Rating: 
Summary: Done up like a dog's dinner
Review: I have long enjoyed Michael Palin as an actor, comedian and world traveller. I was not expecting much from him as a novelist, however, thinking he would be predictably zany and lightweight.It was a very pleasant surprise to find a book about ordinary people with secret lives -- a topic that always hooks me. Very well written, with British characters that ring true to my experiences in England, I truly enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: Done up like a dog's dinner
Review: I have long enjoyed Michael Palin as an actor, comedian and world traveller. I was not expecting much from him as a novelist, however, thinking he would be predictably zany and lightweight. It was a very pleasant surprise to find a book about ordinary people with secret lives -- a topic that always hooks me. Very well written, with British characters that ring true to my experiences in England, I truly enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story
Review: I have read this book in part of my GSCE-studies in englsh. The maincharcter martin is really interesting when you consider his life. Though he is a postman for living, byking to and from work every day he can still have a differnet life besides this. Elaine who adores him in the beginning come to love the new postmanager Nick Marshall for his good ideas and plans. But who is betraying who here? Nick sells the postoffice in order to start his telecommunication-business. I will focus on Martin who lives in the shoes of HEMINGWAY,the great artist. when reading the end I get captured by the strong emotions martin create from being two personalties. Not only do I feel captured in the end, but also through-out the whole book. The chair martin gets which is vital to the whole story symbolises to me, strenght of life, but also death. when I sit in my Hemingwaychair I feel special after reading this book. I also loved the good humour which the fiction offers.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Read, with Powerful Images
Review: I kind of wish they'd released this under a pseudonym. (Kind of. There are lots of great, unknown books around.) Deal with it; there ain't no pythons in Theston. (Must be part of that St. Patrick deal.) Palin's style, here, reminds me most of Robert Coover in "The Universal Baseball Association" (also a great read, with a similar sort of spiritual-development-through-fantasy/admiration theme going on.) The book's tightly, carefully crafted, which is also good for we plot-mongers who are fed to the teeth with either exploitative, violent crap and/or the formless, self-indulgent not-quite-poetry stuff that sometimes passes for "real" novels. This one's a must read also, for those of us looking (begging, hoping, praying...) for characters beyond the same ol' stereotypes. There isn't a flat, inhuman, dissed character (male or FEMALE!) anywhere in this story -- even the "bad" guys are complex in motivation and thought processes.
Rating: 
Summary: And now for something completely different...
Review: I liked this book from the picture on the cover to the ending. The characters were well-developed, and the book held my interest. Who wouldn't like an assistant postal manager convinced that by replicating Hemingway's milieu in his bedroom that he could write. Martin is an endearing character and I was rooting for him from the start. A remarkable first fiction effort by Michael Palin. When I reached the last page, I felt like shouting HOORAY out loud.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, funny, and inspiring.
Review: I think some people who read "Hemingway's Chair" were expecting a lot of silly, outrageous humor like what Michael Palin helped create in Monty Python. But that's not what this novel is, at all. It's much more serious that I expected, but it really is a great book, and the funny stuff is inserted in there with just perfect timing that made me smile for a long time afterward. This is not an action book, either (though some parts are indeed very exciting). The plot is not very complicated, but it really makes you think, and the characters are very human. The very end of the book may not be quite what the rest was, but I think it was pretty much satisfactory. This is a very sweet and well writen novel, and I very much recommend it to anyone interested in a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, funny, and inspiring.
Review: I think some people who read "Hemingway's Chair" were expecting a lot of silly, outrageous humor like what Michael Palin helped create in Monty Python. But that's not what this novel is, at all. It's much more serious that I expected, but it really is a great book, and the funny stuff is inserted in there with just perfect timing that made me smile for a long time afterward. This is not an action book, either (though some parts are indeed very exciting). The plot is not very complicated, but it really makes you think, and the characters are very human. The very end of the book may not be quite what the rest was, but I think it was pretty much satisfactory. This is a very sweet and well writen novel, and I very much recommend it to anyone interested in a good read.
Rating:
Summary: I only wish it was longer
Review: I was hesitant when I first picked up this book - although I'm a fan of Palin's Ptyhon work, I wasn't sure that I was ready to read that vein of comedy in a novel. However, I needn't have worried - Palin's writing is engaging, and with "Hemingway's Chair" he has created a cast of characters that *breathe*. I fell into this book from the start, and the imagery that Palin brings forth is fresh; the plot one that I found hard to resist, despite it being partly centred around a writer I have no interest in, or knowledge of. However, Palin's characters carry the story along honestly, and interact with each other believably. If you enjoy witty, enjoyable fiction, especially that which carries an strong English feel to it, then you cannot and MUST not pass up this book.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read
Review: I was surprised that this was written by the same guy that was in A Fish Called Wanda and Monty Python. What a great talent he has. This story is an enjoyable read with unique characters and a wonderful plot. The character of Ruthie is a hoot. It's a quick read and well worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was very disappointed in Hemingways Chair. A sad loser, devoted to his employer, gets messed over, loses job, girl, and
prospects. I'm a devoted Monty Python fan, and found this book
depressing and dull.
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