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The short stories #2
The Short Stories Volume II
The definitive short story collection that established Ernest Hemingway's literary reputation, originally published in 1938.
Ernest Hemingway is a cultural icon—an archetype of rugged masculinity, a romantic ideal of the intellectual in perpetual exile—but, to his countless readers, Hemingway remains a literary force much greater than his image. Of all of Hemingway’s canonical fictions, perhaps none demonstrate so forcefully the power of the author’s revolutionary style as his short stories. In classics like “Hills like White Elephants,” “The Butterfly in the Tank,” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” Hemingway shows us great literature compressed to its most potent essentials. We also see, in Hemingway’s short fiction, the tales that created the legend: these are stories of men and women in love and in war and on the hunt, stories of a lost generation born into a fractured time.
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway presents many of Hemingway’s most famous classics alongside rare and unpublished material: Hemingway’s early drafts and correspondence, his dazzling out-of-print essay on the art of the short story, and two marvelous examples of his earliest work—his first published story, “The Judgment of Manitou,” which Hemingway wrote when still a high school student, and a never-before-published story, written when the author was recovering from a war injury in Milan after WWI. This work offers vital insight into the artistic development of one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. It is a perfect introduction for a new generation of Hemingway readers, and it belongs in the collection of any true Hemingway fan.
Ernest Hemingway is a cultural icon—an archetype of rugged masculinity, a romantic ideal of the intellectual in perpetual exile—but, to his countless readers, Hemingway remains a literary force much greater than his image. Of all of Hemingway’s canonical fictions, perhaps none demonstrate so forcefully the power of the author’s revolutionary style as his short stories. In classics like “Hills like White Elephants,” “The Butterfly in the Tank,” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” Hemingway shows us great literature compressed to its most potent essentials. We also see, in Hemingway’s short fiction, the tales that created the legend: these are stories of men and women in love and in war and on the hunt, stories of a lost generation born into a fractured time.
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway presents many of Hemingway’s most famous classics alongside rare and unpublished material: Hemingway’s early drafts and correspondence, his dazzling out-of-print essay on the art of the short story, and two marvelous examples of his earliest work—his first published story, “The Judgment of Manitou,” which Hemingway wrote when still a high school student, and a never-before-published story, written when the author was recovering from a war injury in Milan after WWI. This work offers vital insight into the artistic development of one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. It is a perfect introduction for a new generation of Hemingway readers, and it belongs in the collection of any true Hemingway fan.
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First published November 11, 2002
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About the author
Ernest Hemingway
2,212 books32.4k followersErnest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 26, 2017
More good Hemingway. Down to earth and good for the soul
read-partially
June 18, 2012Added 5/16/12.
This is a collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway.
5/16/17 - Today I listened to Hemingways' short story, The Undefeated, the story of a bull fight. Every move is described in detail. I felt sorry for the bull. Below is a summary from online:
====================================
"In "The Undefeated," the protagonist is Manuel Garcia, a veteran bullfighter, who basically has to beg Retana, a promoter, for work. Retana finally agrees, giving Manuel a fraction (300 pesetas) of what the younger, more popular bullfighters are making. Manuel then goes to a cafe to wait for his friend, Zurito, a picador (a horseman who uses a lance to help the bullfighter). Zurito tells them they're both too old. He pleads with Zurito to "pic" for him, and Zurito only concedes after Manuel agrees that if he does not perform well, he will quit for good. Fighting with Hernandez, another up-and-coming bullfighter, they engage in a long battle with a bull. Readers get perspectives mostly from Manuel, but also from the audience, a bull-fight critic, Zurito, and even the bull itself. It takes Manuel five tries to stab the bull. The first four times, his sword either bends or bounces off as if, Hernandez says, "He's all bone." In the end, Manuel kills the bull, but is gored and rushed to to the doctor. While Manuel lies on the operating table, Zurito raises a pair of scissors to cut off Manuel's coleta (pigtail), a veritable castration which would symbolically end Manuel's bullfighting career. Zurito claims he was just joking, and the story ends with Retana quickly losing interest and Zurito staying to watch over Manuel."
"Much of Hemingway's writing is characterized by themes of pride, the struggle to maintain masculinity and durability in the face of natural, cultural, or artistic obstacles."
FROM: http://www.enotes.com/the-undefeated
===========================================
This is a collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway.
5/16/17 - Today I listened to Hemingways' short story, The Undefeated, the story of a bull fight. Every move is described in detail. I felt sorry for the bull. Below is a summary from online:
====================================
"In "The Undefeated," the protagonist is Manuel Garcia, a veteran bullfighter, who basically has to beg Retana, a promoter, for work. Retana finally agrees, giving Manuel a fraction (300 pesetas) of what the younger, more popular bullfighters are making. Manuel then goes to a cafe to wait for his friend, Zurito, a picador (a horseman who uses a lance to help the bullfighter). Zurito tells them they're both too old. He pleads with Zurito to "pic" for him, and Zurito only concedes after Manuel agrees that if he does not perform well, he will quit for good. Fighting with Hernandez, another up-and-coming bullfighter, they engage in a long battle with a bull. Readers get perspectives mostly from Manuel, but also from the audience, a bull-fight critic, Zurito, and even the bull itself. It takes Manuel five tries to stab the bull. The first four times, his sword either bends or bounces off as if, Hernandez says, "He's all bone." In the end, Manuel kills the bull, but is gored and rushed to to the doctor. While Manuel lies on the operating table, Zurito raises a pair of scissors to cut off Manuel's coleta (pigtail), a veritable castration which would symbolically end Manuel's bullfighting career. Zurito claims he was just joking, and the story ends with Retana quickly losing interest and Zurito staying to watch over Manuel."
"Much of Hemingway's writing is characterized by themes of pride, the struggle to maintain masculinity and durability in the face of natural, cultural, or artistic obstacles."
FROM: http://www.enotes.com/the-undefeated
===========================================
September 21, 2018
Stacey Keach read this collection of stories by Hemingway. First, the presentation: Keach is a wonderful reader and perfectly suited to the material. Second the stories: a few I really enjoyed, some slid right past me, some really fit the stereotype people have of Hemingway’s work. Definitely worth your time if you enjoy short stories about manly sports with a few about war, Italy between the wars, and traveling.
June 10, 2025
Audio. Stacy Keach is a great reader. I was very unimpressed with these stories. Beautiful and colorful prose for which brought it up to 2 stars. But none of the stories had any significant conclusion. They all came across as pretty well written stories which didn't seem to have any purpose or message. Just pretty words. Very unsatisfying and disappointing.
April 13, 2020
Most of these were bland stories from Papa and then came Fifty Grand. It's awful that the business of boxing hasn't really evolved in the 100 years since this was written. The Undefeated was probably worthy of 5 stars as well...
April 2, 2019
Not my favorite Hemingways, but still a worthwhile read.
June 7, 2019
The most poignant of the series and, to me, the most beautiful. I love Hills Like White Elephant. Painfully resonant. Classic Hemingway.
July 1, 2015
I wanted to try another Hemingway book and selected this one after reading numerous recommendations. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by a couple other Hemingway books I tried last year (A Moveable Feast which was very disappointing, and the Sun Also Rises which I just gave up on).
I felt this Short Stories book was also very disappointing from a reader’s standpoint. I found the stories hard to follow. And most of them seemed incomplete — I’d call them story excerpts more than short stories. The latter follows a complete arch in brief, the former presents characters and context with elements of a story but I don't feel can be called a story.
I found myself thinking that much of what was presented in this book seemed like fodder — material written that was either given up on, or perhaps could serve as inventory for more complete works. They seemed incomplete in and of themselves, but could be very valuable in the larger context of a complete story.
As with other Hemingway that I've read, I could appreciate the value of reading Hemingway from a writer’s perspective. He is so good with the language and with story elements. He is able to consistently write about nothing but make it interesting (a la “Old Man and the Sea”). But I think that’s the problem I’ve found as a reader. The stories I've attempted so far seem to be about nothing. As with life, that does not continue to work well for stories even for the best writer.
The themes and settings were typical Hemingway. Bull fighting, travelers, war, lovers. All set in various Western European countries.
I’m not sure if I will try other Hemingway books or not. I have not read For Whom the Bell Tolls or A Farewell to Arms. I know both are considered classics. And I know he wrote so many other books. But at this point I feel I’d rather invest my time reading books that seem to have more promise as far as story and message. I feel I’d return to Hemingway for study from a writer’s perspective. But not from a reader’s perspective.
I felt this Short Stories book was also very disappointing from a reader’s standpoint. I found the stories hard to follow. And most of them seemed incomplete — I’d call them story excerpts more than short stories. The latter follows a complete arch in brief, the former presents characters and context with elements of a story but I don't feel can be called a story.
I found myself thinking that much of what was presented in this book seemed like fodder — material written that was either given up on, or perhaps could serve as inventory for more complete works. They seemed incomplete in and of themselves, but could be very valuable in the larger context of a complete story.
As with other Hemingway that I've read, I could appreciate the value of reading Hemingway from a writer’s perspective. He is so good with the language and with story elements. He is able to consistently write about nothing but make it interesting (a la “Old Man and the Sea”). But I think that’s the problem I’ve found as a reader. The stories I've attempted so far seem to be about nothing. As with life, that does not continue to work well for stories even for the best writer.
The themes and settings were typical Hemingway. Bull fighting, travelers, war, lovers. All set in various Western European countries.
I’m not sure if I will try other Hemingway books or not. I have not read For Whom the Bell Tolls or A Farewell to Arms. I know both are considered classics. And I know he wrote so many other books. But at this point I feel I’d rather invest my time reading books that seem to have more promise as far as story and message. I feel I’d return to Hemingway for study from a writer’s perspective. But not from a reader’s perspective.
September 14, 2014
This was probably not the best book to make my first dive into Ernest Hemingway, but I got it on discount at Audible. The famously terse writing was certainly distinctive and I was struck by the every-day-ness of the subject matter. Detailed descriptions of trout fishing or horse races were certainly a far cry from my usual science fiction reading. Generally, the stories were very masculine, and seemed stuck in time, a Humphrey Bogart time when men talked like gangsters and lived off the land or went to war. The real revelation for me was the fantastic performance by Stacey Keach. He gave each character a subtle accent where many lesser actors would go over-the-top.
July 24, 2015
Listened to these stories on a road trip. The usual mix, some would say macho, of stories involving boxing, bullfighting, fishing and camping, hunting, and love. Not to everyone's taste. Love his prose: simple, strong, direct. His influence is still felt a hundred years later, and it is good.
November 23, 2015
I enjoyed other stories by Hemingway, but they weren't about bullfighting or boxing. Maybe if I had more to prove about my testosterone levels I would have enjoyed these more. I do enjoy his style, and I liked the "hanging" endings.
August 14, 2013
Eh. Was hoping to finally truly appreciate some of Hemingway's work, but that didn't happen. Was ok, but too macho for me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews