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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
this was a pleasant book.
Hemingway’s Fiesta is essentially about a man who gets friendzoned in Spain.
For all of the celebration of Hemingway’s pithy style, it didn’t do anything for me, and neither did it feel entirely coherent: the slow beginning was like walking through sludge because of the irrelevant detail about drinks some Anglo-American bohemians have in Paris, and then the culmination of the book that has the most captivating part - which is that of the bull fighting - is just a mere sequence of events. Understandably, this is a tad disappointing for a Spaniard as the other insights about Pamplona’s fiesta is comfortingly familiar to most Spaniards who have been to their own village fiestas - I liked being reminded of my own fiesta folly.
Updated to 4 star because, despite my disinterest in the style, the plot of the fiesta and its relatability has stuck with me
Hemingway’s Fiesta is essentially about a man who gets friendzoned in Spain.
For all of the celebration of Hemingway’s pithy style, it didn’t do anything for me, and neither did it feel entirely coherent: the slow beginning was like walking through sludge because of the irrelevant detail about drinks some Anglo-American bohemians have in Paris, and then the culmination of the book that has the most captivating part - which is that of the bull fighting - is just a mere sequence of events. Understandably, this is a tad disappointing for a Spaniard as the other insights about Pamplona’s fiesta is comfortingly familiar to most Spaniards who have been to their own village fiestas - I liked being reminded of my own fiesta folly.
Updated to 4 star because, despite my disinterest in the style, the plot of the fiesta and its relatability has stuck with me
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Haven’t read it since college. Took my time reading-reading it.
I'm not sure I like that ultra sparse writing style. Most of the time it didn't bother me or I didn't notice, but every now and then it was so dry it was almost silly. It was also very subtle, and I'm sure that writing style helped there. I liked the subtlety in general, but once I'm aware of subtlety, I can't help but wonder if I'm missing other things.
Often it was very pleasant and sweet, I especially liked the fishing trip, but it would also get brutally uncomfortable and the characters would fluctuate between charming and detestable. I liked Jake (the main character) pretty much the whole time, he had a nice mix of jovial stoicism. One issue I have with the sparse writing style is I have a hard time not applying the impression the simplistic style gives me, to the characterizations. I end up feeling that all the characters are simple and spartan.
Everyone is drinking their ass off and rabble rousing almost from beginning to end, and I was starting to feel weird about the level of constant debauchery, but then I remembered that they were basically on vacation. I would say it was still indicative of the general level of drinking at the time, and a lot of it seemed quite nice really. It seems like here was more sincerity and social camaraderie in it then there is now. I also really enjoyed their vocabulary around drinking. "I was a bit tight" "Oh I was blind" "You're cock-eyed" etc. So charming!
Often it was very pleasant and sweet, I especially liked the fishing trip, but it would also get brutally uncomfortable and the characters would fluctuate between charming and detestable. I liked Jake (the main character) pretty much the whole time, he had a nice mix of jovial stoicism. One issue I have with the sparse writing style is I have a hard time not applying the impression the simplistic style gives me, to the characterizations. I end up feeling that all the characters are simple and spartan.
Everyone is drinking their ass off and rabble rousing almost from beginning to end, and I was starting to feel weird about the level of constant debauchery, but then I remembered that they were basically on vacation. I would say it was still indicative of the general level of drinking at the time, and a lot of it seemed quite nice really. It seems like here was more sincerity and social camaraderie in it then there is now. I also really enjoyed their vocabulary around drinking. "I was a bit tight" "Oh I was blind" "You're cock-eyed" etc. So charming!