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Hemingway: The Writer As Artist
In this fourth edition of the best-known critical study of Hemingway's work Carlos Baker has completely revised the two opening chapters, which deal with the young Hemingway's career in Paris, and has incorporated material uncovered after the publication of his book Ernest A Life Story . Professor Baker has also written two new chapters in which he discusses Hemingway's two posthumously published books, A Movable Feast and Islands in the Stream .
Introduction. I. The Slopes of Montparnasse. II. The Making of Americans. III. The Way It Was. IV. The Wastelanders. V. The Mountain and the Plain. VI. The First Forty-Five Stories. VII. The Spanish Earth. VIII. The Green Hills of Africa. IX. Depression at Key West. X. The Spanish Tragedy. XI. The River and the Trees. XII. The Ancient Mariner. XIII. The Death of the Lion. XIV. Looking Backward. XV. Islands in the Stream.
Introduction. I. The Slopes of Montparnasse. II. The Making of Americans. III. The Way It Was. IV. The Wastelanders. V. The Mountain and the Plain. VI. The First Forty-Five Stories. VII. The Spanish Earth. VIII. The Green Hills of Africa. IX. Depression at Key West. X. The Spanish Tragedy. XI. The River and the Trees. XII. The Ancient Mariner. XIII. The Death of the Lion. XIV. Looking Backward. XV. Islands in the Stream.
460 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 15, 2018
Provides a lot of background and biographical information connected to Hemingway's stories. You'll learn about the real people in his life and who he was writing about and especially who he hated and was getting even with.
Great writer. Not a nice guy.
Great writer. Not a nice guy.
November 12, 2015
I've been toting this guy around for 3 months. Very shortly after I started reading this very scholarly work, which is both a literary analysis of Hemingway's writing and an exploration of his method, it became obvious that the only way to make the book meaningful was to read most or all of the works being discussed. That included: The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, the first 45 short stories, Death in the Afternoon, Green Hills of Africa, To Have and Have Not, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Across the River and Into the Trees, The Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast and Islands in the Stream.
So, at the appropriate times I took a break from this book to read those of the first 45 stories that I hadn't already read (and took the opportunity to re-read many), For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. I had previously read TSAR, AFTA and AMF (many times).
Carlos Baker is a very engaging author in his own right with a voice very different from that of his subject. He has none of Hemingway's reticence to employ a ten-dollar word. He doesn't dumb it down; his allusions, literary and historical, go largely unexplained and you can either spend a lot of time looking things up or just skip over them and resign yourself to not entirely understanding his point. Or you can do some combination of those two things (I went with the last option). If he uses a quote or phrase in a language other than English and you're not familiar with that language: pech, Kumpel! You should've thought of that when you had the chance to learn a second and third language. But, given the tremendously masterful handling of the subject matter and the rather lovely presentation these are picayune quibbles. Especially in the age of iPhones and google.
That being said, this is a literary analysis and as such it is not immune from the kind of esoteric and trippy meanderings through the corridors of symbolism and underlying meanings typical of the genre. Some of them seemed pretty solid (Santiago is Jesus, duh, how did I friggin' miss that?) and others, well, didn't. As in, they didn't feel authentic to what I presume to understand about Hemingway. Which could be very little. And, frankly, it takes a pretty enormous set of cajones for me to suggest that I have a better sense of what Hemingway would do than does Carlos Baker. Regardless, none of the speculation veers so far from likely as to be offensive to anyone's intelligence or sense of propriety.
To whom do I think this book would appeal? Pretty much just those people with a monomania for Hemingway's work. That is, the actual writing part. People interested in Hemingway the fisherman, Hemingway the gay divorcé, Hemingway the suicide, Hemingway the hunter, Hemingway the brooding ex-pat, Hemingway the drunk or Hemingway the friend of Scott Fitzgerald won't like this book. There isn't any of that here. This is just about the writing.
This book should appeal to writers or people who aspire to be writers but it might not. But it should.
The book is spendy. Used copies are available and many of them were never even opened, in the manner of many college textbooks.
So, at the appropriate times I took a break from this book to read those of the first 45 stories that I hadn't already read (and took the opportunity to re-read many), For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. I had previously read TSAR, AFTA and AMF (many times).
Carlos Baker is a very engaging author in his own right with a voice very different from that of his subject. He has none of Hemingway's reticence to employ a ten-dollar word. He doesn't dumb it down; his allusions, literary and historical, go largely unexplained and you can either spend a lot of time looking things up or just skip over them and resign yourself to not entirely understanding his point. Or you can do some combination of those two things (I went with the last option). If he uses a quote or phrase in a language other than English and you're not familiar with that language: pech, Kumpel! You should've thought of that when you had the chance to learn a second and third language. But, given the tremendously masterful handling of the subject matter and the rather lovely presentation these are picayune quibbles. Especially in the age of iPhones and google.
That being said, this is a literary analysis and as such it is not immune from the kind of esoteric and trippy meanderings through the corridors of symbolism and underlying meanings typical of the genre. Some of them seemed pretty solid (Santiago is Jesus, duh, how did I friggin' miss that?) and others, well, didn't. As in, they didn't feel authentic to what I presume to understand about Hemingway. Which could be very little. And, frankly, it takes a pretty enormous set of cajones for me to suggest that I have a better sense of what Hemingway would do than does Carlos Baker. Regardless, none of the speculation veers so far from likely as to be offensive to anyone's intelligence or sense of propriety.
To whom do I think this book would appeal? Pretty much just those people with a monomania for Hemingway's work. That is, the actual writing part. People interested in Hemingway the fisherman, Hemingway the gay divorcé, Hemingway the suicide, Hemingway the hunter, Hemingway the brooding ex-pat, Hemingway the drunk or Hemingway the friend of Scott Fitzgerald won't like this book. There isn't any of that here. This is just about the writing.
This book should appeal to writers or people who aspire to be writers but it might not. But it should.
The book is spendy. Used copies are available and many of them were never even opened, in the manner of many college textbooks.
October 28, 2016
In Baker's 1977 obituary was the following observation about the work: "Reviewing 'Hemingway: The Writer as Artist' in The New York Times Book Review when it first came out, Vance Bourjaily concluded that 'for scholars, the book is bedrock; on it will rest all future Hemingway studies, except for the purely critical.' " That observation seems to hold today as well.
A work as seminal as Baker’s should, I imagine, rate 5 stars. Certainly he provides significant insights into Hemingway’s more successful novels (SAR, FTA, FWBT, OMATS) and short stories. And his commentaries go far to resurrect other efforts like GHOA, DIA, ARIT from the death knell of earlier critics who failed to see Hemingway’s mastery as he explored new techniques and styles. Yet for all the brilliance in large sections of the book, there were pages that embedded the reader into arcane detail more at the service of the academician than of the more pedestrian enthusiast.
In a final section, Baker provides an invaluable, working checklist with notations of Hemingway’s poetry, prose and journalism through the publication of Island in the Stream.
A work as seminal as Baker’s should, I imagine, rate 5 stars. Certainly he provides significant insights into Hemingway’s more successful novels (SAR, FTA, FWBT, OMATS) and short stories. And his commentaries go far to resurrect other efforts like GHOA, DIA, ARIT from the death knell of earlier critics who failed to see Hemingway’s mastery as he explored new techniques and styles. Yet for all the brilliance in large sections of the book, there were pages that embedded the reader into arcane detail more at the service of the academician than of the more pedestrian enthusiast.
In a final section, Baker provides an invaluable, working checklist with notations of Hemingway’s poetry, prose and journalism through the publication of Island in the Stream.
January 31, 2011
Wonderful study of Hemingway's works. It helped me see some of the more subtle elements of Hemingways's style.
I enjoyed Hemingway very much before I read this analysis of his works. After reading it, I have been able to see why I like him so.
I enjoyed Hemingway very much before I read this analysis of his works. After reading it, I have been able to see why I like him so.
February 19, 2025
Baker wrote this biography originally in 1952. The edition I read was 1972 and it was one of the premier biographies on Hemingway’s writing and books. However, since 1972, a lot more materials of Hemingway have come to life, making Baker’s biography a little dated and not as authoritative as others on biographical details.
Notwithstanding the above, Baker knows his subject well and supplies a detailed bibliography (or A Working Checklist as he calls it.). Baker is especially good at analysing Hemingway’s works which is invaluable to students and researchers of Hemingway. This is less a sequential journey of Hemingway’s life and more a studious guide to how Hemingway developed as a writer and why he is one of the 20th century’s greatest writers.
Highly recommended.
Notwithstanding the above, Baker knows his subject well and supplies a detailed bibliography (or A Working Checklist as he calls it.). Baker is especially good at analysing Hemingway’s works which is invaluable to students and researchers of Hemingway. This is less a sequential journey of Hemingway’s life and more a studious guide to how Hemingway developed as a writer and why he is one of the 20th century’s greatest writers.
Highly recommended.
October 6, 2020
Baker does a good job of pointing out the symbolism used by Hemingway. Though at times he over-analyses, amusingly, after pointing out that Hemingway hated over-analysis. As Hemingway himself said, albeit slightly ironically, about 'The Old Man and the Sea": "The old man is an old man, and the sea is the sea." The same applies to his other works. Hemingway certainly had larger themes, but Baker often goes over-board in discussing Hemingway's oeuvre, mistakenly believing that characters were conceived and written by Hemingway entirely as symbols and not full bodied characters, a conclusion that goes against Hemingway's entire stated method and purpose, including as stated by Baker in sections of the book.
Baker also exaggerates the importance of religion in Hemingway's work. Yes Hemingway sometimes used religious imagery to suggest a theme, but Baker goes too far and states that religious belief itself was Hemingway's goal. It is a mistake to infer from Hemingway's inclusion of priest characters or use of catholic and pagan imagery that he himself was a religious person. He was not.
Baker leans to being the apologist for some of Hemingway's early misbehaviour, but by the discussion of "Moveable Feast" he, Baker, is more disapproving of Hemingway's continued vindictiveness to former friends and enemies.
Despite the above misgivings, Baker's book is an important read for the Hemingway fan or scholar. It takes apart much of Hemingway's method book by book, and shows how Hemingway applied theme to create the meanings he suggested exist with his "nine-tenths" comment. Baker also reveals the meaning and purpose behind Hemingway's various literary experiments, and provides new appreciation of both the better loved Hemingway novels and also the novels considered his lesser, like 'Across the River and Into the Trees.'
Baker also exaggerates the importance of religion in Hemingway's work. Yes Hemingway sometimes used religious imagery to suggest a theme, but Baker goes too far and states that religious belief itself was Hemingway's goal. It is a mistake to infer from Hemingway's inclusion of priest characters or use of catholic and pagan imagery that he himself was a religious person. He was not.
Baker leans to being the apologist for some of Hemingway's early misbehaviour, but by the discussion of "Moveable Feast" he, Baker, is more disapproving of Hemingway's continued vindictiveness to former friends and enemies.
Despite the above misgivings, Baker's book is an important read for the Hemingway fan or scholar. It takes apart much of Hemingway's method book by book, and shows how Hemingway applied theme to create the meanings he suggested exist with his "nine-tenths" comment. Baker also reveals the meaning and purpose behind Hemingway's various literary experiments, and provides new appreciation of both the better loved Hemingway novels and also the novels considered his lesser, like 'Across the River and Into the Trees.'
July 17, 2012
I really liked Baker's biography of Hemingway, so I expected the same voice...but Baker seems really intent on proving to his reader how 'very very' smart he is. I get it!! You're smart! I found it ironic that a book about Hemingway's writing would be so convoluted and full of hard words for the sake of hard words...
Ah well...the discussions of Hemingway's life and works was worth it...I'll admit I skipped around and read the chapters about the books I've read...
He blistered MOVEABLE FEAST...I get it that the book was an apologist's look at his life and mistakes. That didn't bother me at all...But Baker had to point out every time Hemingway got mean to the people he cared about...
The discussion of SUN ALSO RISES helped me put the book into a new perspective, one that inspires me to reread it to look for the evidence he sets forth.
OLD MAN is my favorite book, and it seems as if Baker loves it as much as I...that chapter was lyrical and sensitive. Insightful.
His treatment of Hemingway's Nobel speech, his health issues and his death seemed rushed...not sure of the chronology between this book and the biography, but it seems like either a rushed recap or a rehearsal...not sure.
So, after I fought through his need to show me how smart he is, Baker DID help me understand Hemingway's work, and he made me want to read more.
Ah well...the discussions of Hemingway's life and works was worth it...I'll admit I skipped around and read the chapters about the books I've read...
He blistered MOVEABLE FEAST...I get it that the book was an apologist's look at his life and mistakes. That didn't bother me at all...But Baker had to point out every time Hemingway got mean to the people he cared about...
The discussion of SUN ALSO RISES helped me put the book into a new perspective, one that inspires me to reread it to look for the evidence he sets forth.
OLD MAN is my favorite book, and it seems as if Baker loves it as much as I...that chapter was lyrical and sensitive. Insightful.
His treatment of Hemingway's Nobel speech, his health issues and his death seemed rushed...not sure of the chronology between this book and the biography, but it seems like either a rushed recap or a rehearsal...not sure.
So, after I fought through his need to show me how smart he is, Baker DID help me understand Hemingway's work, and he made me want to read more.
April 18, 2015
I was expecting a biography. Although certain parts discuss his life, the majority of this is DEPP analysis of hemingway's work. All interesting, but if you're not super familiar with a particular work you'll find yourself skimming pages.
March 2, 2020
A well written and thorough critique and review of Hemingway's literary (and sometimes personal) experiences. Discusses his transpatriation to Europe, liaisons, benefactors, relationships and, most importantly, the growth and maturity of his literature.
April 1, 2009
Fantastic literary analysis with excellent biographical chapters. Apparently the author wrote a full on biography later that's supposedly not as well done.
August 24, 2021
For effort and dedication Baker deserves five stars. Unfortunately, I disagree with him on many issues, particularly what seems to be his central point, the ‘symbolism’ in Hemingway’s work.
Yes, he is right, although he does over-egg his pudding badly, so that his conclusions are rather too rich for comfort. But he also seems to imbue that symbolism with far too much ‘significance’: once you have waded through his analyses - they are remarkably dense on occasion and demand ‘close reading’ (though not of the kind he tells us to adopt with Hemingway) - you ask yourself 'And? So what?'
One thing which works against him his an almost hagiographic zeal: he is so convinced that Hemingway was ‘an artist’ that you get the impression that anyone like me whose position is ‘yes, but not half as “great” an artist as was long made out’ he would simply regard as either mad or stubbornly contrarian.
Hemingway did have a certain way with words, but his strength was description, often description of nature, and his ability to convey the subtleties of human emotion and thinking was pretty threadbare. And that, in a ‘celebrated novelist’ is very bad news indeed. Furthermore, Hemingway's subject, was pretty much always Hemingway.
Although there are four editions of Baker’s book and he reports that he re-wrote several chapters an ‘corrected’ one or two errors, he did not correct enough of them. Even writing in the fourth edition he perpetuates Hemingway’s fiction that he ‘soldiered’ in WWI. Baker describes him as ‘a veteran’: well, he wasn’t at all in the sense that will be understood.
His total service consisted of two weeks driving an ambulance behind lines, two weeks manning a rest and recreation station serving coffee and handing out chocolate and cigarettes, and then - returned to duty after several month in hospital - he contradicted jaundice within days and was back in hospital. That was it. So much for ‘a veteran’.
On matters of error, Baker also gets very confused about the two African plane crashes. Hemingway and the others escaped almost unscathed from the first, but he sustained terrible injuries in a second the following day. Baker attributes those injuries to the first crash, even in the fourth edition. Such blunders do worry you a little.
So three stars.
NB For a slightly different take on Hemingway, visit https://hemingway-pfg.blogspot.com/p/...
Yes, he is right, although he does over-egg his pudding badly, so that his conclusions are rather too rich for comfort. But he also seems to imbue that symbolism with far too much ‘significance’: once you have waded through his analyses - they are remarkably dense on occasion and demand ‘close reading’ (though not of the kind he tells us to adopt with Hemingway) - you ask yourself 'And? So what?'
One thing which works against him his an almost hagiographic zeal: he is so convinced that Hemingway was ‘an artist’ that you get the impression that anyone like me whose position is ‘yes, but not half as “great” an artist as was long made out’ he would simply regard as either mad or stubbornly contrarian.
Hemingway did have a certain way with words, but his strength was description, often description of nature, and his ability to convey the subtleties of human emotion and thinking was pretty threadbare. And that, in a ‘celebrated novelist’ is very bad news indeed. Furthermore, Hemingway's subject, was pretty much always Hemingway.
Although there are four editions of Baker’s book and he reports that he re-wrote several chapters an ‘corrected’ one or two errors, he did not correct enough of them. Even writing in the fourth edition he perpetuates Hemingway’s fiction that he ‘soldiered’ in WWI. Baker describes him as ‘a veteran’: well, he wasn’t at all in the sense that will be understood.
His total service consisted of two weeks driving an ambulance behind lines, two weeks manning a rest and recreation station serving coffee and handing out chocolate and cigarettes, and then - returned to duty after several month in hospital - he contradicted jaundice within days and was back in hospital. That was it. So much for ‘a veteran’.
On matters of error, Baker also gets very confused about the two African plane crashes. Hemingway and the others escaped almost unscathed from the first, but he sustained terrible injuries in a second the following day. Baker attributes those injuries to the first crash, even in the fourth edition. Such blunders do worry you a little.
So three stars.
NB For a slightly different take on Hemingway, visit https://hemingway-pfg.blogspot.com/p/...
December 28, 2011
An absolute essential read for Hemingway afficionados!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews