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Moveable Feast Discussion-3/2017
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What is your impression of Hemmingway, the husband, the writer, the friend?
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Beth
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Mar 01, 2017 07:11PM
He was interesting. Sometimes I liked him, other times he seemed kind of dark. What do you think?
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That is kind of a funny question. If you didn't know anything about him, of course he seems like a pretty good guy based on this book (although he does admit to a temper).I would say: not a good husband, a great writer, and seemingly a good friend.
I had a hard time liking him....Perhaps because I know what he was like later in life. When he was happy, he was OK but I also sensed a mean streak like he could bring people down with him when things weren't good. This is more a feeling than a certainty. The photo of him on the back of my library copy doesn't help! Yikes!
Beth wrote: "I had a hard time liking him....Perhaps because I know what he was like later in life. When he was happy, he was OK but I also sensed a mean streak like he could bring people down with him when thi..."Yes, I was taking him at face value from the book. I also know about him and there are many aspects of his life/personality that I don't find appealing at all. He does allude to that temper/mean streak.
Hindsight is 20/20 (as they say), but tying in with the other thread where you mentioned their drinking, I wonder if his behaviour and life choices were influenced by his time in the war. In those days (and after WW2) PTSD wasn't even on the horizon as a problem for men who fought in wars - but it certainly does affect them.
That's a good point. I hadn't considered his war experiences.
It's funny...I haven't read anything of his before, and this memoir doesn't help me feel like I know him. The scenes seemed a little detached, like he doesn't even miss those times, he just describes them.
Daniel wrote: "It's funny...I haven't read anything of his before, and this memoir doesn't help me feel like I know him. The scenes seemed a little detached, like he doesn't even miss those times, he just descri..."
Yes, well put.
