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Ernest Hemingway

S

sterculelum

New Member
I've been meaning to get to read something by him for a while. Something about him has always seemed very interesting to me. Where do I start? I'm kinda put off For Whom The Bell Tolls by the subject matter, I really have no interest in Spanish Civil War. The Sun Also Rises sounds pretty cool, and I've heard about something about a fisherman or something?
 
Search. It's very likely that an author like Hemingway might have been discussed before on a forum like this dontcha think?

And the fisherman you're trying to think of is the Old Man and the Sea
 
Why not try the Complete Short Stories? His style lends itself well to the short story format and that will give you an idea of his approach. A collection with Hills Like White Elephants, A Clean Well-Lighted Place, and The Snows of Kilamanjaro would give a good idea of his mature style.
 
I have heard that "Hills Like White Elephants" is a good short story. Haven't got to read it yet.

Any idea if its in the public domain?
 
ions said:
Search. It's very likely that an author like Hemingway might have been discussed before on a forum like this dontcha think?

And the fisherman you're trying to think of is the Old Man and the Sea
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The nice thing about a book forum is the good authors (and the bad) can be discussed over and over. Authors like Hemmingway, Steinbeck, etc continue to be read by new readers who "find" a new source of enjoyment. :)
 
I've read The Old Man and the Sea and The Sun Also Rises. I liked them both. Out of the two, though, I liked The Old Man and the Sea better..
 
I'm in with those that say short stories. _In Our Time_ & _Winner Take Nothing_, but as Novella says, it's probably all just 'collected' now.

_A Moveable Feast_, while entertaining is not fiction (well, in pure Hemingway style its fabricated truth), so maybe not what you're looking for.

I’ve been meaning to do a re-read of some of the early novels, but they didn’t really grab me back then.
j
 
jay said:
I’ve been meaning to do a re-read of some of the early novels, but they didn’t really grab me back then.
j
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Yeah, Hemingway is funny that way. Years ago when I was a naive chicklet and had to read him, I thought he was a simplistic macho hot-air balloon. But then I became interested in how dialogue moves plot and circumscribes character, and I realized what a natural gift for the craft he had.
 
I think a good place to start reading Hemingway is with To Have and Have Not. This is probably one of Hemingway's simpler works. It is more of an action story than anything, and it is packed with it. A good introduction to him without getting in too deep.

But if you do want to get in deep, The Old Man and the Sea is a good starter. After that, then I'd move in on something like The Sun Also Rises or A Farewell to Arms. This is probably the more typical approach.

But pretty much everything is good - this is Hemingway after all.
 
novella said:
and I realized what a natural gift for the craft he had.
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Sure. To me he’s just a better short story writer.
But all in all I think they reason he didn’t grab me when I was giving him a flip is that his themes and subjects just didn’t capture me (war bores me and bullshiting/bullfighting could never be interesting – just two simplistic examples).

I don’t say Hemingway isn’t an important writer and shouldn’t be read, but I’ll take Joyce and Faulkner and (some) Fitzgerald over him any day.
Others, will chose otherwise, with reason.

But I do mean to re-read the early novels at some point…
j
 
I agree A Movable Feast isn't typical Hemingway. That is why I enjoyed it. It was his quest for truth and meaning instead of having characters play out scenes from his imagination. Also his envy of Joyce and denunciation of Fitzgerald was worth the price of admission.
 
ruach said:
I agree A Movable Feast isn't typical Hemingway. That is why I enjoyed it.
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Yes, I don’t say it’s not a fun/interesting book. I only brought it up again so that the original poster didn’t mistakenly pick that up first. Generally if one is asking about some introductory (fiction) by someone I don’t recommend essays/non-fiction, or at least without being very clear about it.

It was his quest for truth
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Hmmmmm, Hemingway-truth, maybe.
I’m not sure of the exact recipe but it certainly seems (history tells us) 2 parts truth, 2 parts embellishment.

Yes, the F. Scott stuff is…zany.

So sterculelum, have you decided on any titles yet?
j
 
Absolutely love the guy's works. The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms are personal favorites of mine that he wrote.

The New Yorker has an interesting write-up about Hemingway and Dos Passos in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. You can read it here. A grat account of the differing personalities of the two men and why they really didn't care for each other.
 
SFG75 said:
Absolutely love the guy's works. The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms are personal favorites of mine that he wrote.
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I'm going to read The OIld Man and the Sea very soon. heard a lot about it and looking forward to it. but I have found him difficult in the past.
 
oh hemingway. i still got Old Man and the Sea waiting for me.

i read A Farewell to Arms in english class last year. i suppose its a good place to start
 
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