A MOVEABLE FEAST - Ernest Hemingway

Here is a book I finished on July 17th 2013 at 11:06pm.

The idea to read this book came to me when I was considering finishing what I had started when reading Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.  I like to get 'hooked' on an author and often times find myself liking a book so much that I will then try and read everything by that author.  To date I have only read 5 books by Hemingway and although that might change one day, it is enough for now to keep me up to speed on who and what he has to offer.  I had started my affair with Hemingway in 2009, quite late considering my age and comparing it with some of my friends who state they had been fans since high school.  Admittedly I am coming to a lot of classics late, having spend a great deal of my high school years with Hesse, and a large selection of the beat writers.  However, better late than never...right? And 4 years after reading Old Man and the Sea I was ready to put some Hemingway under my belt.

Now that I have already read most of Hemingway's true classics I feel safe in saying this book does not do Hemingway justice for the newcomer.  It was published after his death by his forth wife.  From what I have been able to gather it was put together via a collection if his memoirs from his time in Paris during the 1920's when he and his first wife lived there. It is not written in the true Hemingway style as I have come to know and it becomes quite easy to tell it was edited heavily by his wife I am assuming, and others may have had a hand in it.  All that being said; if this is your first stab at Hemingway you may be left disappointed.

The book reads like an autobiography, putting the reader smack-dab in the middle of Paris in one of the greatest literary times of all history.  It describes the cafe's the bars, the night life of Paris so well that I plan to book my next trip there in order to get a better grip on the visual representation I think this book COULD have offered had it been entirely written by Hemingway himself and not put to a slow death by all the hands that put it together after Hemingway committed suicide.

I personally don't recommend this book as an essential Hemingway 'must'.  It is a nice read if you are interested or wanting to do a little exploration into Hemingway as a non-fictional character.  But if you're looking for a gripping story that is loaded with that classic Hemingway descriptive style and edge of your seat, white-knuckling drama - don't hold your breath.  But, again, if you're like me and like to 'get to know the author' a bit as you're reading their books, this might just be the one you're looking for.  

This book is 211 pages long and I was able to finish it in a few days.  On my sliding scale I give it a 5/10 only getting that high becasue it was truly a pleasure to hear about Hemingway as a young author trying to make it within the expat. literary scene of 1920's Paris.  In my mind that was such a romantic time and gives an unseen look at other writers in his literary circle like Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and others - this is just to name a few.  There is one scene in particular that stands out for me where Hemingway is sitting with a colleague and Aleister Crowley walks by.  Not such a great scene if you are uninitiated to Crowley, but knowing as much as I do and being as well versed in Crowley as I am, I found this to be quite a disturbing and exciting moment.  It is the small moments like this that almost go past unnoticed at times that make it such a powerful read.  Take a deeper look if your interested, you might find something here.