay asking who is to blame for the deaths from the hurricane? The author based her story on a true event that occurred in Florida and did much research from letters. What happens to Gavin during the hurricane? Does Mariella start her own charter fishing business? Find this enticing book on the shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.
Mendocino Community Library re-opened April 1. In their first stage of reopening, they will be open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, call 707-9375773, email mclib@mcn.org or visit their website at mendocinocommunitylibrary.org. The library is located at 10591 Williams St., Mendocino.