Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. It is his classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, filled with irreverent portraits of other expatriate luminaries such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein; tender memories of his first wife, Hadley; and insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. It is a literary feast, brilliantly evoking the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the youthful spirit, unbridled creativity, and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.
A Moveable Feast
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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 admit 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
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"The first thing to say about the 'restored' edition so ably and attractively produced by Patrick and Seán Hemingway is that it does live up to its billing . . . well worth having."--Christopher Hitchens, The Atlantic
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By Daffy Bibliophile
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
A wonderful read and very easy to get caught up in! An older Hemingway looking back on the time when he was "twenty-five and living in Paris", really the period from 1921 to 1926. Paris, the moveable feast that one takes with you for the rest of your life.
The book is structured in a series of vignettes and it's like leafing through Hemingway's personal photo album. Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach and her library that inspired so many authors in Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his personal problems, Hemingway's favourite café and the waiters who knew him and welcomed him as a friend. And, of course, his wife and son both of whom he obviously loved dearly. They're all here and they all stand as witnesses that you don't need money to be happy.
This is a book for writers but I think anyone who enjoys seeing snapshots of a life well lived would enjoy it.
The book is structured in a series of vignettes and it's like leafing through Hemingway's personal photo album. Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach and her library that inspired so many authors in Paris, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his personal problems, Hemingway's favourite café and the waiters who knew him and welcomed him as a friend. And, of course, his wife and son both of whom he obviously loved dearly. They're all here and they all stand as witnesses that you don't need money to be happy.
This is a book for writers but I think anyone who enjoys seeing snapshots of a life well lived would enjoy it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Columbus
Format:Paperback
This book is Hemingway's recollection of living in Paris as a young writer, including the period when he wrote "The Sun Also Rises". Don't expect this to be a nonfictional version of the aforementioned masterpiece, but rather approach this book as an insight into the beautiful life Hemingway lived while he was younger. Like any book which is set in Paris, expect plenty descriptions of walking through the various quarters, written with such style that Hemingway's laid-back and gratified approach to life feels like more than mere words on a page. For me the best part of the book was Hemingway's section on F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is interesting seeing one great writer's (humorous) perspective of another. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that Hemingway alludes to many other interesting situations that he does not expand on, but still, the book is a very enjoyable recollection.
By D Glover
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
I appreciated this memoir of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley and their son Bumby, as they experienced Paris (and the occasional excursion to Austria and Spain) in the late 20s. In typical Hemingway fashion, he can make you feel as though you are right there in Paris, seeing what he saw, all the while describing it with sparse and plain prose.
There are many honest and unflattering sketches of other ex-pats Hemingway either knew or befriended whilst there, including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others, and a shining description of the goodness Hemingway attributed to Ezra Pound.
This seems like the best time in Hemingway's life, when he and his truest love were poor and happy and in love, and they shared their little lives with their young son. But it ends with foreboding and tragedy, when Hemingway regretfully and painfully describes the lead up to his love affair with what was to become his second wife, and looking back, wishes the thing that he and Hadley had in Paris could have lasted forever. It could have, Hem.
For this reader, knowing already what was to come, even the joys of Paris Hemingway describes are flavoured with melancholy. While I can appreciate this work, it would be a stretch to say I really enjoyed it to any great extent. However, anyone with an ounce of imagination can learn a good deal about Paris in the years between the wars, and anyone with an ounce of humility can glean a good deal from Hemingway's character strengths and weaknesses.
There are many honest and unflattering sketches of other ex-pats Hemingway either knew or befriended whilst there, including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others, and a shining description of the goodness Hemingway attributed to Ezra Pound.
This seems like the best time in Hemingway's life, when he and his truest love were poor and happy and in love, and they shared their little lives with their young son. But it ends with foreboding and tragedy, when Hemingway regretfully and painfully describes the lead up to his love affair with what was to become his second wife, and looking back, wishes the thing that he and Hadley had in Paris could have lasted forever. It could have, Hem.
For this reader, knowing already what was to come, even the joys of Paris Hemingway describes are flavoured with melancholy. While I can appreciate this work, it would be a stretch to say I really enjoyed it to any great extent. However, anyone with an ounce of imagination can learn a good deal about Paris in the years between the wars, and anyone with an ounce of humility can glean a good deal from Hemingway's character strengths and weaknesses.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant
Book was in prime condition, and arrived in my mailbox promptly. The book itself is an excellent journey through Paris, France in the eyes of Ernest Hemingway. Read more
Published 12 months ago by knappj
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not better
I fell for this gimmick by the publisher to buy a second copy of this book, but it is not as good as the first one.
Published 16 months ago by Grangegrammy
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the lucky ones
By the end of his life, Hemingway and his narratives had become so intertwined in so many ways that it was often impossible to know where the fiction ended and the real life began. Read more
Published on Dec 7 2005 by FrKurt Messick
4.0 out of 5 stars
A guide to Paris and its writers
I read this book while living in Paris. From reading other works by Hemingway, I realized that A Moveable Feast isn't as sophisticated as his novels. Read more
Published on July 8 2004 by Alane Fuller
2.0 out of 5 stars
Can never decide with Hemingway
I'm not sure if I'm the only one that feels this way - but its just that Hemmingway is so hyped and supposedly amongst the best authors of the century. Read more
Published on Jun 24 2004
3.0 out of 5 stars
Memoir or Just A Bunch of Memories?
After returning from a trip to Paris I decided to read this memoir by Hemmingway because I heard he loved Paris as much as I. Read more
Published on May 31 2004 by V. Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sad and inspiring
I used this book for my English practice to prepare to the GMAT and get better at writing essays. I know it is bizarre, but it is a gerat book for international students looking... Read more
Published on May 7 2004 by A Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars
alright...
well as a Hemingway fan,this was one of the reasons why I choose to read it. I enjoy Hemingway's attention to detail which is why I love reading his works, but I must confess I did... Read more
Published on Jan 29 2004 by yessca
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Hemingway's Best
This is my 100th review and when I realized I was approaching number 100, I puzzled over what book to make my list as my 100th review. Read more
Published on Jan 14 2004 by James Sadler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetry in Prose
This was the second book I read by Ernest Hemingway, but it was the book that I most wanted to read. I have always heard how beautiful this novel was, and it was underestimated. Read more
Published on Sep 30 2003 by Nicole
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