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Printed from https://writing.com/main/product_reviews/pr_id/110294-A-Moveable-Feast
ASIN: 0684833638
ID #110294
A Moveable Feast   (Rated: 18+)
Product Type: Book
Reviewer: ♥noVember tHiNg♥ Author Icon
Review Rated: 13+
Amazon's Price: $ 13.55
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Summary of this Book...
I have read this book more times than any other book.

It is my favorite book of all time.

There are so many layers to this book, with the stories about writing, living with Paris and the breakup of Hemingway's first marriage.

This is a memoir written by Ernest Hemingway and published posthumously. It deals primarily with his early experiences as a writer in Paris before he became famous. He brings to life the 1920s and the expatriate community.

It also deals with the love he held all his life for his first wife, Hadley, and the regret he had over the end of their marriage. Breaking up with Hadley was the most self-destructive thing he ever did with regard to his writing.

But his admiration and love for Hadley (almost 40 years later) is what makes this one of the greatest and most tragic love stories ever told.

He wrote for magazines during this time in Paris- it is before The Sun Also Rises burst upon the scene to change his life forever.

It brings me to tears every time I read it. If you don't fall a little in love with Hadley and Ernest and Mr. Bumby, then I don't think you have a heart to begin with.
This type of Book is good for...
anyone who wants to write professionally. It is a cautionary tale about the jealousy of other writers and how one must rise above the herd to find one's voice. Coming from the arguably greatest, most acclaimed American writer of the twentieth century, I guess he has some authority for writing.

An important lesson is to back up your work, no matter what you do. The story of Hadley losing all of Ernest's writing on a train is one that will break the heart of any writer.
I especially liked...
the regret about his egotistical behavior at the end. Looking back, he realizes how dangerous it is to believe the best of the praise you receive - it is even more dangerous than taking the criticism seriously.

I like the title and everything about this book.
I didn't like...
There is nothing I did not like. It is my favorite book of all time.
When I finished reading this Book I wanted to...
read some of Ernest Hemingway's other work again. I have read it all and this reminded me why I hold him in such high regard.
This Book made me feel...
like I understand it better as I get older.
The author of this Book...
wrote this many many years (and wives) after it all happened. In fact, it was published after his death.
I recommend this Book because...
OF his unique insight into the motives of other writers who offered discouragement (particularly Gertrude Stein) and tried to clamp down on his ambitions. Only later did he realize that it stemmed from professional jealousy. At the end of his life, Hemingway was a wise soul.
Further Comments...
This is by far the best memoir and best book I have ever read.

The criticism that Ernest receives before he is famous is priceless. It is like they had to stomp on him in order to keep his talent from competing with their own.

It is also a very poignant insight into the destructive lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. They are both annoying and pathetic at times, but through all the aggravation, Ernest shows a lot of tenderness for his friend and sympathy for his plight and ultimate fate.

I love this book!

I am studying Hadley now in connection with this book. She is fascinating, too!
Created Jan 30, 2010 at 1:34pm • Submit your own review...

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