Ernest Hemingway's book guide: what's special about them and why you should read them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

"The Old Man and the Sea", "Farewell to Arms!", "The Sun Also Rises" and other works of the writer are still relevant today.

Why is Ernest Hemingway important to the world?

Hemingway is considered one of the most influential authors of our time. Not a single list of the main books of the last century can do without him, and his style largely determined the path of development of literature. That is why he got the nickname "Daddy Hem".

The writer has always been in the thick of things and covered topics that are still relevant. The importance of Hemingway's work was appreciated during his lifetime. With a difference of a year, the small story "The Old Man and the Sea" was awarded two primary prizes in literature - the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.

At the same time, Hemingway is one of those authors whose image is no less important than creativity. The sight of a brooding bearded man in a rough sweater has become the same symbol of the 20th century as the paintings of Warhol or the flight of a man into space.

What is the peculiarity of Hemingway's work?

Hemingway owes much of his style to the profession of a war correspondent. He is laconic and short. The author wrote a lot, not limiting the flight of inspiration, but then mercilessly cut drafts.

Therefore, every word in his works is worth its weight in gold.

For a long time, the main theme of creativity remained the so-called lost generation - these are people who visited the First World War and returned from there completely different. They saw all the horror of the battles, felt the pain and watched death. Despite the fact that the soldiers served the country, many felt that they were not needed by the homeland. It was about these crippled and lost souls that Hemingway wrote, referring himself to them.

The author reflected every significant period of his life in books. A Paris episode, Spanish adventures, life in Cuba and being at the front - he wrote about what he saw and felt himself.

Why is Hemingway worth reading?

The time gap between today's reader and Hem's dad is not felt when you open his books. He addressed topics that will be relevant for centuries. For example, the author sought to look into the soul of the heroes, to show their virtue and vices. Get to the bottom of human relationships, describe the struggle with the elements - whether it be an external threat, such as a violent sea, or an internal storm that is playing out in the heart.

You need to read Hemingway when you need motivation or an inner push.

His characters are not afraid to appear vulnerable. They do not run away from problems, do not ignore difficulties, boldly meet adversity and philosophically treat losses, accepting life with all its joys and sorrows.

Who will love Hemingway's work?

Ernest Hemingway is a representative of realism and modernism. His novels can be used to study the history and social changes of the early and mid-20th century.

However, one should not expect straightforwardness and dryness from him. The writer loved to saturate the works with hints and make references to events, not talking about them head-on. Despite the brevity and sharpness of the style, he paid special attention to details.

If you love finding clues and solving literary puzzles, then Hemingway is your writer.

Where to start acquaintance with the work of Hemingway?

For Whom the Bell Tolls was published in 1940, immediately after the end of the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway himself was then in Madrid as a correspondent. The main character is a demolition man who fights against fascists trying to seize power. Despite the importance of the goal and dedication to his cause, Pablo is overcome by fear and doubt. Through the secondary heroes, Hemingway showed all the horror of the armed conflict and atrocities that each side committed.

The story "The Old Man and the Sea" came out in a difficult period for the writer, when people began to forget about him. But she regained recognition and made Hemingway a classic during his lifetime. The story tells of an old fisherman. The hero remains without a catch for three months, and then hooks a huge marlin, which is not going to lose his life without a fight. Two worthy opponents clashed on the high seas. For everyone, failure means death.

"Bye weapons!" - a novel about that same lost generation. It has a love line, stories of courage and moments of carefree fun. But they only slightly dilute the main theme - the nightmares of war and its consequences. Hemingway brushed aside patriotic appeals and heroic pictures. He showed the young soldiers what they became on the battlefield - cannon fodder, a statistic figure. The author took a lot of what was described from his own life. He, like his hero, served in Italy and was wounded.

When he first got to a bullfight in Spain, Hemingway was fascinated by this dubious leisure. His delight was reflected in the novel The Sun Also Rises, also known as Fiesta. Here the author again talks about people trying to return to a peaceful life. They struggle to build relationships, crave entertainment, but also strive for stability. And after each choice made, they ask themselves a question that excites all people regardless of gender, age and era: "What if..?"

In his works, Hemingway relied on his own feelings and experiences, although he wrote fiction.

At the same time, there are also documentary books in his bibliography. "The holiday that is always with you" is just one of them. These are the writer's memories of his life in Paris and the first steps in his writing career. The work was published by the author's wife after his death. On the pages you can find curious stories about those with whom Hemingway communicated. For example, about the author of The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald and the great James Joyce.

What books of his are undeservedly underestimated?

If the listed works have been heard by readers for more than a decade, then the following novels are not so famous. And absolutely in vain.

Several years before the release of the story "The Old Man and the Sea", the author published the book "To Have and Not to Have", in which he also described the adventures of a fisherman. Harry Morgan from Florida could not support his family, so he agreed to smuggle alcohol prohibited by Prohibition. But something goes wrong, the hero loses not only the boat, but also his hand. Driven deeper into debt, he does not hesitate when asked to ferry the Cuban revolutionaries. Very soon Harry realizes that he will not return alive from this voyage.

The novel "Garden of Eden" was published after the death of Hemingway, in 1986. Although the writer denied the reality of what was described, much in the book repeats the events of his life. The hero is a war veteran who becomes a writer. With his young wife, he goes on a honeymoon trip. However, the serenity was short-lived. Jealousy bursts into their family life. At first, this feeling flares up in the wife due to the man's constant immersion in work. Then a rival appears on the horizon who threatens an already fragile happiness.

Even those who have never read his works know about the life of the writer in Cuba, Paris and Spain. But Hemingway's love for Africa was not so obvious. It was on this continent that his passion for adventure, bordering on recklessness, and the desire to enjoy life in all its manifestations manifested itself.

In the book Green Hills, the writer reflected the events of a protracted safari. Descriptions of exotic nature, the life of the natives and hunting incidents are interspersed with the author's reflections on life, death and creativity.

How do readers express their love for Hemingway?

Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh discovered more than 500 minor planets over many years of scientific activity. One of them, discovered in 1978, he named after Ernest Hemingway.

One of the most popular online games, World of Warcraft, features the character Hemet Nesingwary. This is an anagram of the writer's name. Like Dad Hem, the dwarf Heming loves to hunt.

The author's works have been screened more than 80 times.

This number includes feature films, short films, television projects and series. The first novel to appear on the big screen was Farewell to Arms. The painting appeared in 1932, just three years after the book was published.

Writers inspired by Hemingway's work dedicated their works to him. For example, in Leonardo Padura's novel Farewell Hemingway, the protagonist finds a corpse in the house where Ernest lived. The Cuban manor excites the character. Instead of looking for the killer, he begins to unravel the secrets that the house can tell about its famous master.

Craig MacDonald's novel Kill Hemingway opens the scene of the suicide of a writer who shot himself after a long struggle with depression. Although it is fictional prose, the book contains many references to real events from the life of Hemingway.