Comments on: Stories by Ernest Hemingway

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:59:44 +0000

Brice, I have read Faulkner and I recall enjoying As I Lay Dying although it was weird. But it’s been years and it was before I was thinking about what I was reading, so I don’t really recall. I now I am going to revisit Faulkner at some point in the next year.

By: Brice

Brice — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:20:12 +0000

Definitely not too much optimism in Hemingway. But thanks, Amanda and Rebecca for your feedback. Have you read William Faulkner at all? I’ve heard people call his style completely opposite of Hemingway’s so maybe look into that. I read some of As I Lay Dying and didn’t enjoy it, personally. But it’s told from multiple perspectives in first person about the death of a mother in a family, and is a dark comedy in many aspects, so it’s definitely worth looking into.

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:01:22 +0000

Brice, I think it’s the poet in you that likes Hemingway! I read all the stories you mention–and I would have to agree, he does play with reality very well. I just found them a bit depressing and not quite my style.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:41:56 +0000

Brice, The Old Man and the Sea is a great place to start. (And I call it a novel, too).

By: Brice

Brice — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:02:23 +0000

…and please don’t harass me for calling Old Man a novel. I know it’s a novella.

By: Brice

Brice — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:01:10 +0000

I have just recently started reading Hemingway at all. I read Hills Like White Elephants in a class and I loved it for the pure fact that almost no one in the class understood it but when the teacher disected its deeper meaning to us everyone got it and many appreciated it. As a poet, what I’ve read of Hemingway, I think is spectacular. I am trying to find my own literary voice and think his minimalist style is something to aspire to, or at least incorporate into my righting. I’ve read The Killers which I recommend to any of you who liked A Clean Well-Lighted Place, I also read The Light of the World which I thought was spectacular. I get the love-or-hate thing with Hemingway. I just think he plays with the reality of our world very well.

I am also considering reading The Old Man and the Sea. If someone has a better suggestion for a novel to start with, please let me know.

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:58:26 +0000

Chain Reader, I don’t think I could have written what he wrote! I think it’s hard to keep things so concise. But I may have thought that when I was in high school.

SmallWorld Reads, I’ll have to try Fitzgerald and Salinger’s stories. I’m on a short story kick right now, so thanks for the recommendation!

By: SmallWorld Reads

SmallWorld Reads — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:17:07 +0000

I love Hemingway SO much and was shocked when my American Lit students mostly hated him. We read only one story, which I wasn’t really familiar with, because most of his stories have too much language and sex. This one was totally clean. “A Clean, Well Lighted Place” is one of my favorites. My friends and I used to fantasize that we’d open a cafe some day and call it that.

I do love his novels more than his stories. I prefer Fitzgerald and Salinger for short stories. Also, I love listening to Hemingway’s novels on audiotape.

By: Chain Reader

Chain Reader — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:42:34 +0000

I haven’t read anything by Hemingway since high school and I hated it. I keep meaning to read something as a adult and see if I appreciate it more! I think I need to peek closer to recognize the genius, but I remember thinking I could have written what he wrote. I’m sure I missed a lot of meaning. I’ve just now finally recalled which book it was that I read–A Farewell to Arms.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:18:33 +0000

They ARE quite depressing. Earlier this year I decided to pick up my copy of his short stories and read from beginning to end. I made it through two before i stopped. I like Hemingway in small doses. I like the novels better because while they are still miserable, it’s not so COMPACT and miserable, and there more redeeming value in them. The Old Man and the Sea I actually thought was inspiring, though sad, at the end.

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:51:02 +0000

Amanda, I read a novel while in college but I don’t remember a thing about it. I’m going to have to read Old Man and the Sea!

I think I just found his stories depressing and it was hard to keep reading them. I keep picking it up the collection, saying “I should read a few more” but I just really don’t like them. I suspect I’m in the “hate Hemingway” category.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:11:48 +0000

So have you read any of Hemingway’s novels? They are quite different from his short stories (as far as I can tell), though you might not like them either. I’ve only read a few of Hemingway’s short stories (they’re too miserable for me to read more than a couple at a time, but eventually I plan to make my way through the entire collection), but I haven’t as of yet liked them as much as I have his books. The Old Man and the Sea is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. He does keep some of those same elements you talked about - sparse, dialogue-centered language, overlong sentences, etc. He also pulls in a trick that I have yet to see in his short stories (though it may be there in ones I haven’t gotten to yet), which is an intense repetition of phrasing. Particularly in conversation. People will repeat, and repeat, and repeat. To the point of absurdity. I actually really like the technique; I think Hemingway is sort of letting us see the world through a very fine filter, where the person is completely disconnected from the world around him/her. It’s interesting, it’s terrifying in some measure, and it’s fascinating.

I’ve found with people in the classic lit world that they tend to either love or hate Hemingway. There isn’t usually a medium.