Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I bought this book in 2003 after the first time I came home from Paris. I put it on my book shelf and stared at it for quite awhile and then forgot about it. The problem, of course, is that I hate Hemingway. His stripped bare prose is just not for me. I didn't really consider reading this again until reading [b:The Paris Wife|8683812|The Paris Wife|Paula McLain|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320545874s/8683812.jpg|13556031], a fictional account of Hadley Richardson during the period she was married to Ernest Hemingway (the same period covered here). It still didn't quite happen. Then finally this year I read Naomi Wood's new novel [b:Mrs. Hemingway|18114165|Mrs. Hemingway|Naomi Wood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393788101s/18114165.jpg|25441395] and while I have never enjoyed Hemingway, I have always enjoyed tales about his life. Since this was tales from his life, written by the man himself, and dealing with my favorite city I decided it was far past time to read it. I guess my love of Paris won over my dislike of Hems cause I found this to be thoroughly enjoyable. Though I still don't enjoy his still, I really enjoyed the tales of his friends and experiences in a city he clearly idealizes from the early part of his career. It made me nostalgic for a time and place where I never was.
How much you will like this memoir-cum-devotion to the writing life in the 1902s ... depends on how much you enjoy Hemingway's personal opinions. His writing = gorgeous. His stepping on other writers when they don't fulfill his expectations? Somewhat discomforting, to say the least. Especially when he was in Paris to learn, as well as write. But nothing tops Hemingway's descriptions of place (cafes, in general) and conversation.
As for his love/hate relationship with Fitgerald, that is nothing but hilarious. How much of his ire is motivated by jealousy or latent homosexuality, is up to the reader to judge.
As for his love/hate relationship with Fitgerald, that is nothing but hilarious. How much of his ire is motivated by jealousy or latent homosexuality, is up to the reader to judge.
Yo no sé si ha sido un problema de la traducción o que el estilo del libro no me atrae, pero sin duda me he quedado totalmente sorprendida de lo poco, poquísimo, que me ha gustado el libro, por no decir nada. Sin duda esperaba algo completamente diferente al ser Hemingway...posiblemente le de otra orportunidad con alguna otra obra...
informative
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
I actually found it quite frustrating - Hemingway is famously bare-bones in the way he writes and thinks, overly simplistic at times although there are layers of metaphor and context behind everything he says. I looked up his life afterwards, only to realise this is the first part of a life that proves fact is stranger than fiction sometimes. A classic that depicts Paris through the characters living in it at the time, but if you're looking for the same ingredients in a different recipe, just watch 'Midnight in Paris'.
informative
medium-paced
I read this originally my senior year of high school. I didn't understand most of it, and I didn't remember anything from the book itself. After rereading it, I appreciated the shorter comments and opinions that Hemingway placed within his own personal stories and opinions. It made me reflect back on my own experiences and want to write them from a more omniscient point of view, like Hemingway does in this. I enjoyed this and am excited to read more Hemingway in the future.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced