Ernest Hemingway: Who Now Reads Him? and other questions

[Extollager]

Here's a recent piece on Hemingway:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/b...rds-and-many-mementos-at-the-morgan.html?_r=0

Who would I see if I went to this exhibition? Would there be very many people under 60?

How about people here at Chrons -- do you read Hemingway, does his work matter to you?

Personally, I haven't really grappled that much with Hemingway's writing, though I think I might like to sometime. I've read some of the stories, A Moveable Feast, The Old Man and the Sea, and a couple of the famous longer novels, and yet somehow they haven't seemed to make a strong and lasting impression... which probably says more about me than about the books.

 

[steelyglint]

I couldn't make any statement of certainty about what they do with them, but people do still buy Hemingway. Not all of them are circa 1955 or earlier, the books or the buyers. I have never partaken of such a feast, moveable or not, myself.

But perhaps, one day, I shall be the one For Whom the Bell Tolls, and I shall find that, In Our Time, The Sun Always Rises, though it may occur that Winner Take Nothing, and by The Torrents of Spring, Across the River and Into the Trees, I may find Death in the Afternoon, or even Men Without Women. In The Green Hills of Africa I'll say A Farewell to Arms, and join The Old Man and the Sea, among The Islands in the Stream, wherein I may well discover The Fifth Column.

.

 

[anno]

I read him fairly regularly,especially his short fiction,I was introduced to him via The old man and the Sea...

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I recently bought a collection of his complete short stories (although even more "complete" collections exist, apparently.) The only novel I have read is the The Old Man and the Sea and that's really a novella.

A little Hemingway goes a long way. After reading a lot of them, it starts to sound like self-parody. I can appreciate the way in which he cuts his writing style down to the bare bones, but that can be mighty thin gruel after a while.

 

[Randy M.]

My reading of Hemingway fluctuates over time, rather like his writerly reputation. In grade school, The Old Man and the Sea was one of my favorite required readings. His best short stories are still remarkably compelling even when you find his premise of what makes a man a man questionable. I didn't care for A Farewell to Arms and intend to eventually reread it to see if the older me agrees with the younger me; I preferred The Sun Also Rises. Much later I read and admired For Whom the Bell Tolls, finding it masterful and beautiful.

Victoria is right about his paring, but when he was going well there is a great deal implied through word choice, prose rhythms, repetition.

For young writers, though, he's as dangerous as Poe for getting into your head and affecting your writing.


Randy M.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The old man and the Sea

Bought a copy of that recently meaning to re-read it. Not read it maybe for 30 years, or perhaps I only saw the film.

 

[Bick]

I have read Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, A Moveable Feast, The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, To Have and Have Not, The Green Hills of Africa, A Farewell to Arms, and numerous short stories. Hemingway was one of the very greatest of writers, and along with Orwell, the finest prose writer in English last century, in my opinion. He's still very relevant to me. I have read that some critics think his 'greatness' as a writer is lessened by the fact that he was a bully. He undoubtedly was, but for me - who didn't get bullied by him - I am able to enjoy his work without overlaying that defect.

On a car trip I did solo across the US from SF to NY in 2002, I visited Ketchum in Idaho and saw his grave, and it was very affecting.

There's a line in To Have and Have not I always recall, and I use it if a see someone dive badly into a pool. The protagonist was fishing in the Gulf of Mexico off the Keys, and a swordfish on a line rises from the water and is described as "falling back into the water like a horse off a cliff". Or words to that effect. I always enjoyed that imagery!

 

[steelyglint]

His latest publication was 'True at First Light' in 1999. It was biographical and covered his journeying through Africa in 1952/3.

For the benefit of anyone passing through Bideford the Book Relief UK bookshop has two very nice first UK edition copies, both at least near Fine in dust wrapper. On ABE Fine copies range from £15 to £35 - Ha! A third of the cheapest would still get you change, and a coffee and a chat with a 2/3 scale Gandalf in a bowler hat if you've got the time. Just not on Saturdays. Sarah has the bridge on Saturdays, so it might be tea with a discussion on antiques.

This has not been a blatant ad by a penurious little charity. This has been a public information broadcast on behalf of world literacy.

Buy a book - words are cheaper wholesale.

.

 

[hitmouse]

I once went to Key West. Does that count?

 

[Bick]

Only if you arm wrestled the locals at his favourite bar and spent hours fishing in a barely seaworthy skiff for marlin whilst drinking huge quantities of bourbon.

 

[hitmouse]

Well naturally I did that. I assumed that was normal for Key West. When in Rome etc.

 

[Oldsarge]

I have almost everything, including the dispatches, biographies, books by relatives, by friends, about friends, wives of friends (Zelda), etc. Introduced as a high-school freshman - "The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber" was required reading. I used to re-read most of the collection annually, but haven't for many years. (Never been to Key West ((or Havana)) and from what I hear, is too crowded anyhow. Too hot for me, also.) I name my cats after his and call them all Kitner, regardless. Why all this? I have absolutely no idea. As a bully, a braggart who oftentimes stretched the truth and a man showing prejudices and other failings, he certainly is not a moral hero of mine. Not the best writer. Maybe I need to enter analysis to explore the attraction.

 

[Extollager]

Hi, Oldsarge, and welcome.

Do you have Hendrickson's book called something like Hemingway's Boat? I've read a couple of other books by this author and liked them, and thought I might try this one, once I've read some more Hem anyway.

 

[Oldsarge]

No I don't. Interesting. I did tape a mini-series many years ago based on Carlos Baker's biography (a hard slog, but a great read). I seem to recall seeing a possibly PBS show discussing the construction of the boat used in that show. Or modification of an existing craft. Or maybe it was about the one used in "To Have And Have Not" with Bogart. Or maybe it was just about that particular model of boat with reference to the Pilar, though the Pilar was a special order. How the gray cells deteriorate. I see it listed on Amazon - I will definitely look into it.

 

[Bick]

Not the best writer.

Bick goes for a quiet sit down and a cup of tea to settle his nerves.
He won the Nobel Prize in Literature on the back of what is arguably the finest prose writing of the 20th century in English. He created a style all his won that many have tried to copy and none have ever matched.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Bick goes for a quiet sit down and a cup of tea to settle his nerves.

I'm intrigued though, what if he is 2nd, or 9th best? That would still be incredible. Who are the better ones though?
Of course someone might be recognised generally as top 10 and not my favourite, well I don't have a favourite author really, favourite stories.

 

[Oldsarge]

Bick, I apologize. My comments were poorly composed. At the least I should have added, "IMHO". There are several highly acclaimed authors whom I find difficult to read and cannot agree with the critics, whether it is in style or composition or both. I certainly do not claim a literary background or formal training. I have eclectic tastes with interests that include studies to obtain a degree in Animal Science, with a military career and much in between - a more rightward than leftward life and companions, yet I have a leftward psyche. (Whatever that means, it is a conflicted life.) But I digress. I read what appeals to me and think for myself. And I'm sure I couldn't parse my downgrading of Hem or cite exactly who I think is better. All I can say in my non-literary way is that he appeals to me on many levels, yet the sparsity of phrasing is not exactly my cup of tea."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." "Everyone to ones own tastes." "Different strokes for different folks." Etc.

 

[Lawrence Burton]

I've only come to him relatively recently. I greatly enjoyed A Moveable Feast, and yet was left feeling a little underwhelmed by Sun Also Rises, although I'm not sure quite why. I'd say it didn't do what I expected, although it's hard to say just what I expected it to do. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed his general style enough to want more, although what that will be probably depends on what happens to be on the shelf of the book store next time the mood takes me.

 

[GOLLUM]

I'm not a big Hemingway fan although I did enjoy Old Man and the Sea when I was younger as well as A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bel Tolls. I have his collected short stories (which I generally prefer over his longer works). I don't regard him as a great writer but I still think he is worth dipping into on occasion.

 

[steelyglint]

I'm not a big Hemingway fan although I did enjoy Old Man and the Sea when I was younger as well as A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bel Tolls. I have his collected short stories (which I generally prefer over his longer works). I don't regard him as a great writer but I still think he is worth dipping into on occasion.

That would be weirdness above and beyond - an audiobook of 'A Farewell to Arms' advertised as 'Gollum reads Hemingway'.

.