Those who know me well know I enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway. I am going through a reread cycle on his books and decided to start with "A Moveable Feast". Why did I pick this first? I believe to really understand Hemingway you have to read this book. It is a collection of short stories about his time in Paris during the 1920's. The stories introduce different people that he spent time with during this part of his life. It can be off color at times so don't read it if you are easily offended.
I think the overarching thing I like about reading during this period of time is how slow everything was. Life was simple yet fulfilling. In our time it seems like we are constantly trying to cram everything into every second or we don't feel like we are fulfilled - not Hemingway in the 1920's.
The stories focus on the life of Ernest and his first wife Hadley. They live a simple life in one of the poor quarters of Paris. They actually lived on top of a saw mill. Ernest's days consist of rising, walking to a cafe through the city, writing through the morning, taking a relaxed lunch and then spending an early evening with friends in the cafe's. There is a lot of drinking, but, it is Ernest Hemingway.
The people in this book influenced Hemingway's young life and the experiences produced his first book "The Sun Also Rises" (which I am reading now). "The Sun Also Rises" captures this generation known as the lost generation. Hemingway spent a lot of time in the mountains in the winter and in Spain in the summer. The trips to Spain are highlighted in "The Sun Also Rises". The trips in the mountains are used in "Farewell to Arms" which is a love story set in the Italian Front where Hemingway served as an ambulance driver.
The best story in "A Moveable Feast" is the story about F. Scott Fitzgerald (Great Gatsby). Scott was a piece of work and was adversely affected by alcohol. Hemingway writes of a trip the two of them made from Lyon to Paris bringing Scott's Renault back. The Renault had been left in Lyon because his wife (later certified insane) didn't like the top so she had it sawed off. The rains started so Scott and his wife left the vehicle in Lyon and took the train to Paris. Hemingway and Scott went back down to retrieve it. The adventure back up to Paris is classic and gives great insight to the tragic personal phobias Scott had.
If you enjoy and easy read and have an interest in Paris during the 20's - read this book.
Hemingway is one of my favorite authors as well. I also happen to be reading, or at least trying to read, The Sun Also Rises. I don't like it as well as A Farewell to Arms (one of my all-time favorite novels) or For Whom the Bell Tolls, but I have enjoyed it every time I've read it--this is my third time. I really like the contrasting nature of the two settings: France and Spain. The characters interact differently with each other in Spain than they do in France.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read A Moveable Feast but it seems that each trip I make to the bookstore I spend at least a little time holding it in my hands before ultimately checking out with another book.
If you like Hemingway you should read A Moveable Feast. I just started Farewell to Arms. I save For Whom the Bell Tolls for the last novel then finish with Old Man and the Sea. I may read Out of Africa before somewhere in there.
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