A Moveable Feast

Spring has finally come, and along with it comes a new book to discuss! For the month of April it's all about non-fiction books, and the title I've chosen to read and critique is Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. I was worried that I might not find a non-fiction novel that I can read and enjoy since I've always had the impression that the non-fiction genre composed of tedious historical accounts of wars, political careers, and everything in between. I'm glad to have found this book because I had almost given up finding a non-fiction novel that centers on things that interest me. Read on if you'd like to know what the buzz is all about!

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Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast

Summary

Since this title is non-fiction, I will not withhold any information that could be potential spoilers. The book is fairly short and doesn't focus on a main story line which makes spoilers relatively trivial. A Moveable Feast is one of the many novels of Hemingway that were published posthumously. It is an autobiography which centers on Hemingway's life with his wife, and other artists and writers in Paris during the early 20's.

Hemingway gives insight to how he, along with his wife Hadley and their son Bumby, lived below the line of poverty in the City of Lights. He recounts going to the horse racing tracks to earn money by gambling, along with writing short stories for various publishers like the Transatlantic Review and Vogue. The novel is chronologically categorized into small chapters most of which mentions Hemingway's encounters and relationships with various figures in literature such as Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Ezra Pound and many more. The main story lies in Hemingway's evolution as a writer from when he was first a journalist to when he signed with Scribner's, an American publisher, to have his first novel The Sun Also Rises published.

Writing Style

Hemingway narrates the story from his perspective which enables the reader to see the city of Paris through his eyes. He is known for writing prose, or in a manner which is direct and literal, which makes his depiction of the scenery in Paris very effective. Whether recounting a conversation or a trip he had made, Hemingway describes the littlest of details so as to let the reader walk in his shoes.

Le Dôme Café, featured in "With Pascin at the Dôme"

I found this to be enjoyable in most occasions, however, there were some times when I found his descriptions to be confusing. When Hemingway walks the streets of Paris, such as when he leaves his apartment by 74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine for a Café at the Place St. Michel, he likes to describe the streets and roads he crosses in order to get there. I did not find this to be too much of a bother since Hemingway mentions a path he takes only when he finds something noteworthy about it, such as if it's a scenic route or a shortcut, and he only does it a few times throughout the book.

During his encounters with other people, Hemingway describes his thoughts prior to their meeting regardless of relevance. His insights can be humorous at times, and I found most of what he writes about the people he knew interesting. I found it interesting since his perceptions of them are his own, they weren't heavily influenced by other sources in any way. Two instances of this come to mind, the first is his depiction of Gertrude Stein and his disposition towards Ezra Pound. Hemingway is friends with Stein and brazenly talks about the way she is biased towards people who praise her books, and against those who criticize them, despite her social status at the time. Ezra Pound is known to have been associated with Nazis and I found it interesting how Hemingway holds him in such a high regard, describing him as a kind, caring, and generous friend, a disposition that not many people have.

Effectiveness (is the book engaging?)

As usual, whether the book is engaging or not depends on who is reading it. The book would best suit readers who would enjoy reading short sequential stories which don't necessarily relate to one another. The book is composed of 20 chapters of different mini-stories which mostly recounts Hemingway's encounters with different expatriate artists and writers. Personally, I found the structure of the book to be engaging as I tend to lose track of small details of what I've read which makes me lose interest in long winded stories. In a way, I could consider this novel a collection of short stories about Hemingway's life since many of the chapters don't have direct ties to the main story of the book.

Ernest Hemingway with his first wife Hadley Hemingway

I've also found the way he talks about his relationship with his wife and the things they do - living and loving despite being poor in the city of Paris - very interesting. Although not all people can appreciate romance, I find that Hemingway's recollection of his relationship with his wife Hadley to be something that will interest people who are into romance and relationships in general. Their lives as a young married couple is something I enjoyed reading about; I find that it's the perfect depiction of the "Happy Ever After" that we don't see after a movie. I found Hemingway's descriptions of his wife to be very affectionate, which I concluded to mean that he immensely loved Hadley, and dearly regretted his affair with Pauline, his second wife.

Biases

As an autobiography, this book cannot be without the author's personal biases. The fact that it was published posthumously further contributes to the bias found in this book. At the start of the novel Hemingway gives a foreword for the reader, "if the reader prefers, this book may be regarded as fiction." Which could either allude to the whimsical nature of the book, since non-fictional books are relatively more serious than other fictional titles, or hint that Hemingway stretched the truth in some sections of the story, which is understandable if he did since it's hard to remember every single detail of the olden days of one's life. Hemingway's disposition towards the people he writes about could also be different in the way other writers might describe them, which is something to consider if you read how Zelda Fitzgerald drove her husband to drink, neglect his writing, and jealousy, and think that she's a very terrible person. In Hemingway's eyes she evidently is, others, however, do not share the same sentiment.

Biases found in the book could also be attributed to the fact that Hemingway had passed years before A Moveable Feast was published. His widow, Mary Hemingway, contributed a great deal to the finishing stages of the book. She edited the book using the manuscripts and notes he had written before, and as such, it's very likely that the book did not end up as the author would have wanted it to. According to this article, written by A.E. Hotchner, a friend of Hemingway, a new edition of the book is circulating in bookstores, an edition which has been heavily revised due to one of Hemingway's grandsons not liking the depictions of his grandmother, Pauline, at the end of the book. The edition of the book I read did not include any descriptions of Pauline, and it irritated me when I found out that I was reading a heavily revised edition since I wanted to read what Hemingway intended for the reader. If you plan on reading A Moveable Feast, be sure to get the version first published by Scribner's. 

Hemingway's Influences

This book couldn't have been written better by any other writer in my opinion. What makes this story very engaging and interesting is the way Hemingway writes about his life in the 20's and Paris. While reading the book I could see that he had an innate passion for the beauty of Paris, and all the little aspects of his life which others might find mundane. There's no other writer whose work I've read that lets the omissions strengthen the story being told. Hemingway talks about how in a short story he wrote called Out of Season, he "omitted the real end which was that the old man hanged himself." He goes on to explain that "this was omitted on my new theory that you could omit anything ... and the omitted part would strengthen the story," which gave birth to the well-known Iceberg Theory. 

The Iceberg Principle, loosely based on Hemingway's original theory

Being a writer of prose, Hemingway found that he needed to write 'truly,' as he liked to describe it, and that in doing so, he lets the reader experience the story as he intended. He didn't believe in omitting things because it was a mystery, he liked to omit things which he knows the reader will conclude on their own through the story. His excellence in writing prose is attributed to the fact that he worked for Toronto Star before becoming a short story writer. As a journalist, Hemingway needed to write about factual events with little to no interpretation on his part, and he kept writing in this manner as he became a short story writer. He believed that the reader should be able to make conclusions as to the deeper meaning in his stories on their own by giving them the necessary information in a minimal and concise manner. This belief makes A Moveable Feast shine, although it's short, the story is extended between the lines; I found that although Gertrude Stein and Hemingway seemed like good friends, there was some tension between them due to their different beliefs and convictions, something which I concluded on my own by reading their dialogue since there's a reason why Hemingway put certain conversations in the book after all.

Real World Connections

Hemingway's life in Paris with his family during the 20's certainly seemed like heaven in the book. Although they lived in poverty, they were able to go on various trips like the festival of San Fermin in Spain, or the mountains of Schruns, Austria. Hemingway enjoyed found joy in the little things he was able to have with his unstable income, whether it was a having a café au lait while working on a short story, or reading a book while watching fishermen under bridges the crossed the Seine river. In the book he states: 

"We ate well and cheaply and 

drank well and cheaply and

slept well and warm together

and loved each other."

A popular quote which describes how happy he truly was with his humble life with his wife and son. Which addresses the question of whether money can bring us happiness or not. It is evident that in the story, money has nothing to do with their happiness. It was a driving factor for Hemingway's work, but it was not the goal he oriented himself towards. It's true that people need money to live comfortably and happily, but other luxuries are simply unnecessary to live a good happy life. These luxuries include things like big houses, cars and clothes (Hemingway once described how he sometimes had to wear makeshift underwear), and in our society, we are led to believe that whatever we have is simply not enough. We are always told to own the latest and shiniest devices and accessories in order to fit in catch up with everybody else so that we may be happy. But it's wrong to say that money or materialistic things can bring us happiness, which is shown by the ending of the book when Hemingway signs with rich publishers but later regrets it as he is forced to make revisions for his book which he does not want or approve of, all for the sake of earning more and living a better lifestyle, even though he knew that his life was already good since he was happy and lived comfortably. In the end, his relationship with his wife deteriorated and he felt like a sell out, for which he expresses his regrets in the book. 

Rating: 5/5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I love Hemingway's depictions of Paris, and his dreamlike life with his family and various friends. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this book seeing as it is a non-fiction title, and wish to read more books such as this one. I could have enjoyed this book a greater deal had I been somewhat familiar with the people Hemingway encounters and talks about, I had to do a bit of research, but at least I can appreciate this book to a greater extent because of it. If you want to read about the lives of expatriate artists and writers in the gorgeous city of Paris during the 1920's then I would highly recommend this book, even if you've never heard of Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or any other person who is mentioned in the book, although a bit of research is incumbent upon you to do, it'll be very rewarding. 

It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's that time of the month again! That's right, it's time for another book to praise critique! For the month of March, I have decided to do something I thought I would never do, re-read a novel. I once thought that once I've finished a book, I've conquered it, and re-reading something you already know would be tedious. But I realized I was wrong when I decided to read It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. The only thing that made me pick this title up once again was because I'd forgotten what the story was about, but I knew that I really loved it. And to start off this review I'll give the summary of the story (free of spoilers, of course).

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Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of a Funny Story

Summary

It's Kind of a Funny Story is set in New York City where 15-year-old Craig Gilner gets into Executive Pre-Professional High School, one of the most prestigious schools in the city. Craig is elated as a year of constant studying for the entrance exams rewards him enrollment into the school which he believes will be the key to his success. To him, success is getting a good job, house and family, which he can only achieve by getting a good education, which he'll get the best of from this particular school. After finding that the work he has to do for school is too much for him to handle, he spirals into depression, eventually getting himself admitted into a psychiatric hospital. During his stay, he meets different kinds of people who have their own stories, discovers old talents he had forgotten about, and battles depression by finding things in life that are worth living for. 

Writing Style

The story is narrated in the first-person perspective of Craig, which, I find, is very effective in this type of book. I find that the first-person narrative works well since there are many things that goes on in the mind of a person who suffers depression, and I found the sometimes odd and quirky things he thought of interesting. An example of this is when Craig describes his relationship with food being an important one, one that's even more important that his relationship with his parents, which shows Craig's tendency to ramble and be literal. 

Craig, being a 15-year-old in our modern society, tends to use a lot of slang words as does his friends. The themes of this book also center around how teenagers deal with things such as sex, relationships, drugs, and fitting in. In the beginning of the book these themes are evident, but come up less later one, namely when Craig gets admitted into the hospital and is isolated from his friends. I found this to be enjoyable since a lot of the things that's discussed in the book is something I could relate to, but if it's not your cup of tea then don't fret, these themes become trivial on the later half of the book. 

Just in case it wasn't already obvious, this book deals with depression, a topic which is not really something that's funny. The story, in some moments, is just that, hence the title "It's Kind of a Funny Story." The funny aspects of the book only exist because of Craig. His sometimes humorous outlook on his life makes this book not depressing at all, in fact, I would consider this story light-hearted since Vizzini makes you see the funny things in Craig's sad life. 

Overall, I liked the way that the story was narrated, it was mostly insightful, funny, and something I could relate to. I also liked how Craig tended to ramble on about trivial things that popped into his mind simply because I found them interesting. 

Effectiveness (is the book engaging?)

For someone like me who can relate to most of the themes that are discussed in the story, such as depression, psychology, finding meaning in life, I found the book to be engaging. I also found the beginning of the book to be something I could read since the themes were something that I could relate to, typical teenage things (I don't do drugs, nor am I sexually active, but knowledge about them is enough). 

As someone who has never suffered from clinical depression, or known someone who has, I can't really determine whether the book is believable or not. I looked online for different perspectives and I found that most would say that the book is not very believable. SPOILER: In the story, Craig finds a girlfriend in the hospital, and beats his battle with depression, all in under a week. Most people would agree that finding and developing a relationship with a person your age in a psychiatric hospital is VERY unlikely, also according to people who have beaten depression, it's a battle won after months, or even years. Despite the unlikelihood of Craig finding a girlfriend in the hospital, I enjoyed the story (in fact, it's what reeled me into the book, the notion of romance in the story).

Craig and Noelle (Portrayed by Keir Gilchrist and Emma Roberts, respectively)

Personal Biases

This book deals a lot regarding depression, and as student studying Psychology, it's something that I found to be interesting. Something that stuck to me when reading this story was the fact that Craig saw suicide as a reason to keep on living. Whenever he got stressed out and felt that he wasn't in control of his life, he found refuge in the thought that suicide was something that he could do, something which he had control over, which is makes for some interesting irony. 

As I've stated before, I like romantic stories, which is why I picked this book up in the first place. Going into the book, I didn't really expect much besides the part of the book where Craig meets Noelle and have an unconventional relationship. But in the end I ended up finding Craig's struggle with depression and his interactions with the other residents more engaging than the romance aspect of the story. To be honest, I feel that the romance between Craig and Noelle was a little contrived given its unlikeliness, and found that it was a little cliche. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it just felt a little bit, for a lack of a better word, 'meh.' I, nonetheless, enjoyed it a little. 

Ned Vizzini's Influences

During his early 20's, Vizzini had been admitted in Brooklyn's Methodist Hospital psychiatric ward due to his battle with depression. This is what gave him inspiration for writing this book. Vizzini had written other books as well, and they share similar themes such as depression, and adolescence. His first book Teen Angst? Naaah. was a memoir about his teenage years, which then led him to publish his first novel Be More Chill, which is another story centered around a teenager. He published It's Kind of a Funny Story in 2006, which was his second novel. It's evident that Vizzini likes to write about adolescence and depression and anxiety, which are things he experienced first hand. As it turns out, Vizzini had been battling depression for a while, and unfortunately lost. He was reported dead on December 19, 2013 after committing suicide. 

Real World Connections

In a way, this book exhibits Vizzini's personal experience with depression and it raises the issue of the stigma behind clinical depression, and other mental disorders. When Craig is admitted into the psychiatric ward, he objects to the idea feeling that he shouldn't stay for any longer than a day, and that his friends should not know about it since he's embarrassed or having to say that he ended up mental hospital, something which, to him, has certain implications. In the end the issue is addressed and resolved in that Craig finds that the implications of his shrink, medication, and admission into the psychiatric ward doesn't really matter to him. In the end, how can he care about what other people think if they don't know what it's like?

Rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed this book. It had been about 2-3 years since I first read this, and I still love it, in fact re-reading it has instilled a deeper appreciation for the story in me. I have found things that I didn't fully understand before and thought of how I had missed them. At first I really enjoyed the romance aspect of the book, mostly because I hadn't questioned it at the time. This time around, I've come to appreciation the depression aspect of it, which is partly due to my desire to learn about psychology and the human mind. In the end, this is merely my opinion, others may find this book to be completely unbelievable much to the detriment of the story, but if you'd like to read a fiction in the perspective of an adolescent suffering clinical depression, then this one is for you.

Wuthering Heights

To usher in the month of February and the start of second semester, I have chosen to read a classic - Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. I've heard many things regarding this particular title, mixed opinions from different individuals; some people loved it for the way in which the characters developed and interacted with one another, while some disliked it for the story's ever tragic nature. I have enjoyed the book quite so, and there are specific aspects of it which I love and others which I hate, but it's difficult to summarize it all without getting down to every component of the book. And that is how I shall cast criticism towards Wuthering Heights. But before I get started, a short summary of the book is in order.

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Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights

Summary

Wuthering Heights is set in Yorkshire, England during the mid 18th century to the early 19th century. The story is revolves around two households; the Lintons who live in Thrushcross Grange, and the Earnshaws who live in Wuthering Heights, and centers around the life of Heathcliff, a gypsy orphan who is taken in by the Earnshaw family. Heathcliff, being a foreign outsider, is given cold treatment by most of his new family members. This does not last as he eventually gets most of them to develop better dispositions toward him, especially young Catherine Earnshaw who dislikes him at first, but then develops affection for Heathcliff, who reciprocates her feelings.This is the cause of conflict between Heathcliff and the people who don't approve of their love, and the main driving force for Heathcliff's actions, who would do anything to be with Catherine, and defy those who try to stop him.

Writing Style

Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights in the mid 19th century, which reflects her style of writing. She uses dated words uncommon to our modern vocabulary such as tarry, vex, countenance, and aversion. Despite this, I was able to infer the meaning of most of the words I didn't recognize by the context of their use. I'd say that the vocabulary she used does not cause hindrance to make readers turn away, but rather engages them to read for it's quite interesting to get perspective on how people spoke back then. 

One aspect that people might find confusing regarding her writing style is the way in which the characters narrate the story. The story starts off in the first-person perspective of Mr. Lockwood, a tenant at Thrushcross Grange, and then later switches to Ellen Dean's, a servant's, first-person perspective. Ellen recounts the story of the two households to Lockwood, which goes back about 50 years from Lockwood's arrival at the Grange. The majority of the story is narrated by Ellen, a fact that can be easily overlooked by some readers, and cause confusion as to which story is being told presently. I have found this to be something which can make the chronology of the story seem distorted, but it didn't cause too much confusion for me to dislike this method of narration. It's important to note that the reader's opinions of the characters might become a little biased since most of the information we get about them comes from Ellen, who has her own personal biases and convictions.

The only thing I really disliked about Brontë's writing style is the way in which she expressed a character named Joseph's thick Yorkshire accent. Whenever Joseph has dialogue Brontë spelt the words in a manner which, if read aloud, would sound as how Joseph might say it. This, sided with the fact that Joseph has bad grammar, has made it excruciatingly difficult to understand anything he ever says, although his input is nearly trivial, which, I suppose, mitigates the nearly incomprehensible manner in which Brontë wrote Joseph's dialogue.

One of many things I really liked about her writing is that she often uses imagery to depict the overall mood of a particular scene. The story displays a lot of pathetic fallacy throughout its duration, one example is a scene where Catherine is torn between Heathcliff and another character named Edgar, and from a cold night emerges a violent storm. I found that the way Brontë described scenes was sufficiently vivid, which I really liked since I do not enjoy reading long-winded descriptions of imagery and setting. I found her depiction of scenery in perfect balance between vividness and conciseness.

Is the book engaging?

Yes. To me the book was quite riveting. I've heard other people's responses regarding the book and some of them thought that it was boring, while others really loved it, as I have. The book's realism is debatable; while one could say that Heathcliff's acts of vengeance are justifiable, another might say that love alone cannot possibly cause the lack of empathy and cruelty evident in Heathcliff's actions. 

When I read how Heathcliff carries out his vengeance I started to believe that the story does not seem real, since I had seen some humanity in Heathcliff in the beginning, something which is absent in his actions, and refused to believe that he completely turns into an irredeemable monster. After the conclusion of the story, however, I started to see why such humanity in him was practically nonexistent before and found myself amazed at how Brontë can suspend Heathcliff's character between an anti-hero and an outright villain. 

Personal Biases

I have an affinity for romantic stories which is probably why I hold this book in such a high regard. It's a romance story which does not end in a manner I expected, and I really loved it in that aspect. I think it's unlikely for people who have an aversion towards romance or drama to find appreciation for this title since the story is nothing without either. Therefore it is critical that one consider whether romance, drama, tragedy, and love are things which they can enjoy since the story of Wuthering Heights revolve around these aspects. 

Emily Brontë's Influences

Brontë grew up living in the moorlands of Yorkshire, England, where the story of Wuthering Heights is set. The moors are often mentioned in the story, and is associated with good things such as when Catherine and Heathcliff play on the moors with childlike innocence when they are still young. It is believed that Brontë was shy and reclusive and that she loved the tranquility and solemnity that the moors had to offer, and is reflected by the way she often mentions the moors with regard to positive things in the book. 

An aspect that critics are puzzled and amazed by is the fact that Brontë grew up never having experienced anything close to the things that the characters in her book portray. She grew up in the quiet moors where she was isolated and hardly knew anybody outside of her family, which begs the question of how or where she got the inspiration and the idea to write the dramatic story of Wuthering Heights. People speculate that her idea for the story culminated by reading books she had access to as a child and later developed further as she grew older. Others also say that the story itself is not of romance, and that it is merely a story of tragedy.

The moors in which Brontë grew up is closely tied to the setting of Wuthering Heights

Real World Connections

The story suggests that love can drive one to extreme heights as Heathcliff is when he is torn away from Catherine. This theme that Heathcliff's love for Catherine warrants his wrath towards the characters that surround him is present throughout the book. Catherine genuinely loves Heathcliff but is blind to the fact that her actions merely cause him grief, which makes it a little unbelievable she evokes strong feelings from him. These two facts show how love can cause detriment when left unchecked and uncontrolled, an issue which the story raises. Loving blindly will only lead to nothing but misery, the story addresses this issue by having Heathcliff's blind love towards Catherine end in tragedy, concluding that love can only be relished if it is kept in check. 

Rating: 5/5

There's a reason for why this book became a classic. I tried to avoid giving spoilers but it is quite hard to explain my evaluations without giving details which could spoil important events. I really enjoyed the story given that it strayed from romance clichés and that the ending concluded in a manner that gave resolution and redemption to the characters who mattered to me. I would recommend this to mature readers as the writing style can be cumbersome to most people, and the story is not to be taken at face value since there are a lot of subtle details which can be easily overlooked and even cause confusion. If you're a fan of drama and romance, then this classic is one you must read.