The week following the November 13, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the bestselling book was Hemingway’s A moveable feast. Marcia bought the book for me in December. I was at the midpoint of the book when we arrived in Paris. Even after I finished it, I was not sure why Hemingway’s posthumous memoir, A moveable feast, resonated so well with Parisians. Eventually, I learned that the French title of the book is “Paris is a Feast,” which could be translated as “Paris is a Celebration.”
The book captures Hemingway’s interactions with the post-WWI lost generation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and Picasso, as well as lesser known authors, Ezra Pound and Evan Shipman. There is much discussion about the process of writing and the merits of various authors’ works. The interactions take place in cafes and streets of Paris and their respective apartments.
The English title of the book implies the feast moves with an individual. My interpretation is that memories of good times in Paris will travel with you regardless of where you happen to be. Everyone hopefully has memories of their metaphoric Paris, whether it is a beach on Lake Michigan, a puebla in Mexico, or a place near home. It is a pleasant thought that memories of Paris and other places during our trip will stay with us.
