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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Always mixed feelings when it comes to Hemingway lol but I did really enjoy aspects of this book. Something about his writing is so boring in the best way. Hits the spot when it’s what I’m looking for in a book. Also enjoyed reading about his work ethic and general experiences in Paris. Makes me long for a life of writing in cafes and drinking with friends every evening…
3.5 - Fine writing, very readable, entertaining, but lacks an oomph for me like in his other stuff. Recommended for Hemingway lovers.
Ehhhh, it's some anecdotes with sparse prose. Very Hemingway. Some of the stories are ok. Not bad, but not interesting, either.
GLBT interest tag is for Sylvia & Adrienne and Gertrude & Alice; for Hem's & Gertrude's homophobia concerning male sexual predators; for confusing predators with non-predator queer people; and for scads of intimate contact with Scott Fitzgerald.
Is it bad that now I want to read fic where Hem & Scott were together? Where is the AU where Hem took Scott skiing in Austria and they spent weeks skiing, writing, drinking, etc. Someone should write that.
Interesting: his description of Gertrude's "You're all a lost generation" as her tirade at a WWI veteran motor mechanic refusing to skip her ahead in the line for car repairs. Only later did it become "literary".
Sexism aside, I'm very fond of Hem. Sure, sometimes I want to throw him off a cliff, but I've always loved adventure stories.
Is it bad that now I want to read fic where Hem & Scott were together? Where is the AU where Hem took Scott skiing in Austria and they spent weeks skiing, writing, drinking, etc. Someone should write that.
Interesting: his description of Gertrude's "You're all a lost generation" as her tirade at a WWI veteran motor mechanic refusing to skip her ahead in the line for car repairs. Only later did it become "literary".
Sexism aside, I'm very fond of Hem. Sure, sometimes I want to throw him off a cliff, but I've always loved adventure stories.
Don't know how I missed this collection of essays when I was in my Hemingway phase (about 20 years ago!)! They provide a great picture of "Hem" (or "Tatie," as his first wife rather nauseatingly calls him) and his life and outlook in and on Paris. He's funny, conceited, descriptive, self-absorbed (and did I mention 'conceited'?), and it's great to see echoes of his other writing in some of these essays. I know there's a fuss about edited versions and various revisions, but I'd suggest just reading it. Lots to pay attention to.
Bought at Relay Books, Bethel, CT, with Caroline and Julie, late June 2017.
Bought at Relay Books, Bethel, CT, with Caroline and Julie, late June 2017.
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Lesbophobia
Wow, did I love this book. Though his descriptions of the Fitzgeralds are lovingly brutal and sad, and likely steeped in his perceptions of his own decline.