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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the words of Hemingway..."This book was rot and made me tight...I guess I should go drink now." Honestly I was shocked that this is considered a "classic"...I hated it and found no merit in it at all. Boo!
medium-paced
There are a couple very nice passages in this book, and the opening night of the book is very well put together. But over all very little about this book excited or held me (I do love the sexual pun of the title though). I specialize in modernist literature and maybe I read it too late in that process, and I do agree with Gertrude Stein: Fitzgerald is better.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fiesta, at its heart, is an introspective look into the social life of the young yet aging expatriate in a wealthy postwar 20s. Pain is a major theme--from the passionate yet strained relationship between our main characters, to Brett's various romantic interests littered throughout her story, all of the characters experience pain on various different levels. It's a testament to the hopelessness that those who lived during the first world war felt, but also to their deep resilience and yearning for better life.
Hemingway writes in such a sharply beautiful yet cohesive way. His descriptions of the life and and atmosphere in both Pamplona and Paris are not only deeply immersive but also describe the thoughts of the characters. The scenes in the countryside of Spain were most beautiful to me, though I think the entirety of the novel is incredibly pretty in a way that I don't think I'll ever see again.
****
It was very hot and bright, and the houses looked sharply white. We turned out onto the Gran Via.
'Oh, Jake,' Brett said, 'we could have had such a damned good time together.'
Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me.
'Yes.' I said. 'Isn't it pretty to think so?'
(216)
Hemingway writes in such a sharply beautiful yet cohesive way. His descriptions of the life and and atmosphere in both Pamplona and Paris are not only deeply immersive but also describe the thoughts of the characters. The scenes in the countryside of Spain were most beautiful to me, though I think the entirety of the novel is incredibly pretty in a way that I don't think I'll ever see again.
****
It was very hot and bright, and the houses looked sharply white. We turned out onto the Gran Via.
'Oh, Jake,' Brett said, 'we could have had such a damned good time together.'
Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me.
'Yes.' I said. 'Isn't it pretty to think so?'
(216)
if this was written about a brooklyn polycule it would be all the rage in the 2020s, but alas, it was written in the 1920s
I was afraid to run into some toxic masculinity, after all, Hemingway is known as a very masculine author, but I was happily surprised with the nuanced kind of masculinity that is portrayed in this novel. Yes, the main character likes traditionally masculine stuff, but early on in the novel he is also able to express his emotions through crying (and to admit that he feels relief afterwards), he never judges other people for not complying to his views of masculinity or femininity, he unapoligetically loves a "boyish" woman and when a family is hurt because of "masculine" behaviour he reflects on these risks and that it might not have been the right choice in that situation. I'm quite glad about this, and actually look forward to reading some other novel by Hemingway.
However, about half of the book was a bit boring, and I did not really care for the way dialogues are portrayed, especially within larger groups of characters.
However, about half of the book was a bit boring, and I did not really care for the way dialogues are portrayed, especially within larger groups of characters.
*
as a portrayal of decadent, hedonistic, spiritually bankrupt rich drunks who destroy every sacred thing they touch it's not quite up there with the great gatsby but it still feels essential and powerful and true. my first hemingway and despite all the obvious and glaring flaws I love the style, which works on you so subtly and gradually it was a pleasant shock when I realised how hypnotic and stirring it had become.
CW very anti-semitic (and yet cohn accidentally ends up being possibly the most sympathetic character in the book - he's an asshole but at least he still feels deeply about something)
as a portrayal of decadent, hedonistic, spiritually bankrupt rich drunks who destroy every sacred thing they touch it's not quite up there with the great gatsby but it still feels essential and powerful and true. my first hemingway and despite all the obvious and glaring flaws I love the style, which works on you so subtly and gradually it was a pleasant shock when I realised how hypnotic and stirring it had become.
CW very anti-semitic (and yet cohn accidentally ends up being possibly the most sympathetic character in the book - he's an asshole but at least he still feels deeply about something)