Monday, July 7, 2014

Hemingway

The last few years I have wanted to read a book by Hemingway.  I have yet to do so but have many on my TBR list.  I've even checked some out from the library only to return them unread because I ran out of time.  So, Internet people, if you've read Hemingway, what would you suggest I start with?

I've been leaning towards...

The Sun Also Rises
Description: The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises is one of Ernest Hemingway;s masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.

A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.

First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.


A Farewell to Arms
Description: In 1918 Ernest Hemingway went to war, to the 'war to end all wars'. He volunteered for ambulance service in Italy, was wounded and twice decorated. Out of his experiences came A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway's description of war is unforgettable. He recreates the fear, the comradeship, the courage of his young American volunteer and the men and women he meets in Italy with total conviction. But A Farewell to Arms is not only a novel of war. In it Hemingway has also created a love story of immense drama and uncompromising passion.

A Moveable Feast
Description: Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. It is his classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, filled with irreverent portraits of other expatriate luminaries such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein; tender memories of his first wife, Hadley; and insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. It is a literary feast, brilliantly evoking the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the youthful spirit, unbridled creativity, and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.

So what say you, Internet? Which should be my first Hemingway? One on this list? Another one? Please help!

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