A Moveable Feast

This edition is strangely typeset and riddled with typos. There is an extra space after almost every s! There is no publisher listed, no front copyright page - I fear it is a shady edition typeset thus to avoid copyright!

This is one of the few unfinished books published after an author's death that I can honestly say was worth reading. Choppy though it was, overall it gives you the flavor of what Hemmingway's early life was like along with some insight into what made him become a great writer.

When I was in college, just after he died, he was a larger than life figure to all of us. His pursuits seemed glamorous and daring. He had a huge influence even on us engineering students. Now, quite a bit later in my life, I have a slightly different perspective. What if you were leading your life right along side of him but never became a famous writer. Would we now think your life was exciting? Or would you just look like another dreamer bum who drank his future away in Paris and frittered away youth running with the bulls in Pamplona? Most writers do not become either famous or successful.

On the other hand, it also seems clear to me that people with real talent in any profession are ususally successful if they apply hard work and dedication to their craft. If you read this book, you will see, as I did, that running with the bulls, drinking in sleazy bars in Paris, enlisting in a war and all of the other exotic life experiences that Hemmingway pursued was his way of applying hard work and dedication to his craft. These experiences were where he found the grit that fed the passion of his writing.

The book thus aids the young in their life planning and those at the other end a moment of reflection on our own quest.

Certainly there can be nothing added to comments both professionally and amateur about this work. Let it suffice that this work had originally been edited by Hemingway's fourth wife who left out some material which she felt may be too indiscreet for a variety of reasons. This new edition has some of the information which had been deleted and rearranged somewhat. It is still Hemingway.

Fortunate are we who can compare both works side by side. I am not going to comment on the controversy surrounding this work, since I am so prejudiced a fan of Hemingway that it would need volumes to explain my position. I read the first printing when it first came out as a pre-teen and I read this a a middle aged man and still get thrills turning the pages (Ah the remembrance of the first sight of first love). Of course I would be happy to buy a copy of Hemingway's laundry lists.

I have read The Moveable Feast a number of times. I always end up wanting more. Just the opening "And then there was the bad weather" gets me since one of Elmore Leonard's rules was never begin with the weather.

Ever since I toured Hemingway's home in Key West (as a stop on my February, 2011, Caribbean cruise), I've been intrigued with the idea of learning more about Hemingway. I'm sure I read a couple of his books in college, but can't seem to remember all the details, since that was a few decades ago. The docent on our house tour piqued my interest, though, as she described his life with four wives and a number of mistresses, and the various places he lived throughout the world. So, I decided to start with "A Moveable Feast," which kicks off his marriage career with his first wife, Hadley. In the book, they get along very well and live both in poverty and in total love. Although Hemingway says he thought his love for Hadley would never end, he doesn't explain in this book how that love did end, even though his second wife is mentioned toward the end.

This is Paris 1921-1926, but the various chapters aren't in chronological order. Part of the book is a rather pedestrian review of meals and outings in Paris and surrounding areas, but the rest is filled with delicious facts about his contemporaries - Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Ford, T.S. Eliot, et al. This version is called "the restored edition," and I take it that various chapters have been added or deleted. This book wasn't published till after Hemingway's death, and was more or less cobbled together from various notes and chapters that he had written from time to time.

Hemingway apparently had a rather strange (strained?) relationship with Scott Fitzgerald. The book describes a trip they took from Switzerland to Paris, via Fitzgerald's car (which had no top), and Scott was acting very strangely. Nevertheless, Ernest seemed to cope with this behavior. At one point, Scott tells Ernest that Zelda says his penis is too small, so Ernest takes Scott into the bathroom and shows him that it's not inadequate. Also, he recommends that Scott view his penis in profile rather than from above, and reminds Scott that it does get bigger under certain circumstances.

Hemingway had a close relationship with Gertrude Stein for a while, but the book implies that ended rather suddenly. I thought the reasons for the rupture would be revealed, but the chapter on this was rather vague.

All in all, I enjoyed reading about the peccadilloes of some of the great literary figures of the post WW I period, and am inspired to do further readings of Hemingway's work, as well as works of some of his contemporaries.

Written in a welcoming and engaging style, A Moveable Feast reads as if Hemingway wasn't trying to be HEMINGWAY. It's light and funny, a little rambling in spots, which he never was in his 'literature,' and simply delightful. It focuses on that golden era in Paris when starving young artists didn't really have to starve as they gathered in the cafes and discussed life and art and literature and politics.
Peopled with memorable and well-known (try Gertrude Stein and Picasso) characters, Moveable Feast is a delight for modern readers.

This somewhat fictionalized view of Paris deserves its position in the pantheon of classics. A fascinating look into a particular time and place, Hemingway's unique voice brings the reader into his marriage, his writing process, and his complicated relationship with Fitzgerald.

Hemingway shows his true soul and genius from both ends of his life here. This is Hemingway stripped down to the quality that made him the writer he was. Sprinkled throughout are bits of coaching on writing that are vital for anyone who wants to write well. Frankly, I didn't care for Hemingway so much -- thought he was overrated -- until I read this book. Now I am going through his works anew.

I quickly read this memoir after reading The Paris Wife. I was interested in knowing what Hemingway had to say about Hadley and how he described his mistakes (he admitted) that led to their divorce. He dedicated a chapter to this explanation. I felt they were Hemingway's words. However, since the memoir was not completed before Hemingway's death, and since various family members were "editing" the outcome of the memoir, I did not give much credence to the rest of it.

Hemingway's spare writing style is very evocative and draws you into 1920s Paris and the so-called "Lost Generation." This version includes unedited pieces of sketches Hemingway prepared for the book before he died, some of which he had intended to discard. I found I missed an editor's touch but overall, it's well worth reading for its near-perfect prose.

This is one of my favorites of Hemingway's work. It is a easy read, almost light when compaired with Hemingway's other work. Of course the brilliant word crafting is still there but I found it more enjoyable that some of his other work. I have never been a big fan on Hemingway novels, preferring his short stories, but do make an exception with this one. I enjoy works which address this time period and place, and here we have a first hand account by one of the principle players. To be fare though, you really need to read some of the memoirs of some of the others written of that period. Hemingway did probably have some axes to grind, but hey, who dosen't? All in all recommend this one highly.

This was the third Hemingway book I've read. Love how he describes Paris in the 20's and the stories he shares about his counterparts, particularly Fitzgerald. Book breaks your heart in the end a bit.

I loved it because I read it immediately after reading The Paris Wife. A Moveable Feast was Hemingway's account of his live in Paris when married to his first wife, Hadley. It was a manuscript that had been unpublished for years after his death. His son's and last wife edited and published it. He touches on what his life in Paris during the 1920's was like and the other great writers of the time who all knew each other such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, etc. If you saw the recent movie, Midnight in Paris then you will have a feel for flavor of the book. Highly recommend this.

this anyway. It's wonderful,poignant,gossipy, and a must for anyone who fantasizes about Paris in the 1920's. It is a fast read, and very revealing about what was going on in Hemingway's head before he died. His goal as a young writer was to write just one true sentence a day, and in this fascinating book, he achieved much more than that. I take back all the rude things I ever said about him as a writer, and maybe I'll go back and have another look at some of his other books.

Hemingway's idiosyncratic punctuation frequently requires a sentence to be read twice in order to be understood. He also uses the same dull adjectives (e.g. "very") repeatedly. He seems to avoid using conjunctions such as "but" or "however" in favour of the generic "and". And to what purpose? Less clarity, in my opinion.

A. E. Hotchner and Ernest Hemingway were very good friends for 14 years. On July 19, 2009, Hotchner had an Op-Ed published in the New York Times about the new mutilated "restored" version of A Movable Feast. The Op-Ed is a quick and powerful MUST read. Hotchner makes crystal clear that A Movable Feast was very definitely intended for publication and that Hemingway provided his publisher, Scribner, with the completed manuscript before he became hospitalized.

If you are interested in the book, be certain to read the original with all it's beauty and acid, not Hemingway's grandson's cleansed reworking, which never should have been permitted.

A very interesting memoire of Hemingway's Paris days and some of the other famous literary figures he feasted with. Especially interesting are his portraits of F Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and extremely negative one of Ford Madox Ford.

A very interesting memoire of Hemingway's Paris days and some of the other famous literary figures he feasted with. Especially interesting are his portraits of F Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and extremely negative one of Ford Madox Ford.

Ernest Hemingway is not for everyone, but for those who love the minimalist style that is his trademark he is well worth getting to know better. This account of his life as he struggled to become a writer everyone has heard of (even if they haven't read his work) is far from a complete autobiography, but does give some insight into what made the man.

I read the Paris wife and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I was fascinated to read Hemingway's account. I read Hemingway in school and never enjoyed them. Although I don't like war novels. I thought with age my view of his writing might have changed. Sadly it hasn't. I find reading his books a slog. I don't find he has anything interesting to say

This book about a young Hemingway in Paris , is an excellent display of his craft and early life. It exposes his emotions during that time in his life and career and gives the reader a glimpse into how he wrote. The chapters on Scott Fitzgerald are priceless.
This is definitely worth the read.

Have just re-read this book. Wow. Published after he died, this collection of non-fiction stories about Hemingway's life in Paris is fascinating. Written in his last years, they have a certain sadness to them. His passions and disappointments are laid bare for all to see.

Beautifully written by an aging star.

I would have given the return to the original text achieved by the restorers five stars, not only because it's what the author originally wrote, but because the love between Hemingway and his first wife, which permeates this version, brightens the whole experience. As a memoir of those times, it's quite enjoyable, if flawed by the author's outdated prejudices.

Nobody writes with more power and precision than Papa. I have read several of Hemingway's books and this one stood head and shoulders above the rest. The stories are concise, moving and so well crafted you can smell the streets of Paris, taste the wine and hear the accents in the conversation. The addition of earlier drafts included at the end are also worthwhile and provide a window into the mind of a genius.

Fact or fiction, this book and its characters are timeless. A must read.

This collection of recollections describes not Paris but a time in Paris and granules of a life there and then. Had I not previously read a biography of Hemingway's first wife I wonder whether these fragments would have made sense to me. But having just finished reading Paris Without End, these stories are quite poignant and fascinating as told from the opposite point of view, and knowing at least some.of what was left out. He said it is fiction - perhaps but not.

I recently read The Paris Wife, and was interested in reading some non-fiction material on the subject. Who better to tell their story than Hemingway himself. Unfortunately Hemingway's writing does not pass the test of time for me. I felt this new re-edited edition was not cohesive and the writing was so self-indulgent, it was all I could do to hang on until the end. I would only recommend this to real Hemingway aficionados.

I read this book after reading "The Paris Wife" and "Paris Without End" to get Hem's own view of those early Paris years with Hadley. It was a very interesting read not to mention, heartbreaking. It showed the remorse he felt for the pain he caused Hadley, even after so many years. I enjoyed reading about the skiing, bull fighting and fishing expeditions they shared during that time.

Interesting information, insight, and feel for and about expat. artists living in Paris during that era.
Hemingway's attempt to wrap it up and at the same time give the reader some insight about why his first marriage failed was strange, even dodgy.

This book provides fascinating insights into Hemmingway and also into so many of contemporary artists and writers of the time. Hemmingway's account of loving two women at one time is very moving. You can feel the tension build inside yourself as you read his narrative.

I never appreciated Hemingway's great sense of humor until I read this book. His bohemian life in post war Paris of the 20's is so well drawn that you feel a part of it. Now go view the film Midnight in Paris again!

It was more like reading someone's journal than a piece of literature. There were some interesting anecdotes, as there are in most journals and he seemed somewhat self aggrandizing...as do most journal writers. Are journals also works of literature?