Everybody Behaves Badly

 Everybody Behaves Badly by Lesley M. M. Blume recounts the backstory behind Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. I teach that novel, and for several years I've had my students listen to an NPR interview with Blume to learn the real-life inspiration. But, in part because I've attempted some bad reads about literature I like, I had never actually read Blume's book until now. I was wrong to ignore it. It's in depth, fast paced, fascinating, and engaging. 

There are many interesting facts and connections with The Sun Also Rises and other great works of Modern fiction. There's also a lot to be gleaned about post-war Europe and the expat community, as well as early 20th-Century publishing. But the largest theme that emerges in Everybody Behaves Badly is the personal cost of great literature. Hemingway detonated his social and familial circles to write his first novel. He was sociopathic about revealing his friends' secrets and personalities, and he ignored his long-suffering wife. On a purely artistic level, it worked. He absolutely accomplished what he set out to achieve. Blume is a personable, often funny writer, but she wisely doesn't moralize about this choice, nor does she need to. Everybody Behaves Badly, despite the clarity of the title, allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the Lost Generation.