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lizbeth5's review against another edition
5.0
Not sure why I was drawn to this book, I read a review in the Boston Globe and then there it was on the library shelf. I am not a huge Hemingway fan, I can't honestly remember if I read The Sun Also Rises. What Hemingway I do remember I didn't terribly enjoy. It was the heyday of "women's lib" and Ernest was a bad man.
That being said, what a fascinating book! It is as much a study of 1920s to 30s Paris expatriate society as anything else. It shows a life and lifestyle few of us can ever know, whether by limits of income, or history. It portrays the life of a writer, a certain type of writer, surely, but still, that unscheduled, "life" that ends up as a piece of art.
Of course, it focuses on Hemingway as the traitor, if you will, using his "friends" and compatriots as fodder for his novel with no regard as to the consequences for their lives. And it is hard to imagine that their "adventures" we're so damaging to them when his book was published. In our time a group of friends going away together and drinking too much and sleeping around, isn't that a reality show? But once upon a time that behavior happened, but wasn't celebrated. And Hemingway became famous from publicizing it.
I highly recommend this book, for the literati of course, but also for the social historian.
That being said, what a fascinating book! It is as much a study of 1920s to 30s Paris expatriate society as anything else. It shows a life and lifestyle few of us can ever know, whether by limits of income, or history. It portrays the life of a writer, a certain type of writer, surely, but still, that unscheduled, "life" that ends up as a piece of art.
Of course, it focuses on Hemingway as the traitor, if you will, using his "friends" and compatriots as fodder for his novel with no regard as to the consequences for their lives. And it is hard to imagine that their "adventures" we're so damaging to them when his book was published. In our time a group of friends going away together and drinking too much and sleeping around, isn't that a reality show? But once upon a time that behavior happened, but wasn't celebrated. And Hemingway became famous from publicizing it.
I highly recommend this book, for the literati of course, but also for the social historian.
iceberg0's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting story of the writing of Hemingway's seminal novel.
johndiconsiglio's review against another edition
3.0
Hemingway’s taken a beating lately. His reputation pendulum has swung from revered maestro to hyper-masculine loudmouth. Blume gets in her shots when recounting the Lost Gen Paris that birthed Sun Also Rises (which Dos Passos dismissed as “a cock-&-bull story about tourists getting drunk”). But she also reminds us that he was a damn good writer. Young Hemingway clawing his way from unpublished nobody to icon—& steamrolling friends & lovers in the process—isn’t fresh, but it’s fun. She balances skewering the man with exalting the work. Fair enough.
citizen_noir's review against another edition
3.0
In the same Chartres notebook containing the excised foreword, he listed some candidates pulled from the Book of Ecclesiastes, including River to the Sea, Two Lie Together, The Old Leaven, and The Sun Also Rises. The Sun Also Rises option had been culled from a line in the “Vanity of Life” passage: One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The theme of death and regeneration was as poignant as that of a devastated generation, and it fit neatly with Hemingway’s belief that each generation was just as lost as any other; the concept would resonate with him for the rest of his life.
Surprise, surprise, dear Reader, but Ernest Hemingway was an SOB. He was also such a talented wordsmith that before he'd published more than a few short stories and newspaper articles, the literary gods of the early 20th century - from Gertrude Stein to F. Scott Fitzgerald - had anointed him as the voice of his generation. He was also fearless when it came to living life, whether hopping into a Pamplona bullring to test his mettle, or drinking to excess day after day and night after night, or using the experiences of his close friends to create the thinly veiled characters of his first major book, THE SUN ALSO RISES.
While I always figured that Papa was a jerk, there were plenty of others around him who drank too much, played too hard, cheated on their lovers and spouses, etc. Lo and behold, I guess that's why this book is titled EVERYBODY BEHAVES BADLY: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND HEMINGWAY'S MASTERPIECE "THE SUN ALSO RISES."
Last year I read (and loved) Lesley Blume's biography of John Hersey - FALLOUT: THE HIROSHIMA COVER-UP AND THE REPORTER WHO REVEALED IT TO THE WORLD. This book falls a bit short. I loved the first third, as Blume chronicles Hemingway's arrival in Paris and his audacious goal to not just be a novelist, but the greatest writer of his generation. I'd say he achieved this, becoming the most influential (and copied and parodied) writer of the 20th century. The final two-thirds of the book, however, felt thin. The scope of the book felt too narrow, focusing only on the creation of THE SUN ALSO RISES and the people who inspired that story.
Surprise, surprise, dear Reader, but Ernest Hemingway was an SOB. He was also such a talented wordsmith that before he'd published more than a few short stories and newspaper articles, the literary gods of the early 20th century - from Gertrude Stein to F. Scott Fitzgerald - had anointed him as the voice of his generation. He was also fearless when it came to living life, whether hopping into a Pamplona bullring to test his mettle, or drinking to excess day after day and night after night, or using the experiences of his close friends to create the thinly veiled characters of his first major book, THE SUN ALSO RISES.
While I always figured that Papa was a jerk, there were plenty of others around him who drank too much, played too hard, cheated on their lovers and spouses, etc. Lo and behold, I guess that's why this book is titled EVERYBODY BEHAVES BADLY: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND HEMINGWAY'S MASTERPIECE "THE SUN ALSO RISES."
Last year I read (and loved) Lesley Blume's biography of John Hersey - FALLOUT: THE HIROSHIMA COVER-UP AND THE REPORTER WHO REVEALED IT TO THE WORLD. This book falls a bit short. I loved the first third, as Blume chronicles Hemingway's arrival in Paris and his audacious goal to not just be a novelist, but the greatest writer of his generation. I'd say he achieved this, becoming the most influential (and copied and parodied) writer of the 20th century. The final two-thirds of the book, however, felt thin. The scope of the book felt too narrow, focusing only on the creation of THE SUN ALSO RISES and the people who inspired that story.
susannah_n's review against another edition
4.0
3-1/2 stars.
After many, many years of good intentions, I read The Sun Also Rises last year for the first time. I did not like it. I was familiar with Ernest Hemingway's writing style from studying other works of his in high school and college, but I had no idea that I would find The Sun Also Rises so (may the American literary canon powers that be smite me) pedestrian. I thought some of the characterizations simplistic (Lady Brett Ashley and her "I say[s]") and the casual racism appalling, even considering the time the book was written. Nevertheless, I have always enjoyed reading about the literary culture of Paris in the 1920s. I thought Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, which was the first of his books I read, was wonderful. So, Lesley M.M. Blume's Everybody Behaves Badly definitely appealed to my fondness for that time and place.
Everybody Behaves Badly is a very carefully crafted book. Blume does not seem to overlook any of the details of Hemingway's years in Paris and the creation of his first novel--the one that made his name. Further, she does not pull her punches. I had always bought into Hemingway's reputation as a self-centered, macho man, and Blume gave me no reason to doubt my assumptions. But the care with which she tells the story also indicates that she is not biased for or against Hemingway: he gladly accepted the goodwill of people who recognized his talent, and then chided them for not being as talented as he was (e.g., Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald are just three of the better-known names), particularly once he gained success. Yet, he often charmed them out of any ill-will towards him until he was ready turned his back on them entirely. This was his M.O., and Blume shows that Hemingway did it again and again.
I enjoyed Everybody Behaves Badly even considering my distaste for Ernest Hemingway's behavior. After reading it, I am eager to follow up on the books mentioned in Blume's exhaustive End Notes and read the perspectives of other members of that Lost Generation of 1920's Paris. And that urge to learn more is one of the highest compliments I can give a book.
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My thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to read and review this book.
After many, many years of good intentions, I read The Sun Also Rises last year for the first time. I did not like it. I was familiar with Ernest Hemingway's writing style from studying other works of his in high school and college, but I had no idea that I would find The Sun Also Rises so (may the American literary canon powers that be smite me) pedestrian. I thought some of the characterizations simplistic (Lady Brett Ashley and her "I say[s]") and the casual racism appalling, even considering the time the book was written. Nevertheless, I have always enjoyed reading about the literary culture of Paris in the 1920s. I thought Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, which was the first of his books I read, was wonderful. So, Lesley M.M. Blume's Everybody Behaves Badly definitely appealed to my fondness for that time and place.
Everybody Behaves Badly is a very carefully crafted book. Blume does not seem to overlook any of the details of Hemingway's years in Paris and the creation of his first novel--the one that made his name. Further, she does not pull her punches. I had always bought into Hemingway's reputation as a self-centered, macho man, and Blume gave me no reason to doubt my assumptions. But the care with which she tells the story also indicates that she is not biased for or against Hemingway: he gladly accepted the goodwill of people who recognized his talent, and then chided them for not being as talented as he was (e.g., Sherwood Anderson, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald are just three of the better-known names), particularly once he gained success. Yet, he often charmed them out of any ill-will towards him until he was ready turned his back on them entirely. This was his M.O., and Blume shows that Hemingway did it again and again.
I enjoyed Everybody Behaves Badly even considering my distaste for Ernest Hemingway's behavior. After reading it, I am eager to follow up on the books mentioned in Blume's exhaustive End Notes and read the perspectives of other members of that Lost Generation of 1920's Paris. And that urge to learn more is one of the highest compliments I can give a book.
----------------------------------
My thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to read and review this book.
alundeberg's review against another edition
3.0
I am conflicted about reading "what really happened" behind one of my favorite novels. While I always knew that as a roman á clef, the novel was based on real life experiences, the experience of reading it has always been my own. Now after having read Everybody Behaves Badly, the book is now crowded with the characters and their real life counterparts telling me how they should be read. It also compounds my complex relationship with Hemingway, an author I admire exceedingly and also a man who is so easy to despise. The byline for this book could have been: But Hemingway Behaves the Worst. Or Who Needs Enemies When You Have Hemingway for a Friend.
That said, this was a very interesting book that succinctly details the "BS" (Before Sun) and "AS" of Hemingway's writing and married life. If you are already well-versed on Hemingway's early writing life, there's probably not a whole lot to learn here, but as a look into how a man becomes an artist, it is very instructive. It definitely shows how Hemingway became HEMINGWAY. And if you have a hankering for a long ago Paris, this book will transport you there.
That said, this was a very interesting book that succinctly details the "BS" (Before Sun) and "AS" of Hemingway's writing and married life. If you are already well-versed on Hemingway's early writing life, there's probably not a whole lot to learn here, but as a look into how a man becomes an artist, it is very instructive. It definitely shows how Hemingway became HEMINGWAY. And if you have a hankering for a long ago Paris, this book will transport you there.
arat's review against another edition
4.0
Goddamnit, I'm a Hemingway apologist. It's hard not to respect the calculating way he approached writing.
Blume weaves factual accounts, letters/correspondence, and fictional retellings of Hemingway's life leading up to publishing his first novel so you get every ugly detail. It's hard not to romanticize the time and the man.
Blume weaves factual accounts, letters/correspondence, and fictional retellings of Hemingway's life leading up to publishing his first novel so you get every ugly detail. It's hard not to romanticize the time and the man.