# Ernest Hemingway?



## escorial (Nov 7, 2013)

I so like American Literature and it has always been my regret that I just can't get a feel for this giant of literature..I read For Whom The Bell Tolls years ago and I was bored by the story and especially the dialogue...never read another until some years later which was A Moveable Feast which was ok but still left me thinking why is he so adored..anyway bought The Old Man and The Sea and after reading ..the old man sied on every page I just couldn't carry on to the end...my question..what does this guys stuff mean to you?


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## ppsage (Nov 7, 2013)

Don't go by me cause I'm crazy. I think he's the Madonna of his time, and his stuff is deliberately commercial and puerile. Don't go by me, cause I'm crazy.


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## escorial (Nov 7, 2013)

Man USA gave us Elvis..John Steinbeck...an so much more I can't keep expecting them to deliver.


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## Bloggsworth (Nov 8, 2013)

Try his short stories, they are better.


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## spartan928 (Nov 8, 2013)

ppsage said:


> Don't go by me cause I'm crazy. I think he's the Madonna of his time, and his stuff is deliberately commercial and puerile. Don't go by me, cause I'm crazy.



Naw, perhaps Hemmingway is best read and understood in the context of the period. Old Man and the Sea is a good example of Hemmingway putting something out there that hadn't been done quite like it before. The concision of it was remarkable for the time. Yet looking at it today, yeah it's rather boring.


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## The Tourist (Nov 8, 2013)

escorial said:


> I so like American Literature and it has always been my regret that I just can't get a feel for this giant of literature



I wonder if some of this is simply cultural.  You know, Occam's Razor.

Several years ago our local TV stations showed a spate of British movies about bomb removal squads.  They were advertised as *tense drama*.  Lots of talking.  Guys moving slowly, snipping wires, and then no "boom" at the end.  I'd seen more action at the Eukanuba Dog Show.


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## Bilston Blue (Nov 8, 2013)

I haven't yet tried his novels, but love his shorts. I think his are the sort of stories/is the sort of writing you either love or just can't get into it at all. Have a look for a collection called _The First Forty-Nine Stories. _Some of the stories in there are really short. There's some great stories based on his time in Spain, where he got involved in the bullfighting culture, and stuff he wrote about his experiences on safari in Africa. My favourite's _The Snows of Kilimanjaro_.

I love his brevity. They say he never wrote a word which the story couldn't have done without, which whilst it might be an exaggeration, isn't far from the truth. 

Now I think of it, I did try his novel _A Farewell to Arms_, and didn't manage to get far through it. Will try again, I'm sure.


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## escorial (Nov 8, 2013)

Thanks peeps..short stories might be a way in.


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## Sjonak (Nov 18, 2013)

The snows of Kilimanjaro is a great short story recommendation. The Old Man and the Sea did it for me, but if it doesn't for you, A Moveable Feast is an unique writing by/to Hemingway.


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## escorial (Nov 19, 2013)

A moveable Feast released after his death could be the one..think i may jump a train in the new year and read it in Paris.


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## tabasco5 (Nov 20, 2013)

I think The Old Man and the Sea is a great story and great writing.  I try and read it every other year or so, but read some critical analysis and commentary on the book before I read it.  Each time I do that I see something new and interesting, like a good movie.  Having said that, I could see where some would see it as dated.  It was just one of the first books I really identified with so it holds a special place to me I reckon.

As to Hemingway's other works, they can get intensely boring and dragging.  I also would recommend the short stories, with my favorites being Big Two-Hearted River I and II.  Not much actually happens in the stories, but the writing is just phenomenal.  Like Bilston says, there is not a word too many nor too short.  It would be hard to improve his short stories.


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## escorial (Nov 20, 2013)

I've got The Old Man and the Sea in my pile of books but I just can't get into it atall.


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## J Anfinson (Nov 21, 2013)

I've got _The First Forty-nine stories_, and most of them are incredible. I've also read_A Farewell to Arms_, and I can assure you it's got some pretty boring first few chapters, but gets really good if you push through, and an ending you won't forget.


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## escorial (Nov 21, 2013)

Thanks J Anfinson...I'm coming around to the idea of getting stuck in and let the stories unfold....thanks man


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## escorial (Dec 5, 2013)

[video=youtube_share;jR3MLygg0pk]http://youtu.be/jR3MLygg0pk[/video]

Watched it an never felt it gave me a connection to Hemingway....maybe because he killed for pleasure and that trait is not one of my favourite things in people.


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## Theglasshouse (Dec 5, 2013)

I recommend the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. I had to read during high school. It supposedly was considered the greatest american novel during it's time.  I liked it, it was very drama driven. Also it had a fine literary style.

I also had to read through Old Man and the Sea. I didn't like the novel nor read other work. Though I never read his short stories.


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## escorial (Dec 5, 2013)

The Great Gatsby deffo on my to read list..cheers Theglasshouse.


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## tinacrabapple (Dec 10, 2013)

Funny, because I felt the same way, until I read The Sun Also Rises.  It's a great story!


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## escorial (Dec 11, 2013)

What changed your POV tincrabapple?....I've read 2 1/4 books..For Whom The Bell Tolls, A Moveable Feast and couldn't finish The Old Man of Te Sea!


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## tinacrabapple (Dec 11, 2013)

Like I said, it's a great story.  It is a tale of lost-love, cases of self-destruction, and great scenes of revelry.  The writing is smoother than aged Scotch.  It's just GOOD!.  It has every sensory experience you could want.  The bull fighting scene alone will make you want to go visit Spain, just because you read about it in this book.  I can't describe it in terms of "literary" or academic reasons, but as a reader that likes to read quality writing- you'll find it all in this book.

I came to appreciate A Moveable Feast for Hemingway's insight into what writing is.  The story is so beautifully crafted at times, that you feel like you are in a dream.  As for The Old Man in the Sea- it was short and I just muscled through it.  Hemingway knows how to craft a story.  He's a master at bring the story full circle and leaves no threads loose.  I have yet to finish For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I need to finish it!  

Maybe you need to aquire the taste, but then again, fine writing is fine writing.  I don't like Scotch, but when I was given Blue label, well, let's just say, I tried to drink half the bottle.  It's just good and you want to read more.  Good luck!


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## escorial (Dec 12, 2013)

good luck..thanks tinacabapple....I went through a few old books and pulled The Old Man Of The Sea out and gave it a good go but it bored me so I found a audio version on youtube and listened to it before picking up The Grapes of Wrath and it just became background noise...one day I'm sure I'll be banging on about him...just not yet!


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