The Big Two Hearted River, as often as I read it, never fails to cheer me up because it is so beautiful. Same with The Old Man and the Sea. My very favorite "boy" books are only a little off the beaten track. For example, aren't Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and War and Peace really "boy" books, with the characters of Levin and Pierre front and center? And what is The Brothers Karamazov if not a "boy" book? Thank you for the thoughtfulness of your post—wonderfully written! I think if we were to stack all the writer's biographies in a pile, except maybe a few really good ones like William Jackson Bate on Keats, I would be happy to be the one to light the match.
I have to admit I have neglected Papa, except for reading For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Sun Also Rises. I’ve never read the Nick Adams’ stories. I must rectify that.
Well said -- I've only read a small bit of Hemingway, so your post serves to educate me. I'm glad you are providing young men the opportunity to connect. As the mother of a young adult son, you are spot on with the challenges young men face today. Keep up the good work.
Hemingway had a huge influence on me when I was young that stayed with me. I’ve absorbed most his books, biographies, and visited several of his homes. Reading his letters was eye opening, and showed his personality in full. I, too, struggle with some of his actions and the way he sometimes hid in an over the top persona he created. Probably a persona he eventually became trapped in. I do agree that most critics of Hemingway have more issue with the problematic aspects of his personality or persona as opposed to his work. His work is the best of him.
The Big Two Hearted River, as often as I read it, never fails to cheer me up because it is so beautiful. Same with The Old Man and the Sea. My very favorite "boy" books are only a little off the beaten track. For example, aren't Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and War and Peace really "boy" books, with the characters of Levin and Pierre front and center? And what is The Brothers Karamazov if not a "boy" book? Thank you for the thoughtfulness of your post—wonderfully written! I think if we were to stack all the writer's biographies in a pile, except maybe a few really good ones like William Jackson Bate on Keats, I would be happy to be the one to light the match.
I have to admit I have neglected Papa, except for reading For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Sun Also Rises. I’ve never read the Nick Adams’ stories. I must rectify that.
Well said -- I've only read a small bit of Hemingway, so your post serves to educate me. I'm glad you are providing young men the opportunity to connect. As the mother of a young adult son, you are spot on with the challenges young men face today. Keep up the good work.
Hemingway had a huge influence on me when I was young that stayed with me. I’ve absorbed most his books, biographies, and visited several of his homes. Reading his letters was eye opening, and showed his personality in full. I, too, struggle with some of his actions and the way he sometimes hid in an over the top persona he created. Probably a persona he eventually became trapped in. I do agree that most critics of Hemingway have more issue with the problematic aspects of his personality or persona as opposed to his work. His work is the best of him.
Beautifully done.
A clear-eyed assessment of Hemingway’s strengths and weaknesses. His influence can’t be minimized on both accounts.
Well said. Hemingway was also very funny at times, which critics don't give him credit for. "Road to hell paved with unbought stuffed dogs."