Hemingway

The Last Good Country
"Do you think you'll ever make enough money writing?"
"If I get good enough."
"Couldn't you maybe make it if you wrote cheerfuller things? That isn't my opinion. Our mother said everything you wrote is morbid."
From The Short Strories








Have to blog...


Its always a great feeling to "discover" a new author. Sometimes even if that author has been around for years but you've just never had the chance to read them. It's a particular treat to find an author that has a nice extensive library to catch up with.


Such is the condition I find myself in after "discovering" Ernest Hemingway.  On a whim, when I had spare cash and was building my hard copy library, I found an updated book that collected all of the short stories by Hemingway. I figured what better way to decide if I liked an author that with these short glimpses into the variety of his imagination. I started reading the stories and have been, to say the least, what is the word? "Enchanted". Captured" "hooked" at least. His prose is a little different than I expected, and I find myself surprised by the occasional n-word or other such racial slur that was a sample form the times he wrote in. But the works are almost dark, very powerful. Some of the stories I had to re-read as I felt I missed the point. His knowledge on bullfighting, camping and outdoor survival come through very strongly and he seems to be a rugged "man's man" type.


His stories are not light hearted, in fact I recall that the first 4 stories in the book involve death or a murder. Certainly tales that make you reflect.




But overall I am pleasantly surprised to have so much from this author to catch up on.