Fiesta

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View books by Ernest Hemingway.

Boozy fun - Rated
The book ends with Brett, the fascinating female of the book, warning Jake not to get drunk as he camly finishes 5 bottles of Rioja Alta. And that's an apt way to conclude the novel, which, all the way through, makes alcohol an essential feature. Jake and his friends travel to Spain to watch a bullfight, but really it just seems an excuse to sit outside bars and drink, nearly all of the time. Drunken arguments and fights ensue, as the men fight for Brett's heart. Brett herself is an elegant, witty English girl. One of her most memorable lines is when she says that she never got involved with the church becuase she 'hasn't got the face for it' - one cannot help but agree. She is a beacon of sophistication and attractiveness among more feeble and clumsy men. Only her fiance is able to further add some interest.

What's the use of getting sober ... - Rated
A group of rich ex-patriate Americans and Brits get drunk, get bored, squabble, make up and get drunk again in Paris and Spain, and mostly have a thoroughly rotten time except for moments of excitement watching the bullfights or fishing.
Hemingway's first successful novel is very literal and repetitive - his descriptions tell it like it is with little left for the imagination. His dialogue is arch and repetitive (sorry for repeating myself!), but exactly like real conversations when you're 'tight' and can't remember what you just said. However the bonds of friendship are strong as is the lure of the bottle, and the group emerge to do it all again.
Of course it's totally un-PC by today's standards, but it was fascinating, and I hate to say it but I enjoyed it.

Just average - Rated
This book is a frequent patience tester. Hemingway's style is often irritating and sometimes plain boring. He regularly includes the most banal details and makes little attempt to have them sound more interesting; there were times while reading this that I had the feeling of reading the novel of an A-level student, so basic and prosaic were many of the sentences. Surely one of the marks of a great author is that they can describe even the mundane in a language which has it come to life: Hemingway too often re-states the obvious in a tedious way.

However, the book does have lively characters, in particular Jake, Brett and Cohn, and the story itself is intriguing. Hemingway's non-judgemental approach towards his protagonists is well crafted and leaves lots of room for reader input. The book flows well when his concentration is on character dialogue. It is just a shame that so many of the descriptive sections feel like a penance that must be paid before getting to the good stuff.

My favourite book by Hemingway - Rated
I recently read this novel again, and again I found it an evocative, mesmerising, and absolutely brilliant description of Paris and Spain in the interwar years.


Hemingway was a master at tight yet superb prose. He really could conjure up the dusty ride on top of a bus, on the road in Northern Spain, the peasants passing round the skin full of wine. He puts you right there, sitting outside at the cafe during the Fiesta, everyone getting drunk, the fireworks going off, the young men taking their chances as they run in front of the bulls.

Hemingway was a genius, a term used much too frequently and easily today.

I also recomend the biography 'Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences' by James R. Mellow. Gives the reader a better understanding of the world in which he lived.

The Space that Separates: The Two Sides of Conflict - Rated
Why would anyone want to read a novel about unending drunken revels by emotional cripples who treat each other badly, never-ending love conflicts, getting excited by mayhem at the running of the bulls and during bull fights in Pamplona, and wasted lives? That's the question posed by this book.

The book will not draw too many readers for the subject matter. Why then does the book attract? Part of the appeal has to be the same reason that many people like horror films -- the relief you feel when you realize that your own life does not encounter such dangers can be profound.

Another reason to read this book is to understand the disillusionment of the American expatriates in Europe after World War I. The book is a period piece in this sense. Clearly, Hemingway is Jake and the book is undoubtedly very autobiographical. All first novels have that quality to some degree. Imagining how the author of The Old Man and the Sea started out as Jake was very interesting to me.

To me, however, the primary reason for reading this book is to encounter the remarkable structure that Hemingway built in his plot. He has created several different lenses through which we can explore the role of conflict and separation in our lives. Each lens turns out to be looking at the same object, and it is only by slowly focusing each of the lenses that we are able to see that object more clearly.

The central figure in the book is Brett, Lady Ashley, who enchants almost every man she meets, and who disengages from intimate relations with each one after permanently entangling him emotionally. That leaves a string of wounded suitors in her wake, including Jake. Things get tough when several of them join her and her fiance in Pamplona for the running of the bulls. The symmetry in the book becomes more obvious during a fishing trip that Jake takes without Brett. The fish are lured by artificial flies more successfully than with real worms. Brett's exotic appeal draws men in like flies, much more than the attractions of women who want to make an emotional commitment.

The symmetry becomes masterful when we reach the bull fights. Brett and the matador are inevitably attracted, for they are the same. They both play with their opponents (men and bulls) by flirting and using their capes, weaken the opponents in the engagement, and bring the opponents down (through sexual entrancement and slaughter). Hemingway makes this abundantly clear by repeatedly describing the bull's death as when the matador and the bull become one. One pet name for Brett is Circe, to help complete the picture.

The closer the matador comes to the bull's horns (or Brett to making a commitment), the better the sport for the spectators and the greater the self-esteem for the matador (and Brett).

I do not recall a novel that does such an excellent job of using multiple story lines to reinforce the book's main point, in this case that alienation transcends even closeness. Much as you will dislike some of the characters, the unnecessary racial and ethnic slurs, the savageness, and the emotional scenes, you will probably find the characters to ring true. You will also admire the misguided optimism and honest commitment of Jake as he fulfills his love for Brett by procuring men for her and then rescuing her when the next engagement is all over. Jake's love is that noble sacrifice that we all admire in lovers.

And that's the beautiful part of the book -- you will find nobility amid the ugliness. The contrast makes the nobility more beautiful.

When you are done reading the book, examine your own life and see where you draw back from closeness. Then, ask yourself why you do, and what it costs you and others. Next, consider what closeness can bring from continuing relationships.

Find beauty wherever you look!