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A Simple Enquiry
"Three Italian soldiers are snowbound. The senior soldier, the Major, calls his 19-year old orderly into his room and questions him about his personal life. But what are his motives?
6 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
2 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Ernest Hemingway
2,180 books32.2k 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 9, 2025
“You’re a good boy,” he said. “You’re a good boy, Pinin. But don’t be superior and be careful someone else doesn’t come along and take you.”
A Simple Enquiry ~~~ Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway's A Simple Enquiry is anything but simple. It is an extremely complicated "enquiry". Hemingway's writing is once more straightforward and doesn't pass judgement or moralize about his characters' behaviors.
It is far to simple to read this as he major propositioning Pinin; moments after his questioning Pinin's love for a woman, Pinin stands looking shamefacedly at the ground, refusing to answer the major’s questions and Hemingway reveals the major is thinking: “He was really relieved: life in the army was too complicated.” If he had been actually propositioning Pinin, he may have been angry or annoyed that the boy was “superior” and unresponsive to his advances. He was not. I also think it is too simple to read this as the major was questioning Pinin to get a better understanding of the adjunct.
Also, what of the major wondering if Pinin lied to him? Pinin says he is in love with a girl but he never writes to her. It seems improbable that though there is a war on, Pinin never writes to the girl he is in love with.
Crafty Hemingway leaves us wondering for nothing is simple here.
A Simple Enquiry ~~~ Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway's A Simple Enquiry is anything but simple. It is an extremely complicated "enquiry". Hemingway's writing is once more straightforward and doesn't pass judgement or moralize about his characters' behaviors.
It is far to simple to read this as he major propositioning Pinin; moments after his questioning Pinin's love for a woman, Pinin stands looking shamefacedly at the ground, refusing to answer the major’s questions and Hemingway reveals the major is thinking: “He was really relieved: life in the army was too complicated.” If he had been actually propositioning Pinin, he may have been angry or annoyed that the boy was “superior” and unresponsive to his advances. He was not. I also think it is too simple to read this as the major was questioning Pinin to get a better understanding of the adjunct.
Also, what of the major wondering if Pinin lied to him? Pinin says he is in love with a girl but he never writes to her. It seems improbable that though there is a war on, Pinin never writes to the girl he is in love with.
Crafty Hemingway leaves us wondering for nothing is simple here.
July 15, 2024
3,5*
Pelo tema tabu não nomeado mas apenas sugerido, “Um Simples Interrogatório” surpreendeu-me tanto como “Montes como Elefantes Brancos”, ainda que não tenha o mesmo impacto nem a mesma qualidade.
Numa cabana no decorrer da Primeira Guerra Mundial, um major manda chamar um soldado e interroga-o sobre a sua vida amorosa, num diálogo simultameamente constrangedor e dúbio, só possível de descodificar lendo nas entrelinhas.
- Mas estás convencido do teu amor por uma rapariga?
- Inteiramente convencido!
- E… - o major deitou-lhe uma rápida olhadela de soslaio – Tu tens também a certeza de não te deixares perverter?
- Eu não percebo o meu major… O que é perverter?
- Ora, ora! – replicou o major. – Escusas de te fazer espertalhão!
Pinin baixou os olhos.
Pelo tema tabu não nomeado mas apenas sugerido, “Um Simples Interrogatório” surpreendeu-me tanto como “Montes como Elefantes Brancos”, ainda que não tenha o mesmo impacto nem a mesma qualidade.
Numa cabana no decorrer da Primeira Guerra Mundial, um major manda chamar um soldado e interroga-o sobre a sua vida amorosa, num diálogo simultameamente constrangedor e dúbio, só possível de descodificar lendo nas entrelinhas.
- Mas estás convencido do teu amor por uma rapariga?
- Inteiramente convencido!
- E… - o major deitou-lhe uma rápida olhadela de soslaio – Tu tens também a certeza de não te deixares perverter?
- Eu não percebo o meu major… O que é perverter?
- Ora, ora! – replicou o major. – Escusas de te fazer espertalhão!
Pinin baixou os olhos.
August 8, 2016
This story has the deep hided meaning. We should be careful at any words that are complicated. Background of this story is in army now and major loves Pinin. Homosexual love is prohibited in army strictly. Major also recognized and try to keep in secret so he checked can Tonani hear the conversation with Pinin. Major's servant has low percentage of killing at the war. Pinin was sly enough to use major's thought. Major checked Pinin's letter and asked Pinin about the girl to check is he in love. Pinin supposed he is in love and try to not conflict with major's emotion. End of the story there is "The little devil, he thought. I wonder if he lied to me." shows that majors also felt Pinin planned to be servant to avoid the death at the war even though he recognize major's love. This story shows how people use partner's mind to be profitable to self. I liked the writer's word choice and suggestive sentence that we can analyze with our own perspectives.
February 5, 2020
Here’s another Hemingway story which is pretty much mutton dressed up as lamb. It’s not bad (though some of the writing is) but it most certainly is no great shakes. Anyone who has read my other reviews of Hemingway short stories (and The Sun Also Rises) will know that I am forever baffled as to how he achieved such literary prominence, as though his career had been the second coming of Shakespeare.
In fact the writer John O’Hara did claim Hemingway was the best writer since Shakespeare, but then O’Hara was a notorious toper so perhaps he was drunk when he made the claim in the New York Times.
There is no depth here whatsoever. OK, homosexual relations were illegal in the army so the major had to be careful — so? And what else is there to it? Not a lot, to be honest, but the general feeling is ‘this is Hemingway so it must be good’ with possibly in some timid souls the additional private thought ‘but I can’t really see why, but I’d better keep that to myself because Hemingway was A Great Writer and I’ll just look silly’. Well, don’t keep it to yourself if that is what you feel. He really wasn’t that great at all.
This gets three stars because it’s not actually bad, but then it’s not actually particularly good, either.
In fact the writer John O’Hara did claim Hemingway was the best writer since Shakespeare, but then O’Hara was a notorious toper so perhaps he was drunk when he made the claim in the New York Times.
There is no depth here whatsoever. OK, homosexual relations were illegal in the army so the major had to be careful — so? And what else is there to it? Not a lot, to be honest, but the general feeling is ‘this is Hemingway so it must be good’ with possibly in some timid souls the additional private thought ‘but I can’t really see why, but I’d better keep that to myself because Hemingway was A Great Writer and I’ll just look silly’. Well, don’t keep it to yourself if that is what you feel. He really wasn’t that great at all.
This gets three stars because it’s not actually bad, but then it’s not actually particularly good, either.
March 22, 2016
Such a fun and entertaining short story.
June 17, 2022
I usually give five stars to books or stories I read, but decided that this story didn't deserve one because I really didn't care for it. Hemingway shows in this story how someone in power can use that influence to try to make someone bend to their ways by intimidation of sorts.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert ❌❌❌
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“You are nineteen?” he asked. “Yes, signor maggiore.” “You have ever been in love?” “How do you mean, signor maggiore?” “In love—with a girl?” “I have been with girls.” “I did not ask that. I asked if you had been in love—with a girl.” “Yes, signor maggiore.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“You are in love with this girl now? You don’t write her. I read all your letters.” “I am in love with her,” Pinin said, “but I do not write her.” “You are sure of this?” “I am sure.” “Tonani,” the major said in the same tone of voice, “can you hear me talking?” There was no answer from the next room. “He can not hear,” the major said. “And you are quite sure that you love a girl?”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“I am sure.” “And,” the major looked at him quickly, “that you are not corrupt?” “I don’t know what you mean, corrupt.” “All right,” the major said. “You needn’t be superior.” Pinin looked at the floor. The major looked at his brown face, down and up him, and at his hands. Then he went on, not smiling, “And you don’t really want —” the major paused. Pinin looked at the floor. “That your great desire isn’t really—” Pinin looked at the floor. The
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
major leaned his head back on the rucksack and smiled. He was really relieved: life in the army was too complicated. “You’re a good boy,” he said. “You’re a good boy, Pinin. But don’t be superior and be careful some one else doesn’t come along and take you.” Pinin stood still beside the bunk. “Don’t be afraid,” the major said. His hands were folded on the blankets. “I won’t touch you. You can go back to your platoon if you like. But you had better stay on as my
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 252
servant. You’ve less chance of being killed.” “Do you want anything of me, signor maggiore?’ “No,” the major said. “Go on and get on with whatever you were doing. Leave the door open when you go out.” Pinin went out, leaving the door open. The adjutant looked up at him as he walked awkwardly across the room and out the door. Pinin was flushed and moved differently than he had moved when he brought in the wood for the fire. The adjutant looked after him and smiled. Pinin came in with more wood for the stove. The major, lying on his bunk, looking at his cloth-covered helmet and his snow-glasses that hung from a nail on the wall, heard him walk across the floor. The little devil, he thought, I wonder if he lied to me.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert ❌❌❌
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“You are nineteen?” he asked. “Yes, signor maggiore.” “You have ever been in love?” “How do you mean, signor maggiore?” “In love—with a girl?” “I have been with girls.” “I did not ask that. I asked if you had been in love—with a girl.” “Yes, signor maggiore.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“You are in love with this girl now? You don’t write her. I read all your letters.” “I am in love with her,” Pinin said, “but I do not write her.” “You are sure of this?” “I am sure.” “Tonani,” the major said in the same tone of voice, “can you hear me talking?” There was no answer from the next room. “He can not hear,” the major said. “And you are quite sure that you love a girl?”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
“I am sure.” “And,” the major looked at him quickly, “that you are not corrupt?” “I don’t know what you mean, corrupt.” “All right,” the major said. “You needn’t be superior.” Pinin looked at the floor. The major looked at his brown face, down and up him, and at his hands. Then he went on, not smiling, “And you don’t really want —” the major paused. Pinin looked at the floor. “That your great desire isn’t really—” Pinin looked at the floor. The
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 251
major leaned his head back on the rucksack and smiled. He was really relieved: life in the army was too complicated. “You’re a good boy,” he said. “You’re a good boy, Pinin. But don’t be superior and be careful some one else doesn’t come along and take you.” Pinin stood still beside the bunk. “Don’t be afraid,” the major said. His hands were folded on the blankets. “I won’t touch you. You can go back to your platoon if you like. But you had better stay on as my
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 252
servant. You’ve less chance of being killed.” “Do you want anything of me, signor maggiore?’ “No,” the major said. “Go on and get on with whatever you were doing. Leave the door open when you go out.” Pinin went out, leaving the door open. The adjutant looked up at him as he walked awkwardly across the room and out the door. Pinin was flushed and moved differently than he had moved when he brought in the wood for the fire. The adjutant looked after him and smiled. Pinin came in with more wood for the stove. The major, lying on his bunk, looking at his cloth-covered helmet and his snow-glasses that hung from a nail on the wall, heard him walk across the floor. The little devil, he thought, I wonder if he lied to me.
November 23, 2024
It was insisted that I read this to, I assume, gauge if I'm capable of a 'higher' level of understanding by a guy who thought my critiques of Manto to be...perhaps misguided. Giving no argument of his regard of either Badsoorati or this short story, he proceeded to not even let me finish with what I thought of this.
Which is fine, I have Goodreads to rant to.
I liked this. At first I thought that maybe Pinin didn't write so that his lover wouldn't have to wonder if he died if his letters stopped, and that the Major kept him away from harm because he didn't want the young couple to be unsafe. But I change my mind, and wonder if the major wanted to keep Pinin for himself, asking him if he was corrupt and whatnot so that he could continue his advances without guilt, wondering if he lied because the situation had people with unequal power. At least I got across that the extreme weather in a story as short as this is important because it ladens the few words exchanged to have a meaning deeper than what we see from the surface.
Side note, chatgpt is very good to help with articulation, though it's usually tasteless how anything is written.
Which is fine, I have Goodreads to rant to.
I liked this. At first I thought that maybe Pinin didn't write so that his lover wouldn't have to wonder if he died if his letters stopped, and that the Major kept him away from harm because he didn't want the young couple to be unsafe. But I change my mind, and wonder if the major wanted to keep Pinin for himself, asking him if he was corrupt and whatnot so that he could continue his advances without guilt, wondering if he lied because the situation had people with unequal power. At least I got across that the extreme weather in a story as short as this is important because it ladens the few words exchanged to have a meaning deeper than what we see from the surface.
Side note, chatgpt is very good to help with articulation, though it's usually tasteless how anything is written.
July 2, 2025
Just finished A Simple Enquiry by Hemingway, and I’d give it a solid 3.5 stars. It’s short—like really short—but surprisingly interesting, especially considering how little actually happens on the surface.
The whole story is basically this brief conversation between a military officer and his orderly. It starts off pretty casual, but there’s this weird tension underneath it that makes you wonder what’s really being asked. I don’t want to spoil it, but it ends up hinting at stuff like sexuality, power dynamics, and maybe even loneliness—without ever spelling any of it out. Classic Hemingway.
What I liked most is that it felt a bit lighter than some of his usual grim war stories. Don’t get me wrong, it still has that awkward, uncomfortable moment, but it’s written in a way that feels almost playful. Like Hemingway’s messing with expectations a bit.
It’s not groundbreaking, and it doesn’t go super deep, but it’s the kind of story that makes you pause and think for a second once it ends. And for something so short, I can appreciate that.
So yeah—3.5 stars. Quick, offbeat, and kind of funny in a weird way. Worth a read if you want something low-stakes but still thought-provoking.
The whole story is basically this brief conversation between a military officer and his orderly. It starts off pretty casual, but there’s this weird tension underneath it that makes you wonder what’s really being asked. I don’t want to spoil it, but it ends up hinting at stuff like sexuality, power dynamics, and maybe even loneliness—without ever spelling any of it out. Classic Hemingway.
What I liked most is that it felt a bit lighter than some of his usual grim war stories. Don’t get me wrong, it still has that awkward, uncomfortable moment, but it’s written in a way that feels almost playful. Like Hemingway’s messing with expectations a bit.
It’s not groundbreaking, and it doesn’t go super deep, but it’s the kind of story that makes you pause and think for a second once it ends. And for something so short, I can appreciate that.
So yeah—3.5 stars. Quick, offbeat, and kind of funny in a weird way. Worth a read if you want something low-stakes but still thought-provoking.
September 18, 2021
Of course this story is about anything but a simple enquiry. Is the major just testing the orderly about his sexual orientation or is he actually propositioning him? However you interpret it, it is a bit a surprise that Hemingway who wrote often, maybe even obsessively about manly behavior and masculinity would write a story without any moral judgments about homosexuality even with this being written about Italy where such practices have been more tolerated for longer than in most of Europe.
February 15, 2024
Three people speak in rather simple terms having very very intricate insinuations. Much in this story is suggestive. It is open to numerous interpretations. For a casual reader it is difficult to read into the robust homosexual undertones of the text. Not bad, but not particularly good either.
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January 7, 2021An oddly sweet, or should I say endearing, tiny short story. Dialogue says a lot, without saying much.
January 12, 2022
Anecdótico pero el tono es magistral
June 20, 2023
Intriguing
October 1, 2024
A very good story!
October 24, 2024
i guess we'll never know
May 13, 2025
u know what hell yeah
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews