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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Unfinished and published posthumously, A Moveable Feast is Hemingway’s memoir of his time spent in Paris with his fist wife Hadley in the early 1920s. Also included in this “restored edition” are many Paris sketches that I think weren’t meant to be in the book but that provide interesting insights into the author’s life.
On the one hand, I found reading about vibrant jazz age Paris and its players to be fascinating. Hemingway belonged to a community of truly luminous artistic figures including F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, John Dos Passos, Ezra Pound, and Ford Maddox Ford. It was really interesting to read about Hemingway’s relationships with them — especially since many of them are characterized rather irreverently!
On the downside, this book was kind of hard to follow. I don’t know if it’s because it was unfinished or because it’s Hemingway’s writing style to jump around and make references to things he hasn’t explained, or something else. If I recall correctly, the book’s introduction (or was it the foreward?) mentions that Hemingway’s alcoholism had a horrible effect on his memory. He probably didn’t remember his time in Paris all that well, and his alcoholism may have also impacted his writing ability.
Overall, I enjoyed reading about Hemingway's life in 1920s Paris, from his excursions with famous authors, to his hungry excursions through the city, to his descriptions of his dedication to his craft.
See the full review at Books Speak Volumes.
On the one hand, I found reading about vibrant jazz age Paris and its players to be fascinating. Hemingway belonged to a community of truly luminous artistic figures including F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, John Dos Passos, Ezra Pound, and Ford Maddox Ford. It was really interesting to read about Hemingway’s relationships with them — especially since many of them are characterized rather irreverently!
On the downside, this book was kind of hard to follow. I don’t know if it’s because it was unfinished or because it’s Hemingway’s writing style to jump around and make references to things he hasn’t explained, or something else. If I recall correctly, the book’s introduction (or was it the foreward?) mentions that Hemingway’s alcoholism had a horrible effect on his memory. He probably didn’t remember his time in Paris all that well, and his alcoholism may have also impacted his writing ability.
Overall, I enjoyed reading about Hemingway's life in 1920s Paris, from his excursions with famous authors, to his hungry excursions through the city, to his descriptions of his dedication to his craft.
See the full review at Books Speak Volumes.
Classic Hemingway. Says a lot using few words. Ex-pat name dropping.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
I cannot explain why this book is just simply so beautiful. I've read a few books that I can't pinpoint the exact genius but nevertheless, reading them just feels like a comfortable glove. Another book that comes to mind is the Unbearable Lightness of Being, which had a similar effect on me.
I have been making a point to read more classics over the past year, and am embarrassed to say that this is the first Hemingway I have read. Diving into it felt immediately familiar, and I realized it was a lot like the movie Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite movies of all-time, for better or worse Woody Allen aside). I revisited the Wiki and am not surprised to find that Allen pulled much of the inspiration for the movie from this book. Maybe that caused the book to come even more alive for me than it otherwise would have.
I'm not sure what the psychological implications are of this upcoming confession but I truly wanted to leap into the pages and claim Hemingway for myself. I developed a truly major crush. Just an absolutely wonderful read, with spectacular prose.
I have been making a point to read more classics over the past year, and am embarrassed to say that this is the first Hemingway I have read. Diving into it felt immediately familiar, and I realized it was a lot like the movie Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite movies of all-time, for better or worse Woody Allen aside). I revisited the Wiki and am not surprised to find that Allen pulled much of the inspiration for the movie from this book. Maybe that caused the book to come even more alive for me than it otherwise would have.
I'm not sure what the psychological implications are of this upcoming confession but I truly wanted to leap into the pages and claim Hemingway for myself. I developed a truly major crush. Just an absolutely wonderful read, with spectacular prose.
I thought this was a re-read. Originally purchased in Iowa City during my Hemingway phase, at Counterpoint for $1.00 along with a whole pile of others from the genre.
Picked up off my shelf at random and noticed I'd never read it. Whoops.
This one was a lot of fun. Published after his death in the early 1960s, it's a quick memoir of his time in Paris in the 1920s. The Lost Generation knew how to live - when I compare their workday to ours, I have to tip my hat.
Picked up off my shelf at random and noticed I'd never read it. Whoops.
This one was a lot of fun. Published after his death in the early 1960s, it's a quick memoir of his time in Paris in the 1920s. The Lost Generation knew how to live - when I compare their workday to ours, I have to tip my hat.
i think i liked the book more than you did...but i didn't love it as much as i expected to. i mean, it's supposed to contain some of hemmingway's best writings, it's critically acclaimed, etc. but i thought it was no more than a story about a guy and his wife struggling in Paris.
eh. i've read better, but i've definitely read worse.
eh. i've read better, but i've definitely read worse.
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
This is the revised edition, published in 2009. The foreword is written by his son Patrick and the introduction is by his grandson. The chapters are reworked and additional "sketches" are added at the end. Glossy inserts from the original manuscript are inserted into the book. Food, wine, books, paintings, writers, the streets of Paris, Hemingway's impressions...are what fill the pages of this book.
Interesting that so many famous authors and artists knew one another back then, in Paris.