Product Description

Paris in the twenties: Pernod, parties and expatriate Americans, loose-living on money from home. Jake is wildly in love with Brett Ashley, aristocratic and irresistibly beautiful, but with an abandoned, sensuous nature that she cannot change. When the couple drifts to Spain to the dazzle of the fiesta and the heady atmosphere of the bullfight, their affair is strained by new passions, new jealousies, and Jake must finally learn that he will never possess the woman he loves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4011 in Books
• Published on: 1994-08-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
Hemingway's first novel is set in high-living 1920s Paris, which he paints as a vacuum in which promiscuity and alcohol are the guiding lights. It is the tale of a group of American and British expatriates, the 'lost generation', who are drawn to a Spanish fiesta. There, the hero, Jake Barnes, who is impotent physically and empty spiritually, finds some meaning in life again when he witnesses the bullfights which pit man against beast, and life agaisnt death. Much admired by Jake is Pedro Romero, a young matador, characterized by his skill, courage and moral seriousness, who stands in complete contrast to the dissolute band of fun-seekers of which Jake is a part. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
Paris in the twenties: Pernod, parties and expatriate Americans, loose-living on money from home. Jake is wildly in love with Brett Ashley, aristocratic and irresistibly beautiful, but with an abandoned, sensuous nature that she cannot change. When the couple drifts to Spain to the dazzle of the fiesta and the heady atmosphere of the bullfight, their affair is strained by new passions, new jealousies, and Jake must finally learn that he will never possess the woman he loves.

From the Publisher
Powerful, intense, visually magnificent, Fiesta is the novel which established Ernest Hemingway as a writer of genius.

Customer Reviews

The Sun Also Rises
Its pretty clear from the reviews being published here that you either love him or hate him. This tale of this book is that it isn't really a tale. Its like a camera filming these wealthy Americans drinking away in Paris and Spain. Each one has their own background and problems.

Boozy fun
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 ...
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.