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A Moveable Feast
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Manufacturer: Scribner
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Publisher: Scribner
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.20
You Save: $ 4.80 ( 32% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Scribner
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Publisher: Scribner
Average Customer Rating:
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A Moveable Feast Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5203
EAN: 9780684824994
ISBN: 068482499X
Label: Scribner
Manufacturer: Scribner
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 219
Publication Date: 1996-05-29
Publisher: Scribner
Studio: Scribner
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.5203
EAN: 9780684824994
ISBN: 068482499X
Label: Scribner
Manufacturer: Scribner
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 219
Publication Date: 1996-05-29
Publisher: Scribner
Studio: Scribner
Editorial Review of A Moveable Feast
In the preface to A Moveable Feast, Hemingway remarks casually that "if the reader prefers, this book may be regarded as fiction"--and, indeed, fact or fiction, it doesn't matter, for his slim memoir of Paris in the 1920s is as enchanting as anything made up and has become the stuff of legend. Paris in the '20s! Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, lived happily on $5 a day and still had money for drinks at the Closerie des Lilas, skiing in the Alps, and fishing trips to Spain. On every corner and at every café table, there were the most extraordinary people living wonderful lives and telling fantastic stories. Gertrude Stein invited Hemingway to come every afternoon and sip "fragrant, colorless alcohols" and chat admid her great pictures. He taught Ezra Pound how to box, gossiped with James Joyce, caroused with the fatally insecure Scott Fitzgerald (the acid portraits of him and his wife, Zelda, are notorious). Meanwhile, Hemingway invented a new way of writing based on this simple premise: "All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know."
Hemingway beautifully captures the fragile magic of a special time and place, and he manages to be nostalgic without hitting any false notes of sentimentality. "This is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy," he concludes. Originally published in 1964, three years after his suicide, A Moveable Feast was the first of his posthumous books and remains the best. --David Laskin
Customer Reviews of A Moveable Feast
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Paris Paris Paris
Review: If you've ever lived in Paris, visited Paris, or even just dreamt of Paris, then you need to read this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Hemingway in Paris
Review: The title `A Moveable Feast' in its brevity tells a lot and is a good example of Hemingway's tight writing style. Hemingway exacted severe discipline upon himself regarding his work, and he set a personal goal, for himself, to write one story about each thing that he knew about. An important lesson he learned about writing was to not think about anything that he was writing from the time he stopped writing one day until he started again the next. That way the subconscious mind could be working on it and at the same time he'd be listening to other people, and noticing everything. He spent many hours at the Louvre studying the works of Cézanne, Monet and Manet as a way to feed his imagination. He had no close friends in Paris during those years although he had on and off relationships with Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
One of the most traumatic times of his life, regarding his work, happened when his wife Hadley lost a suitcase containing all of his manuscripts, with the exception of two short stories, `My Old Man' and `Up in Michigan.' The suitcase was never found and one can only imagine the empty feeling he must have felt at the time.
In `A Moveable Feast' Hemingway draws a vivid word picture of Paris that only he could have drawn. Get a copy of the book and let Hemingway guide you through the Paris he knew in the 1920's.
Tom Barnes Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Find more at my website about books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews, my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
[...]
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Young Hemingway in Paris
Review: Ah, Paris!!! "A Moveable Feast" is a memoire of Hemingway's poor but happy life as a young journalist turned novelist in 1920's Paris. Written in Hemingway's unique style, this book offers a variety of snapshots of the young author's life, Paris life in general and the people who comprised the Paris literary scene of the period.
I have only dreamed of Paris. Other than F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have only a passing knowledge of the people mentioned in this work. I am, however, a Hemingway fan, and I enjoy his efficient and straightforward style. The stories he tells and the scenes he describes make one want to be in Paris, and they make one want to learn more about the characters mentioned. In fact, while I applaud Hemingway's brevity, I actually wished for a little more depth--only Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein were discussed in any detail at all.
I enjoyed this book, but if you are going to read Hemingway, this is not the place to start. "The Sun Also Rises" contains much of the same feeling for 1920's Paris, plus it features a great description of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. His best works though are "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Those are the starting points.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: From reading the back of the book I was expecting more details about Paris and his romance with his wife. I later found out (or I understand) that this book was published after his death from a collection of his papers and wasn't intended for a novel. Although its interesting to read about his daily acitivities, I would say that his other works (specifically, A Farewell to Arms) are better representations of Hemingway's talent.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Poor but happy in the City of Light
Review: A MOVEABLE FEAST is an autobiographical account by Ernest Hemingway of his time as a struggling young writer spent in Paris and (briefly) Schruns (Austria) with his (first) wife, Hadley, during the period 1921-26. Ernest began writing the book in 1957, and it was edited and published after the author's death by his (fourth) wife, Mary.
I've decided that to appreciate this volume the reader must be one or more of the following:
1. An Ernest Hemingway fan.
2. An F. Scott Fitzgerald fan.
3. Familiar with, and interested in, any of the following literary figures: Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Ford.
4. Self-reliant enough to be footloose and fancy free in a foreign city, particularly Paris.
Much of A MOVEABLE FEAST seems rather aimless as Hemingway rattles about his quarter of the French capital, occasionally writing, and often visiting or chatting with other members of the American expatriate community in post-war Paris known as the "Lost Generation". I guess one had to be there to understand why they were "lost".
In the best and longest chapter, "Scott Fitzgerald", Ernest relates a journey he and Scott took to Lyon to recover an automobile the latter had left there - a trip that would have tried the patience of Job and portrays Fitzgerald, though not maliciously on Hemingway's part, as a hypochondriacal alcoholic. On being asked by Hadley if the trip had taught him anything, Ernest replies with what is perhaps the book's most perceptive snippet of wisdom:
"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."
Notwithstanding the occasional and mild entertainment value of A MOVEABLE FEAST, there was nothing about it that compels me to read anything else by its author. Is Hemingway overrated, or is it just me? Most likely the latter. And, as far as sampling Fitzgerald is concerned, I saw the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby when it was first released and was, as I recall, bored silly, though my date thought Redford to die for.
I'm awarding four stars solely on the basis of Hemingway's statement expressed early on:
"Going down the stairs when I had worked well ... was a wonderful feeling and I was free then to walk anywhere in Paris." I've tasted that freedom myself in many of the world's great cities, and it's been one of the great and too infrequent joys of my life. Hemingway's memory of his freedom at that time and place is the narrative's central support and well worth the telling.
Review Summary: Paris Paris Paris
Review: If you've ever lived in Paris, visited Paris, or even just dreamt of Paris, then you need to read this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Hemingway in Paris
Review: The title `A Moveable Feast' in its brevity tells a lot and is a good example of Hemingway's tight writing style. Hemingway exacted severe discipline upon himself regarding his work, and he set a personal goal, for himself, to write one story about each thing that he knew about. An important lesson he learned about writing was to not think about anything that he was writing from the time he stopped writing one day until he started again the next. That way the subconscious mind could be working on it and at the same time he'd be listening to other people, and noticing everything. He spent many hours at the Louvre studying the works of Cézanne, Monet and Manet as a way to feed his imagination. He had no close friends in Paris during those years although he had on and off relationships with Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
One of the most traumatic times of his life, regarding his work, happened when his wife Hadley lost a suitcase containing all of his manuscripts, with the exception of two short stories, `My Old Man' and `Up in Michigan.' The suitcase was never found and one can only imagine the empty feeling he must have felt at the time.
In `A Moveable Feast' Hemingway draws a vivid word picture of Paris that only he could have drawn. Get a copy of the book and let Hemingway guide you through the Paris he knew in the 1920's.
Tom Barnes Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Find more at my website about books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews, my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
[...]
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Young Hemingway in Paris
Review: Ah, Paris!!! "A Moveable Feast" is a memoire of Hemingway's poor but happy life as a young journalist turned novelist in 1920's Paris. Written in Hemingway's unique style, this book offers a variety of snapshots of the young author's life, Paris life in general and the people who comprised the Paris literary scene of the period.
I have only dreamed of Paris. Other than F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have only a passing knowledge of the people mentioned in this work. I am, however, a Hemingway fan, and I enjoy his efficient and straightforward style. The stories he tells and the scenes he describes make one want to be in Paris, and they make one want to learn more about the characters mentioned. In fact, while I applaud Hemingway's brevity, I actually wished for a little more depth--only Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein were discussed in any detail at all.
I enjoyed this book, but if you are going to read Hemingway, this is not the place to start. "The Sun Also Rises" contains much of the same feeling for 1920's Paris, plus it features a great description of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. His best works though are "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Those are the starting points.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: From reading the back of the book I was expecting more details about Paris and his romance with his wife. I later found out (or I understand) that this book was published after his death from a collection of his papers and wasn't intended for a novel. Although its interesting to read about his daily acitivities, I would say that his other works (specifically, A Farewell to Arms) are better representations of Hemingway's talent.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Poor but happy in the City of Light
Review: A MOVEABLE FEAST is an autobiographical account by Ernest Hemingway of his time as a struggling young writer spent in Paris and (briefly) Schruns (Austria) with his (first) wife, Hadley, during the period 1921-26. Ernest began writing the book in 1957, and it was edited and published after the author's death by his (fourth) wife, Mary.
I've decided that to appreciate this volume the reader must be one or more of the following:
1. An Ernest Hemingway fan.
2. An F. Scott Fitzgerald fan.
3. Familiar with, and interested in, any of the following literary figures: Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Ford.
4. Self-reliant enough to be footloose and fancy free in a foreign city, particularly Paris.
Much of A MOVEABLE FEAST seems rather aimless as Hemingway rattles about his quarter of the French capital, occasionally writing, and often visiting or chatting with other members of the American expatriate community in post-war Paris known as the "Lost Generation". I guess one had to be there to understand why they were "lost".
In the best and longest chapter, "Scott Fitzgerald", Ernest relates a journey he and Scott took to Lyon to recover an automobile the latter had left there - a trip that would have tried the patience of Job and portrays Fitzgerald, though not maliciously on Hemingway's part, as a hypochondriacal alcoholic. On being asked by Hadley if the trip had taught him anything, Ernest replies with what is perhaps the book's most perceptive snippet of wisdom:
"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love."
Notwithstanding the occasional and mild entertainment value of A MOVEABLE FEAST, there was nothing about it that compels me to read anything else by its author. Is Hemingway overrated, or is it just me? Most likely the latter. And, as far as sampling Fitzgerald is concerned, I saw the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby when it was first released and was, as I recall, bored silly, though my date thought Redford to die for.
I'm awarding four stars solely on the basis of Hemingway's statement expressed early on:
"Going down the stairs when I had worked well ... was a wonderful feeling and I was free then to walk anywhere in Paris." I've tasted that freedom myself in many of the world's great cities, and it's been one of the great and too infrequent joys of my life. Hemingway's memory of his freedom at that time and place is the narrative's central support and well worth the telling.