Rating: 
Summary: Flawed, but at times - wonderful...
Review: As a friend once said to me "Sometimes I just want to slap him and tell him that he really isn't that cool". Hemingway's account of his early days in Paris (if it really is HIS account - there seems to be some doubt regarding the true authorship) does offer the reader a glimpse into the post-WWI Parisian community. But, honestly, the book trails off into petty, mean-spirited gossip far to often for my own tastes. The author seems to take a perverse delight in carping on the emotional trials and weaknesses of Gertrude Stein (do we really need to know the pet name of her lover?), Ford Maddox Ford, and Scott Fitzgerald. There are moments, however, that are simply stunning. The best parts of the book are those in which Hemingway describes his work habits, motivations, and the Parisian neighborhoods. As a big Hemingway fan, I was disappointed when I first read this book, and a recent re-read has not changed my mind. Readers new to Hemingway would be much better off to take a look at one of the many short story collections first, then one of the early novels. Personally, I am hoping that the legend about his last wife writing the book after his death is someday proven true.
Rating: 
Summary: A Timeless Recollection Of A Lost Time And Place !
Review: Whenever friends ask me why, at my age, I still love Hemingway, I smile and think about this book. They say "Hemingway' and conjure up familiar visions of the older, bloated and blighted boozer bragging about his macho accomplishments in the world of war and sports, while I consider the young Hemingway in Paris. I am thinking of a much younger, intellectually virile man, someone far more alert, aware and alive; Hemingway as a 'moveable feast' strolling deliberately through the streets of a rain-swept Paris on a quiet Monday morning, heading to a café for some café au lait to begin his long day's labor.In this single, slim tome Hemingway beautifully and unforgettably evokes a world of beauty and innocence now so utterly lost and irretrievable both to himself, through his fame, alcohol, and dissipation, but also to us, for Paris as she was in the 1920s was a place made to order for the lyrical descriptive songs he sings about her in this remembrance; endlessly interesting, instantly unforgettable, and also accessible to the original "starving young artist types" so well depicted here. As anyone visiting Paris today knows, that magical time and place has utterly vanished. Tragically, Paris is just another city these days. Yet this is a book that unforgettably captures the essence of what the word 'romance' means, and does so in the spare and laconic style that Hemingway developed while sitting in the bistros and watching as the world in all its colors and hues flowed by him. The stories he tells are filled with the kinds of people one usually meets only in novels, yet because of who they were and who they later became in the world of arts and letters, it is hard to doubt the veracity or honesty he uses to such advantage here. This is a portrait of an artist in full possession of his creative powers, full of the vinegary spirit and insight that made him a legend in his own time, and consequently ruined him as an artist and as a human being. There are few books I would endorse for everyone as a lifelong friend. This, however, is a book I can recommend for anyone who wants the reading enjoyment and intellectual experience Hemingway offers in such wonderful abundance in these pages. Take my advice, though. Buy it first in paper, read it until it begins to fray and fall apart (and you will), and then go out and buy yourself a new hardcover edition to adorn your shelf, so on that proverbial rainy afternoon when the house is quiet, the kids are gone, and you just want to escape from the ordinary ennui and humdrum of life, pull "A Moveable Feast" down and hold it close enough to read. A cup of steaming tea by your side, return all by yourself to a marvelous world of blue city skyscapes, freshly washed cobblestone and unforgettable romance; return once more to Paris in the twenties, when life was simple, basic, and good.
Rating:
Summary: In the pantheon of my all-time favorites
Review: A Moveable Feast is a memoir with all the movement of a fine novel. A young, struggling writer comes to Paris to live with his wife, baby and cat in a cold water flat. The uncertainty of his career, the lack of money, the cold winters should be insurmountable; in fact they are the best times of his life as Paris responds with affordable good food in corner cafes and the great company of artists and other writers, notably Gertrude Stein, Ford Maddox Ford, James Joyce and Ezra Pound. It is a place of becoming. The bubble darkens with the arrival of F. Scott Fitzgerald whose troubles transcend eccentricity, suggesting that money and success are not perfect ends, as Hemingway finds as he inescapably outgrows Paris. I hated to have this book end; it was like Hemingway was leaning toward me across one of those cafe tables, telling stories, confiding his heart. There was never a dull moment or word.
Rating:
Summary: Hemingway's Final Masterpiece
Review: Hemingway's writing was always very auto-biographical, but in A Moveable Feast, published after his lifetime and written late in Hem's life, he actually uses real character names in recreating Paris of the 1920's. For any Hemingway fan, or for those interested in first hand accounts of life with Gertrude Stein, Alice Toklas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce and others, this is truly a must read. The book is everything that most late fiction by Hemingway is not. It is lean, romantic, and genuine, without the blustery heroes and stilted dialogue of missed efforts like the dreadful Across the River and Into the Trees. Here Hemingway looks back fondly on his days with Hadley in Paris, slipping into cafes to sit all day and attempt to write over a cup of coffee. He remembers trips to the racetrack, a hysterical road trip adventure with Fitzgerald to retrieve a car, and other memorable details from the lives of the Lost Generation living abroad. He also takes shots at some so-called friends who turned on him, not passing up on an opportunity to get in the last word. There is some doubt as to whether Hemingway ever wanted this book published, but I am very glad that they did. It is a book to cherish and come back to every couple of years, and it had aged better than anything else Hemingway had written.
Rating:
Summary: Most Delicious of Hemingway
Review: Of all the Hemingway books I have read (and I've read quite a few)A Moveable Feast was the best! It was a mouth-full. It was romantic and lovely and a perfect portrayal of Paris. I have lived there, and no other author has described it's beauty to a T. A must read, and if you can a must own!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Hemingway books
Review: I've read this book twice and I'll probably read it everytime I want a dose of Hemingway or to time travel to Paris' literary golden age. I love this book! When I read it I feel as if I am there with Hemingway experiencing his sardonic sense of humor, his friendships, his striking ability to hold a grudge and get back at friends in print, and to understand a bit more about the mind that created such beautiful work.
Rating:
Summary: We'll Always Have Paris
Review: There are relatively few books that a reader feels passionately about. For this reader, this slender memoir is that rare book. Written in Hemingway's declining years, the book describes his days as a starving young writer in Paris during the 1920's. The beauty of Hemingway's writing is that his sparse style so fully engages the reader's senses. Hemingway was frequently disloyal to his friends, cruel to those who loved him and super critical of other writers of his generation, yet this book reveals a sensitive, sympathetic side to the often troubled author. Hemingway once wrote, "all good books are alike in that...after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you, and afterwards it all belongs to you." This story belongs to me and to all the other readers who have sampled 'a moveable feast.'
Rating:
Summary: Ah, Paris in the 1920s ...
Review: I would read this if only to know what the legend Hemingway's life was like when he was young, 'very poor, and very happy'. That it is set in Paris in the 1920s appeals to my illusions and gives it romance; that it talks about many literary stars of the 20th century - Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald - living and working and engaging in the everyday makes it exciting and vaguely scandalous, in the way reading about the private lives of famous people always is. Honestly, I found portions of this boring. The cause, for me, was Hemingway's style. I like it that he is simple and clear and does not over-describe. Yet his writing is not consistently engaging enough, or easy enough to read, to keep the reader eager and turning the page - even when the situations he writes about are interesting in themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: This is one of those books that you simply have to read. It transports you in time to a place you wish you were and a life you wish you had led. This is perhaps one of Hemingways best books. It's fun to read about people he actually interacted with. These are historical figures that are well known- which makes it all the better. As a side note, okay a pretentious side note, people NOTICE when you are reading Hemingway. They look at you like your just a bit above the crowd. They should- Hemingway was amazing. If you haven't read it- pick up a copy. If you have- read it again!
Rating: 
Summary: Early Hemingway written late in his life!
Review: If you need any reason to read or reread the early stories (the Nick Adams stories), this book supplies it for you. Here is the early Hemingway who writes the things we love to read; simple and not self-conscious, describing with purity and exactitude. How he recaptured the truth and honest ambiguity of those early days, so late in his creative life, is nothing short of a miracle in prose writing. The famous and fallible Hemingway makes appearances, to be sure, but please ignore the very few petty bits for the sake of the glorious everyday honesty you will find in places here.
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