What do you think?
Rate this book
Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir
An intimate, joy-filled portrait and New York Times bestseller, written by one of Hemingway’s closest friends: “It is hard to imagine a better biography” (Life).
In 1948, A. E. Hotchner went to Cuba to ask Ernest Hemingway to write an article on “The Future of Literature” for Cosmopolitan magazine. The article never materialized, but from that first meeting at the El Floridita bar in Havana until Hemingway’s death in 1961, Hotchner and the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize–winning author developed a deep and abiding friendship. They caroused in New York City and Rome, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, hunted in Idaho, and fished the waters off Cuba. Every time they got together, Hemingway held forth on an astonishing variety of subjects, from the art of the perfect daiquiri to Paris in the 1920s to his boyhood in Oak Park, Illinois. Thankfully, Hotchner took it all down.
Papa Hemingway provides fascinating details about Hemingway’s daily routine, including the German army belt he wore and his habit of writing descriptive passages in longhand and dialogue on a typewriter, and documents his memories of Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Martha Gellhorn, Marlene Dietrich, and many of the twentieth century’s most notable artists and celebrities. In the literary icon’s final years, as his poor health began to affect his work, Hotchner tenderly and honestly portrays Hemingway’s valiant attempts to beat back the depression that would lead him to take his own life.
Deeply compassionate and highly entertaining, this “remarkable” New York Times bestseller “makes Hemingway live for us as nothing else has done” (The Wall Street Journal).
In 1948, A. E. Hotchner went to Cuba to ask Ernest Hemingway to write an article on “The Future of Literature” for Cosmopolitan magazine. The article never materialized, but from that first meeting at the El Floridita bar in Havana until Hemingway’s death in 1961, Hotchner and the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize–winning author developed a deep and abiding friendship. They caroused in New York City and Rome, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, hunted in Idaho, and fished the waters off Cuba. Every time they got together, Hemingway held forth on an astonishing variety of subjects, from the art of the perfect daiquiri to Paris in the 1920s to his boyhood in Oak Park, Illinois. Thankfully, Hotchner took it all down.
Papa Hemingway provides fascinating details about Hemingway’s daily routine, including the German army belt he wore and his habit of writing descriptive passages in longhand and dialogue on a typewriter, and documents his memories of Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Martha Gellhorn, Marlene Dietrich, and many of the twentieth century’s most notable artists and celebrities. In the literary icon’s final years, as his poor health began to affect his work, Hotchner tenderly and honestly portrays Hemingway’s valiant attempts to beat back the depression that would lead him to take his own life.
Deeply compassionate and highly entertaining, this “remarkable” New York Times bestseller “makes Hemingway live for us as nothing else has done” (The Wall Street Journal).
371 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1955
747 people are currently reading
3094 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Hotchner
46 books127 followersAaron Edward Hotchner was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer. He wrote many television screenplays as well as a biography of Ernest Hemingway. He co-founded with Paul Newman the charity food company Newman's Own.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
March 16, 2025
Ernest Hemingway attempted to defeat the Race of Giants with guts and grandstanding machismo; I sought, in the Christian way, to pacify their domineering shadows within and without, through Faith and the Seven Virtues.
Neither of us succeeded - though I at least received the Gift of Peace as my consolation prize.
This book was another one I read back in the radically moody summer of 1963. So thanks to my eloquent GR co-conspirators in the art of book reviews - like my friend Sharon - for divulging many of the details, now lost to me on the sea of memory.
For just as Hem started his dangerous drift in his mythmaking in the ten years Hochner knew him, so too by 1963 my own deadly drift endangered me.
I was bereft of paternal direction in my life from this point onward in the first decisive two years of puberty.
My father had taken a two year sabbatical to further his prestigious career as a research scientist with a post doctoral fellowship, a great distance from his Ontario home base to the southwest - in the equivalent of the start of the American midwest - at a university famous for its biochemistry department.
Fatherless that late summer, I was adamantly disciplined by my mother to avoid my sympathetic male buddies, and in fact all male camraderie. Though I envied Hochner's tough and tumble - and hormone-enriched roustabouting ways with this literary giant, whom more age-approximate buds called Hem - I could only envy such easy going friendship as I progressed to my High School freshman year studies.
Yet my Mom's inborn caution bore fruit, when, 7 years later, I saw coming of age was but a cul-de-sac for youthful introspection. And I was glad then of her caution.
I commenced my maternally-directed strict hour of homework supine upon my bedroom hardwood floor, kept immaculate (but watch for those splinters!) by our immigrant German housekeeper.
She had known both Nazi and Communist threats, and relished her Canadian freedoms by working (and talking) with a dynamically breakneck relish and speed! Blame it on the schnitzel.
And the first thing Dad did on his return, two years later, was to buy me a desk.
But that first few year of High School I became more and more of a daydreamer cast adrift.
I would daydream away my attendance at each allotted teaching session. Often they would be daydreams about my female fellow students, the effects of which were embarrassingly obvious to all my classmates - who were jokingly aware themselves having the same change of life.
But, radical introvert that I was becoming, I never laughed! I was coddled.
I was turning ripe for the macho bullying that would begin in my junior year, when my High School buds and myself were broken up by new geographic school boundaries, and I was relocated to a new school in the southwest suburbs.
So buddies I still had, at school.
But Home was a place to improve my grades, supervised.
Hemingway never griped about his lost higher education experiences.
His style was simple and direct.
A man's gotta do what a man's got to do!
And not just evade his coming of age - as Papa Hemingway and I both did - but further gain from that evasion a directness which gives true mettle to a young man:
For a Kid’s gotta become a MAN in his Braveheart.
Neither of us succeeded - though I at least received the Gift of Peace as my consolation prize.
This book was another one I read back in the radically moody summer of 1963. So thanks to my eloquent GR co-conspirators in the art of book reviews - like my friend Sharon - for divulging many of the details, now lost to me on the sea of memory.
For just as Hem started his dangerous drift in his mythmaking in the ten years Hochner knew him, so too by 1963 my own deadly drift endangered me.
I was bereft of paternal direction in my life from this point onward in the first decisive two years of puberty.
My father had taken a two year sabbatical to further his prestigious career as a research scientist with a post doctoral fellowship, a great distance from his Ontario home base to the southwest - in the equivalent of the start of the American midwest - at a university famous for its biochemistry department.
Fatherless that late summer, I was adamantly disciplined by my mother to avoid my sympathetic male buddies, and in fact all male camraderie. Though I envied Hochner's tough and tumble - and hormone-enriched roustabouting ways with this literary giant, whom more age-approximate buds called Hem - I could only envy such easy going friendship as I progressed to my High School freshman year studies.
Yet my Mom's inborn caution bore fruit, when, 7 years later, I saw coming of age was but a cul-de-sac for youthful introspection. And I was glad then of her caution.
I commenced my maternally-directed strict hour of homework supine upon my bedroom hardwood floor, kept immaculate (but watch for those splinters!) by our immigrant German housekeeper.
She had known both Nazi and Communist threats, and relished her Canadian freedoms by working (and talking) with a dynamically breakneck relish and speed! Blame it on the schnitzel.
And the first thing Dad did on his return, two years later, was to buy me a desk.
But that first few year of High School I became more and more of a daydreamer cast adrift.
I would daydream away my attendance at each allotted teaching session. Often they would be daydreams about my female fellow students, the effects of which were embarrassingly obvious to all my classmates - who were jokingly aware themselves having the same change of life.
But, radical introvert that I was becoming, I never laughed! I was coddled.
I was turning ripe for the macho bullying that would begin in my junior year, when my High School buds and myself were broken up by new geographic school boundaries, and I was relocated to a new school in the southwest suburbs.
So buddies I still had, at school.
But Home was a place to improve my grades, supervised.
Hemingway never griped about his lost higher education experiences.
His style was simple and direct.
A man's gotta do what a man's got to do!
And not just evade his coming of age - as Papa Hemingway and I both did - but further gain from that evasion a directness which gives true mettle to a young man:
For a Kid’s gotta become a MAN in his Braveheart.
May 27, 2021
I felt I should get to it quickly now, and I did, but I said it very gently: "Papa, why do you want to kill yourself?"
He hesitated only a moment; then he spoke in his old, deliberate way. "What do you think happens to a man going on sixty-two when he realizes that he can never write the books and stories he promised himself? Or do any of the other things he promised himself in the good days?" [...] "Hotch, if I can't exist on my own terms, then existence is impossible. Do you understand? That is how I've lived, and that is how I must live—or not live."
*
Ernest had had it right: Man is not made for defeat. Man can be destroyed but not defeated.
He hesitated only a moment; then he spoke in his old, deliberate way. "What do you think happens to a man going on sixty-two when he realizes that he can never write the books and stories he promised himself? Or do any of the other things he promised himself in the good days?" [...] "Hotch, if I can't exist on my own terms, then existence is impossible. Do you understand? That is how I've lived, and that is how I must live—or not live."
*
Ernest had had it right: Man is not made for defeat. Man can be destroyed but not defeated.
December 31, 2013
Others have criticized Hotchner for not telling the whole truth, for not recounting Hemingway's bullying, braggadocio and boorishness. But Hem was a friend, and The Code dictates you don't stab friends in the back, even dead ones (although Hemingway himself often did, both living and dead friends). So what we get here is Ernest Hemingway at his best and, perhaps, life at its finest, with adventure, lovely women, good friends, good food and drink, beautiful surroundings and honest fun. It's life as we wish we could live it--at least until the pleasure gets sucked out of it for E.H. and he kills himself. So what if it isn't historically faithful? What it gives us are the high spirits and high life of living large. It is a bible on how to live, albeit with a tragic ending that in no way diminishes the beauty of what preceded it. (Note: I read this book decades ago and now have reread it with perhaps even more pleasure.)
January 6, 2024
i’m confounded.
very well written and interesting, but as a newer hemingway reader and fan, i just can’t imagine why anyone would want to release this portrait of a friends last days, when the final act is shown to be so bleak and hopeless.
while i relish hemingway’s books, his personal life hasn’t ever resonated with me.
and despite knowing that he was a bit of a curmudgeon, this book still feels like an unnecessarily stark presentation by a friend of hemingway’s final days, and I for one, just have a hard time believing anyone who knew him as a friend, or liked him personally, would ever release this — especially the psyche ward stuff near the end.
all his cia paranoia here actually gains some credence from the sheer existence of this book. one would think his loved ones around him would’ve wanted to keep that problematic stuff quiet for the endurance of his brand.
but no, instead they published it to the world.
something’s not adding up here.
very well written and interesting, but as a newer hemingway reader and fan, i just can’t imagine why anyone would want to release this portrait of a friends last days, when the final act is shown to be so bleak and hopeless.
while i relish hemingway’s books, his personal life hasn’t ever resonated with me.
and despite knowing that he was a bit of a curmudgeon, this book still feels like an unnecessarily stark presentation by a friend of hemingway’s final days, and I for one, just have a hard time believing anyone who knew him as a friend, or liked him personally, would ever release this — especially the psyche ward stuff near the end.
all his cia paranoia here actually gains some credence from the sheer existence of this book. one would think his loved ones around him would’ve wanted to keep that problematic stuff quiet for the endurance of his brand.
but no, instead they published it to the world.
something’s not adding up here.
April 18, 2017
A.E. Hotchner started out as a young journalist who was assigned to interview Ernest Hemingway. He didn't want to do it. He felt he was much too unimportant a person to be bothering the great writer. Flying down to Cuba where Hemingway was currently living he sent him a note explaining his situation and also that he understood that Hemingway probably didn't have time for him.
What he received was a phone call from "Papa" himself inviting him to a restaurant for dinner and drinks. Thus began a fourteen year friendship between the two men, ending only with Heminway's death. It does not include anything that happened before Hotchner knew him and only includes personal transactions between the two authors.
Hotchner quotes a lot of the conversations verbatim. Hemingway apparently did not talk in complete sentences. This may give an authentic feel to the story but it makes for rather stilted reading. I'd rather he had paraphrased.
Having read Carlos Baker's unflattering biography about Hemingway it was interesting to compare the two. Because Baker in his biography calls Hotchner's biography unrealistic and fawning, I was prepared to read a biography that was biased.
Maybe it was, but I felt that Hotchner was fairly honest about Hemingway's foibles, even if he did leave out or soften some facts that would make Hemingway a less sympathetic character. Mostly it is the story about a man the author obviously has great affection and esteem for. For whatever reason, Hemingway, at least from Hotchner's telling, took a liking to him and did not treat him in the shabby way he treated a lot of people.
Even so, I still don't find Hemingway to be all that nice of a person in Hotchner's biography. Most of it is centered around Hemingway telling Hotchner what sound like tall tales, but even if they're not, they are still rather boorish renditions of what a tough guy he was. ("There I was in WWII, beating up the enemy single handedly...")
The story travels along from Cuba to Spain to Africa, back to Cuba and also the U.S. a few times. Each place Hemingway lived was defined by how he conquered powerful animals . In Spain, he is obsessed with the bullfights. Hemingway never was a bullfighter but he became close friends with bullfighters and seemed to live vicariously through them.
In Cuba he fished Marlin from his boat the Pilar. In Idaho he hunted bears and in Africa he hunted all sorts of big animals. I don't understand the psyche that pushed Hemingway to be such an avid big game hunter. He also enjoyed destroying people, although that does not come into this biography. What drove him to do it? Where did this cruel streak come from? Hotchner does not answer these questions. Baker's biography provides more clues.
Hotchner doesn't answer perhaps because he didn't see it. Or maybe hooking on to Hemingway helped promote his own career. Certainly writing a biography about a famous writer you were personal friends with guaranteed getting known.
Throughout the book Hotchner refers to Hemingway as "Papa". I wonder how the moniker started. It comes across as a little contrived and denotes a kindly, gentleness that was not a part of Hemingway's character.
But perhaps he was a "papa" to some people. Hotchner seemed to view him so and so did others. Who Hemingway showed that side to appears random.
The last part of the biography describes Hemingway's mental deterioration. Other biographies describe Hemingway's mental illness, but Hotchner gives a first hand account, allowing for a more accurate diagnosis. This book was published in the sixties so different names were used but I think that "paranoid schizophrenia" is how it would be described today. Hemingway became convinced that the FBI was out to get him, that they had bugged all his phones, and if any friend disagreed they had been "bought" and crossed over to "their side".
Hemingway was admitted into a mental hospital at different times towards the end of his life and according to Hotchner was released against Hemingway's wife and also Hotchner's advice. In the end Hemingway was able to divert everyone long enough to pull the trigger. Hotchner wrote this biography soon after Hemingway's death.
In conclusion, if you are a Hemingway fan, this is a good biography to include in your library. It is written with the warm affection of someone who knew Hemingway personally and carried on a close relationship with him in his old age, when he had once again invented himself, this time as "Papa Hemingway".
What he received was a phone call from "Papa" himself inviting him to a restaurant for dinner and drinks. Thus began a fourteen year friendship between the two men, ending only with Heminway's death. It does not include anything that happened before Hotchner knew him and only includes personal transactions between the two authors.
Hotchner quotes a lot of the conversations verbatim. Hemingway apparently did not talk in complete sentences. This may give an authentic feel to the story but it makes for rather stilted reading. I'd rather he had paraphrased.
Having read Carlos Baker's unflattering biography about Hemingway it was interesting to compare the two. Because Baker in his biography calls Hotchner's biography unrealistic and fawning, I was prepared to read a biography that was biased.
Maybe it was, but I felt that Hotchner was fairly honest about Hemingway's foibles, even if he did leave out or soften some facts that would make Hemingway a less sympathetic character. Mostly it is the story about a man the author obviously has great affection and esteem for. For whatever reason, Hemingway, at least from Hotchner's telling, took a liking to him and did not treat him in the shabby way he treated a lot of people.
Even so, I still don't find Hemingway to be all that nice of a person in Hotchner's biography. Most of it is centered around Hemingway telling Hotchner what sound like tall tales, but even if they're not, they are still rather boorish renditions of what a tough guy he was. ("There I was in WWII, beating up the enemy single handedly...")
The story travels along from Cuba to Spain to Africa, back to Cuba and also the U.S. a few times. Each place Hemingway lived was defined by how he conquered powerful animals . In Spain, he is obsessed with the bullfights. Hemingway never was a bullfighter but he became close friends with bullfighters and seemed to live vicariously through them.
In Cuba he fished Marlin from his boat the Pilar. In Idaho he hunted bears and in Africa he hunted all sorts of big animals. I don't understand the psyche that pushed Hemingway to be such an avid big game hunter. He also enjoyed destroying people, although that does not come into this biography. What drove him to do it? Where did this cruel streak come from? Hotchner does not answer these questions. Baker's biography provides more clues.
Hotchner doesn't answer perhaps because he didn't see it. Or maybe hooking on to Hemingway helped promote his own career. Certainly writing a biography about a famous writer you were personal friends with guaranteed getting known.
Throughout the book Hotchner refers to Hemingway as "Papa". I wonder how the moniker started. It comes across as a little contrived and denotes a kindly, gentleness that was not a part of Hemingway's character.
But perhaps he was a "papa" to some people. Hotchner seemed to view him so and so did others. Who Hemingway showed that side to appears random.
The last part of the biography describes Hemingway's mental deterioration. Other biographies describe Hemingway's mental illness, but Hotchner gives a first hand account, allowing for a more accurate diagnosis. This book was published in the sixties so different names were used but I think that "paranoid schizophrenia" is how it would be described today. Hemingway became convinced that the FBI was out to get him, that they had bugged all his phones, and if any friend disagreed they had been "bought" and crossed over to "their side".
Hemingway was admitted into a mental hospital at different times towards the end of his life and according to Hotchner was released against Hemingway's wife and also Hotchner's advice. In the end Hemingway was able to divert everyone long enough to pull the trigger. Hotchner wrote this biography soon after Hemingway's death.
In conclusion, if you are a Hemingway fan, this is a good biography to include in your library. It is written with the warm affection of someone who knew Hemingway personally and carried on a close relationship with him in his old age, when he had once again invented himself, this time as "Papa Hemingway".
November 9, 2018
I actually enjoyed this intriguing memoir. It put more of a human face on Hemingway’s Uber-masculine exterior. And what made this book even more meaningful for me was, I just finished some Hemingway stories that took place around the time this memoir took place.
The main thing to remember that this was a memoir about Hotchner’s friend. Not a biography of Hemingway.
The main thing to remember that this was a memoir about Hotchner’s friend. Not a biography of Hemingway.
January 9, 2021
>>Der Mensch kann vernichtet, aber nicht besiegt werden.<<
„Papa Hemingway“ von A.E. Hotchner ist ein wie ich finde sehr besonderes und tiefgründiges Porträt Hemingways. Wir begleiten Hemingway gemeinsam mit Hotchner, der sich zwischen 1948 bis 1961 wahrlich zu einem vertrauten Freund Hemingways mausert. Gemeinsam erleben die beiden so einiges und erfahren ganz ganz viel von Ernest Hemingways Seelenleben und seiner besonderen Verbindung zur Literatur – insbesondere natürlich die Verbindung zu seinen eigenen Werken.
Mir hat dieses Porträt sehr gefallen, da ist tief blicken ließ und mir als Leser den Menschen Ernest Hemingway sehr nahe bringen konnte. Gleichzeitig war dieses Buch eine unheimlich gute Einstimmung auf Hemingways Werke selbst.
„Papa Hemingway“ von A.E. Hotchner ist ein wie ich finde sehr besonderes und tiefgründiges Porträt Hemingways. Wir begleiten Hemingway gemeinsam mit Hotchner, der sich zwischen 1948 bis 1961 wahrlich zu einem vertrauten Freund Hemingways mausert. Gemeinsam erleben die beiden so einiges und erfahren ganz ganz viel von Ernest Hemingways Seelenleben und seiner besonderen Verbindung zur Literatur – insbesondere natürlich die Verbindung zu seinen eigenen Werken.
Mir hat dieses Porträt sehr gefallen, da ist tief blicken ließ und mir als Leser den Menschen Ernest Hemingway sehr nahe bringen konnte. Gleichzeitig war dieses Buch eine unheimlich gute Einstimmung auf Hemingways Werke selbst.
August 2, 2020
Nežinau, ar galima susidomėti rašytojo kūryba vien todėl, kad perskaitai jo biografiją. Turbūt taip. Ne mano atvejis – Ernesto Hemingvėjaus knygos lydi mane nuo pat jaunystės, o kadangi visos seniai perskaitytos (esu ir šiame portale pateikęs keletą apžvalgų), tai su malonumu skaitau viską, kas rašoma apie šį Nobelio premijos laureatą.
Puikiai suprantama, kad įžymūs žmonės įgyja daug draugų gyvendami, bet nemažai ir jau po mirties, kai šie gali nebaudžiami reikšti savo nuomonę taip garsindami save. A. E. Hotchner ne toks – kad jis tikrai ir ilgai, iki pat mirties, buvo Hemingvėjaus draugas, minima daugelyje prisiminimų apie Hemingvėjų. Ir pagaliau lietuviškai išleista jo paties (nemažos apimties) prisiminimų knyga "Tėtušis Hemingvėjus". Su malonumu ją perskaičiau ir esu labai patenkintas, kad tokia knyga buvo išleista. Hočnerio prisiminimai apima gan ilgą laikotarpį – nuo 1948 iki pat 1961 metų, sudėtingą, bet labai įdomų rašytojo gyvenimo tarpsnį. Knyga lengvai skaitosi, joje daug įdomių faktų, skaitytojas nelieka abejingas, nes autorius labai nuoširdžiai rašo apie žmogų, kurį tikrai mylėjo (su visomis jo blogomis ir geromis savybėmis). Man, Hemingvėjaus fanui, – ši knyga tiesiog saldainiukas. Radau joje neregėtų nuotraukų, ką jau bekalbėti apie gyvenimo faktus. Lietuviškai serijoje "Siluetai" buvo išleista gan nebloga biografinė knyga "Hemingvėjus" (B. Gribanovas, 1986 m.), bet juk 1970, kai ji buvo parašyta, galiojo tam tikri ideologiniai reikalavimai... Joje tarp kitko irgi cituojamas Hočneris. Tad paties Hočnerio knyga Hemingvėjaus kūrybos gerbėjams yra tikrai skanėstas.
Puikiai suprantama, kad įžymūs žmonės įgyja daug draugų gyvendami, bet nemažai ir jau po mirties, kai šie gali nebaudžiami reikšti savo nuomonę taip garsindami save. A. E. Hotchner ne toks – kad jis tikrai ir ilgai, iki pat mirties, buvo Hemingvėjaus draugas, minima daugelyje prisiminimų apie Hemingvėjų. Ir pagaliau lietuviškai išleista jo paties (nemažos apimties) prisiminimų knyga "Tėtušis Hemingvėjus". Su malonumu ją perskaičiau ir esu labai patenkintas, kad tokia knyga buvo išleista. Hočnerio prisiminimai apima gan ilgą laikotarpį – nuo 1948 iki pat 1961 metų, sudėtingą, bet labai įdomų rašytojo gyvenimo tarpsnį. Knyga lengvai skaitosi, joje daug įdomių faktų, skaitytojas nelieka abejingas, nes autorius labai nuoširdžiai rašo apie žmogų, kurį tikrai mylėjo (su visomis jo blogomis ir geromis savybėmis). Man, Hemingvėjaus fanui, – ši knyga tiesiog saldainiukas. Radau joje neregėtų nuotraukų, ką jau bekalbėti apie gyvenimo faktus. Lietuviškai serijoje "Siluetai" buvo išleista gan nebloga biografinė knyga "Hemingvėjus" (B. Gribanovas, 1986 m.), bet juk 1970, kai ji buvo parašyta, galiojo tam tikri ideologiniai reikalavimai... Joje tarp kitko irgi cituojamas Hočneris. Tad paties Hočnerio knyga Hemingvėjaus kūrybos gerbėjams yra tikrai skanėstas.
June 10, 2011
This book was nearly good as good as a Hemingway Novel itself. Basically, it is a memoir, by the journalist A.E Hotchner, of his friendship with Ernest Hemingway, from the late 1940's to his death in 1961. The structure is very smartly done- each chapter is headed by not only a new year, but a new location, as Hotchner often traveled with Hemingway on his exotic adventures. Thus, you can read 4 chapters and read about them go from Havana to the Keys to Paris, and then to Madrid for a bullfight. Each chapter offers a more complex view of Hemingway than a jacket cover- a man of enormous vitality, but also of black moods and self destructive tendencies. With every hunt, fishing trip, bullfight, and hike, we see Hemingway unravel, then build himself up, and finally, in 1961, grow so depressed that he takes his own life. This book is not a tribute to Hemingway, but the actions of his amazing life point clearly to what kind of man he was.
October 3, 2019
This memoir starts slowly but becomes quite riveting by the end. Hemingway is synonymous with adventure and that is no understatement. This memoir only covers the last 14 years of his life and I was amazed at how much was going on. None of his passions (hunting, bull fighting, and boxing) are mine but it was still fascinating to hear about him and his lifestyle. The build up to the end is hauntingly heartbreaking. Really glad I read this.
January 17, 2021
Ich habe mich schon immer für die Person Hemingway interessiert, aber erst jetzt kam ich
dazu auch die Biographie von ihm zu lesen. Auf über 400 Seiten erzählt uns A.E. Hotchner über seine Freundschaft zu Hemingway, und so begleiten wir die beiden über die Jahre zwischen von 1948 bis 1961.
Im Frühjahr 1948 wurde Hotchner von "Cosmopolitan" nach Kuba geschickt, um Hemingway zu einem Artikel zu überreden. Nach einer knuffig-mißtrauischen Inspektion durch den Autor (inklusive Alkoholtauglichkeitstest) wurden sie Freunde und blieben es bis zum tragischen Selbstmord Hemingways. Was "Hotchs" Aufzeichnungen so wertvoll macht: Hemingway gewährte ihm Einblicke in seine Arbeitsweise. Unzählige Geschichten über die Entstehung seiner Werke, über Kindheit und seine Pariser Zeit werden hier aus erster Hand erzählt.
Durch die innige Verbundenheit der beiden kommen auch wir Hemingway sehr nahe, ganz anders als es sonst bei Biographien der Fall ist, wo die Autoren oft nur aus dem off erzählen und die beschreibende Person wenn überhaupt nur flüchtig kennen. Hier haben wir es aber mit einer tiefen Freundschaft zutun die uns erlaubt Hemingway persönlich sehr nahe zu kommen.
Da meine Ausgabe schon sehr alt ist und das Buch auf deutsch nicht mehr neu aufgelegt wird, habe ich mir nun auch die englische Originalausgabe zugelegt, die ich ganz bestimmt noch in diesem Jahr lesen werde.
dazu auch die Biographie von ihm zu lesen. Auf über 400 Seiten erzählt uns A.E. Hotchner über seine Freundschaft zu Hemingway, und so begleiten wir die beiden über die Jahre zwischen von 1948 bis 1961.
Im Frühjahr 1948 wurde Hotchner von "Cosmopolitan" nach Kuba geschickt, um Hemingway zu einem Artikel zu überreden. Nach einer knuffig-mißtrauischen Inspektion durch den Autor (inklusive Alkoholtauglichkeitstest) wurden sie Freunde und blieben es bis zum tragischen Selbstmord Hemingways. Was "Hotchs" Aufzeichnungen so wertvoll macht: Hemingway gewährte ihm Einblicke in seine Arbeitsweise. Unzählige Geschichten über die Entstehung seiner Werke, über Kindheit und seine Pariser Zeit werden hier aus erster Hand erzählt.
Durch die innige Verbundenheit der beiden kommen auch wir Hemingway sehr nahe, ganz anders als es sonst bei Biographien der Fall ist, wo die Autoren oft nur aus dem off erzählen und die beschreibende Person wenn überhaupt nur flüchtig kennen. Hier haben wir es aber mit einer tiefen Freundschaft zutun die uns erlaubt Hemingway persönlich sehr nahe zu kommen.
Da meine Ausgabe schon sehr alt ist und das Buch auf deutsch nicht mehr neu aufgelegt wird, habe ich mir nun auch die englische Originalausgabe zugelegt, die ich ganz bestimmt noch in diesem Jahr lesen werde.
July 6, 2020
A good biography of Ernest Hemingway, complete with a section of pictures. Tells you pretty much all you need to know.
August 14, 2018
Banalūs prisiminimai apie žurnalisto bendravimą su rašytoju E. Hemingvėjumi. Įdomiausi knygos epizodai - apie romanų, apsakymų, herojų sukūrimo aplinkybes, atskleisti E. Hemingvėjaus.
February 15, 2009
Interesting memoir about one of the most interesting (and one of my favorite!) writers of all time, written by a member of Hemingway's inner circle. Reading about a great man's downward spiral was definitely sad and at times uncomfortable. The way the Mayo Clinic treated him in his final weeks of life (sending him home even though his own wife knew it would be the end of him) was horrific. Granted, this was nearly 50 years ago, but stunning nonetheless. I always thought of Hemingway as a depressed alcoholic and never realized how deep his mental illness and delusions were. I learned a lot. The middle dragged for me big time as I got tired of reading about bullfighting and the endless parties. But all in all a good read.
September 28, 2020
4+ stars. This is the book I should have read many years ago (when I received it in 1966) so I would have known the background of Hemingway's life before reading his work; yet it is a book I wouldn't have understood then. Having read most of Papa's novels and short stories over the years, Hotchner's account of his long friendship with Hemingway answers many questions about this heroic yet tragic literary figure. I was told once by a high school teacher that I read too much Hemingway -- 50 years later I remain defiant.
April 18, 2021
"Papa Hemingway" by A.E.Hotchner (1917-2020) should not be read as an Ernest Hemingway biography or a historical document concerning him. It is a fond remembrance of a friendship with a remarkable man. I loved it.
The first part of the book is very light and enjoyable. It’s 1948 and 30 year old Hotchner is sent to Cuba by Cosmopolitan magazine to try and talk veteran writer and war correspondent Ernest Hemingway into writing a piece about “the future of literature”. Hotchner describes being too daunted to approach Hemingway directly and leaving a cowardly note for him instead. To his surprise, Hemingway call him the next morning and proposes they should meet in a bar called “La Florida” that same evening. As Hotchner tells it, the two men hit it off right away. Veteran Hemingway, then nearly 50, relishes in treating the much younger Hotchner to a large selection of colorful personal anecdotes over a tidal wave of "Papa Doble Frozen Daiquiris” without discussing the business at hand. This continues on for the next few days, with Hemingway even taking Hotchner on a fishing trip on his boat, a rite of passage of sorts.
You can sense the joy that older man experiences in recounting his adventures and war stories to his new-found audience, probably embellishing and polishing up his anecdotes even more than usual. A process of "hemingwayification" seems to be at work here, a kind of “intensifying” of events past to make clear their essence and emotional impact on the narrator.
Hemingway is quoted as saying, "All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened, and if you've read one of them you will feel all that happened, happened to you and then it belongs to you forever: the happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, ecstasy and sorrow, the food, wine, beds, people and the weather. If you can give that to readers, then you're a writer."
The first part of the book reads like a large collection of the best bar stories you're likely to have heard from anyone. I could quote many examples, but let's leave them in the book.
Hotchner also records numerous statements by the writer regarding the background of various of his works and also anecdotes regarding some of this famous friends. I think that these things should be read in the spirit of the conversations that led to them being said; they will be partially true, or could have been true, or have rubbed shoulders with the truth some place some time, or perhaps they are the poetic truth rather than the dreary literal truth- at any rate, they have the flavor of veracity without the burden of detail. By my own experience, everything that we call “an adventure” consists of about 99% hassle and inconvenience with only few moments of a gemlike quality, and it is these gems that we assemble into sparkling conversation pieces over a barrel of “Papa Dobles”. Or in neat paragraphs in a biography for that matter.
In the middle part of the book, Hotchner describes his travels as part of the Hemingway entourage. And what travels they are! Hemingway seems to have been a real boon companion to those that held his respect. It is wonderful to see how the writer overflows with local knowledge and countless anecdotes of the places and people they visit. I think it it is here that Hotchner promoted from being “someone to retell all my old stories to” to “someone with whom I create new memories and anecdotes”. Case in point is the jape of dressing Hotchner up as a matador and having him enter the bullring as an official spare who would step in if the leading matadors would be incapacitated before the bulls would be dispatched. This event is re-told with glee by Hemingway in his sunset book, “the dangerous summer” and by Hotchner in his personal memoir as well.
It is not all fun and games though. We can see Hemingway’s physical and mental health deteriorating over the course of the years. The double plane crash he experienced in Africa during a safari in 1953 left permanent physical damage, not helped by his habit of increasing self-medication with alcohol. We see the great writer diminish before our eyes. Why did a great friend like Hotchner not stage an intervention? My guess is that Hemingway and Hotchner always remained in a master/pupil-like relation, and Hotchner may never have felt it was his place to intervene powerfully - or perhaps he felt that Hemingway would not listen to this type of advice in any case.
In the third part of the book, we can see Hemingway’s sunset and ultimate demise. Near the end of his life, his mind broke. He became increasingly delusional and paranoid - 1960s psychiatry just was not ready yet to provide effective treatment for this kind of condition. Electroshock therapy and certain medications were used, but failed to reverse the course of his decline. Frankly, reading Hotchner’s account, it is not surprising that Hemingway killed himself in the end.
What to make of all this? As I stated at the start of my review, I don’t see this book as a historical document, as source material for finding out what “factually happened”, or an “even-handed” account of his life and deeds. This book is none of those.
I also stay away from speculating in how far Hotchner was actually part of Hemingway’s “inner circle” or whether he was a talented sort of “hanger on” that managed to inveigle himself for selfish reasons. Speaking about inveigling, it cannot be forgotten that Hotchner often acted as a go-between or agent of various publishers / producers and the writer, obtaining quite a number of lucrative deals for Hemingway. Therefore, ensuring that Hotchner remained loyal and sufficiently in awe of him must have made sound commercial sense to the writer. Yet at the same time, to me there is enough evidence of good chemistry between the two men - not just from Hotchner’s writings, but also from Hemingway’s. And they did have some genuine adventures together, even if a process of “Hemingwayification” has been applied to them. To me their connection rings true, even if it had multiple layers, or rather perhaps *because* it had multiple layers.
So finally, I appreciate this book as a collection of stories about Hemingway, as retold by the writer himself, or recounted from first hand experiences. I don’t care too much for the exact ingredients of the dish, but I do relish the flavor. Hemingway at his best was a great companion and I would wish for someone like that in my circle of acquaintances. Hemingway at his worst could be intemperate and self-destructive. I would have wished him better friends to lean on in those times.
The first part of the book is very light and enjoyable. It’s 1948 and 30 year old Hotchner is sent to Cuba by Cosmopolitan magazine to try and talk veteran writer and war correspondent Ernest Hemingway into writing a piece about “the future of literature”. Hotchner describes being too daunted to approach Hemingway directly and leaving a cowardly note for him instead. To his surprise, Hemingway call him the next morning and proposes they should meet in a bar called “La Florida” that same evening. As Hotchner tells it, the two men hit it off right away. Veteran Hemingway, then nearly 50, relishes in treating the much younger Hotchner to a large selection of colorful personal anecdotes over a tidal wave of "Papa Doble Frozen Daiquiris” without discussing the business at hand. This continues on for the next few days, with Hemingway even taking Hotchner on a fishing trip on his boat, a rite of passage of sorts.
You can sense the joy that older man experiences in recounting his adventures and war stories to his new-found audience, probably embellishing and polishing up his anecdotes even more than usual. A process of "hemingwayification" seems to be at work here, a kind of “intensifying” of events past to make clear their essence and emotional impact on the narrator.
Hemingway is quoted as saying, "All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened, and if you've read one of them you will feel all that happened, happened to you and then it belongs to you forever: the happiness and unhappiness, good and evil, ecstasy and sorrow, the food, wine, beds, people and the weather. If you can give that to readers, then you're a writer."
The first part of the book reads like a large collection of the best bar stories you're likely to have heard from anyone. I could quote many examples, but let's leave them in the book.
Hotchner also records numerous statements by the writer regarding the background of various of his works and also anecdotes regarding some of this famous friends. I think that these things should be read in the spirit of the conversations that led to them being said; they will be partially true, or could have been true, or have rubbed shoulders with the truth some place some time, or perhaps they are the poetic truth rather than the dreary literal truth- at any rate, they have the flavor of veracity without the burden of detail. By my own experience, everything that we call “an adventure” consists of about 99% hassle and inconvenience with only few moments of a gemlike quality, and it is these gems that we assemble into sparkling conversation pieces over a barrel of “Papa Dobles”. Or in neat paragraphs in a biography for that matter.
In the middle part of the book, Hotchner describes his travels as part of the Hemingway entourage. And what travels they are! Hemingway seems to have been a real boon companion to those that held his respect. It is wonderful to see how the writer overflows with local knowledge and countless anecdotes of the places and people they visit. I think it it is here that Hotchner promoted from being “someone to retell all my old stories to” to “someone with whom I create new memories and anecdotes”. Case in point is the jape of dressing Hotchner up as a matador and having him enter the bullring as an official spare who would step in if the leading matadors would be incapacitated before the bulls would be dispatched. This event is re-told with glee by Hemingway in his sunset book, “the dangerous summer” and by Hotchner in his personal memoir as well.
It is not all fun and games though. We can see Hemingway’s physical and mental health deteriorating over the course of the years. The double plane crash he experienced in Africa during a safari in 1953 left permanent physical damage, not helped by his habit of increasing self-medication with alcohol. We see the great writer diminish before our eyes. Why did a great friend like Hotchner not stage an intervention? My guess is that Hemingway and Hotchner always remained in a master/pupil-like relation, and Hotchner may never have felt it was his place to intervene powerfully - or perhaps he felt that Hemingway would not listen to this type of advice in any case.
In the third part of the book, we can see Hemingway’s sunset and ultimate demise. Near the end of his life, his mind broke. He became increasingly delusional and paranoid - 1960s psychiatry just was not ready yet to provide effective treatment for this kind of condition. Electroshock therapy and certain medications were used, but failed to reverse the course of his decline. Frankly, reading Hotchner’s account, it is not surprising that Hemingway killed himself in the end.
What to make of all this? As I stated at the start of my review, I don’t see this book as a historical document, as source material for finding out what “factually happened”, or an “even-handed” account of his life and deeds. This book is none of those.
I also stay away from speculating in how far Hotchner was actually part of Hemingway’s “inner circle” or whether he was a talented sort of “hanger on” that managed to inveigle himself for selfish reasons. Speaking about inveigling, it cannot be forgotten that Hotchner often acted as a go-between or agent of various publishers / producers and the writer, obtaining quite a number of lucrative deals for Hemingway. Therefore, ensuring that Hotchner remained loyal and sufficiently in awe of him must have made sound commercial sense to the writer. Yet at the same time, to me there is enough evidence of good chemistry between the two men - not just from Hotchner’s writings, but also from Hemingway’s. And they did have some genuine adventures together, even if a process of “Hemingwayification” has been applied to them. To me their connection rings true, even if it had multiple layers, or rather perhaps *because* it had multiple layers.
So finally, I appreciate this book as a collection of stories about Hemingway, as retold by the writer himself, or recounted from first hand experiences. I don’t care too much for the exact ingredients of the dish, but I do relish the flavor. Hemingway at his best was a great companion and I would wish for someone like that in my circle of acquaintances. Hemingway at his worst could be intemperate and self-destructive. I would have wished him better friends to lean on in those times.
October 26, 2022
"Każdego człowieka spotyka taki sam koniec - powiedział wtedy - tylko szczegóły jego życia i śmierci odróżniają poszczególnych ludzi".
Ernest Hemingway, stop making me cry in the end, for fuck's sake.
Aaron Hotchner przedstawia zapiski i wspomnienia ze swoich dni spędzonych u boku Ernesta Hemingwaya.
Mimo tego, że Ernest Hemingway to jedna z moich ulubionych ludzi kiedykolwiek istniejących i moje oczko w głowie, to od sierpnia miałam pewną blokadę przed sięganiem po jego twórczość. Byłam po lekturze "How It Was" Mary Welsh i choć książka bardzo mi się podobała, to jednak to opowieść bolesna i brutalnie szczera, zwłaszcza o stanie Hemingwaya, i trochę mi takie cierpienie przesłoniło perspektywę oraz zaprzątnęło myśli.
Publikacja Hotchnera ma podobny charakter i, tak jak wspomniałam już na początku, przepłakałam ostatnie jakieś 20 stron. Jednak jest to też inna perspektywa i lektura... dowcipniejsza? Jest w niej dużo uśmiechu Ernesta, jego szalonych pomysłów i żartów, np. robienia z Hotcha pomocnika toreadora. Są wspomnienia o Scotcie Fitzgeraldzie, o czym marzyłam. Nie nastawiam książek przeciwko sobie, tylko myślę, że historia Aarona pozwoliła mi odzyskać balans. Była urocza i pełna miłości.
I... tak jak uwielbiam "Ruchome święto", to teraz znowu trudno mi przyjąć to, jaki był jego koszt.
To świetna opowieść, co mam zaprzeczać?
PS.
Nikt, kogo wtedy znałem, nie uważał się za członka straconego pokolenia ani nawet nie słyszał takiego okreśelnia. A było nas całkiem sporo.
Ernest Hemingway, stop making me cry in the end, for fuck's sake.
Aaron Hotchner przedstawia zapiski i wspomnienia ze swoich dni spędzonych u boku Ernesta Hemingwaya.
Mimo tego, że Ernest Hemingway to jedna z moich ulubionych ludzi kiedykolwiek istniejących i moje oczko w głowie, to od sierpnia miałam pewną blokadę przed sięganiem po jego twórczość. Byłam po lekturze "How It Was" Mary Welsh i choć książka bardzo mi się podobała, to jednak to opowieść bolesna i brutalnie szczera, zwłaszcza o stanie Hemingwaya, i trochę mi takie cierpienie przesłoniło perspektywę oraz zaprzątnęło myśli.
Publikacja Hotchnera ma podobny charakter i, tak jak wspomniałam już na początku, przepłakałam ostatnie jakieś 20 stron. Jednak jest to też inna perspektywa i lektura... dowcipniejsza? Jest w niej dużo uśmiechu Ernesta, jego szalonych pomysłów i żartów, np. robienia z Hotcha pomocnika toreadora. Są wspomnienia o Scotcie Fitzgeraldzie, o czym marzyłam. Nie nastawiam książek przeciwko sobie, tylko myślę, że historia Aarona pozwoliła mi odzyskać balans. Była urocza i pełna miłości.
I... tak jak uwielbiam "Ruchome święto", to teraz znowu trudno mi przyjąć to, jaki był jego koszt.
To świetna opowieść, co mam zaprzeczać?
PS.
Nikt, kogo wtedy znałem, nie uważał się za członka straconego pokolenia ani nawet nie słyszał takiego okreśelnia. A było nas całkiem sporo.
December 2, 2019
ป็นเรื่องเล่ากึ่งบทสัมภาษณ์ของ เอ.อี.ฮอทชเนอร์ ซึ่งเ��็นนักหนังสือพิมพ์และเป็นทั้งเพื่อนของ "ปาปา เฮมิงเวย์"
เรื่องส่วนใหญ่เผยให้เห็นการเป็นนักผจญภัยของปาปา ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการดื่ม เซ็กส์ ล่าสัตว์ ดูมวย ดูการต่อสู้วัวกระทิง พนันม้า และการท่องเทียวทิวทัศน์ตามที่ต่างๆ รวมไปถึงพัฒนาการและทัศนคติต่องานเขียนของปาปา
ตลอดทั้งเรื่องเราจะเห็น ปาปา เป็นคนที่มีมิตรสหายมาก ดื่มจัด และจริงจังกับทั้งชีวิตและงานเขียน จนบั้นปลายชีวิตของเค้าที่ต้องต่อสู้กับการเขียนไม่ได้อย่างที่ตั้งใจจะเอาชนะ เขาประสบกับโรคซึมเศร้า ถูกช็อตไฟฟ้าอยู่หลายครั้ง เข้าออกคลินิกจิตเวชสองครั้ง จนเช้าตรู่วันนึงซึ่งภรรยาเขาได้ยิงเสียงปืนลั่น เป็นอันจบชีวิตของนักเขียนผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ตลอดกาล
"มนุษย์มิได้เกิดมาเพื่อจะพ่ายแพ้ การทำลายมนุษย์นั้นย่อมทำกันได้ แต่จะทำให้มนุษย์พ่ายแพ้นั้นทำไม่ได้"
เป็นดั่งเหตุผลของเขาที่จะเอาชนะงานเขียน และไม่มีวันที่จะพ่ายแพ้ถ้าหากว่าเขาจะเขียนไม่ได้อีกต่อไป
เรื่องส่วนใหญ่เผยให้เห็นการเป็นนักผจญภัยของปาปา ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการดื่ม เซ็กส์ ล่าสัตว์ ดูมวย ดูการต่อสู้วัวกระทิง พนันม้า และการท่องเทียวทิวทัศน์ตามที่ต่างๆ รวมไปถึงพัฒนาการและทัศนคติต่องานเขียนของปาปา
ตลอดทั้งเรื่องเราจะเห็น ปาปา เป็นคนที่มีมิตรสหายมาก ดื่มจัด และจริงจังกับทั้งชีวิตและงานเขียน จนบั้นปลายชีวิตของเค้าที่ต้องต่อสู้กับการเขียนไม่ได้อย่างที่ตั้งใจจะเอาชนะ เขาประสบกับโรคซึมเศร้า ถูกช็อตไฟฟ้าอยู่หลายครั้ง เข้าออกคลินิกจิตเวชสองครั้ง จนเช้าตรู่วันนึงซึ่งภรรยาเขาได้ยิงเสียงปืนลั่น เป็นอันจบชีวิตของนักเขียนผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ตลอดกาล
"มนุษย์มิได้เกิดมาเพื่อจะพ่ายแพ้ การทำลายมนุษย์นั้นย่อมทำกันได้ แต่จะทำให้มนุษย์พ่ายแพ้นั้นทำไม่ได้"
เป็นดั่งเหตุผลของเขาที่จะเอาชนะงานเขียน และไม่มีวันที่จะพ่ายแพ้ถ้าหากว่าเขาจะเขียนไม่ได้อีกต่อไป
August 24, 2023
An incredible biography. Whether you’re a fan of Hemingway’s work or not, this insight into the final decade or so of the writer’s life is so rich and honest and worth a read. Covering years spent in Cuba, Europe, Key West and Idaho, the reader feels they have travelled greatly through these pages. I have always had a love/hate relationship with his writing, but the man himself I have always found remarkable. From the perspective of a dear friend who was with him to the end, this book I feel truly does justice to Hemingway. An unquestionable 5 stars.
Want to read
September 27, 2022*******************************
*The Sun Also Rises 5 stars
*The Snows of Kilimanjaro 5 stars
*A Farewell to Arms 4 stars
*A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition 4 stars
*Across the River and into the Trees 3 stars
*The Old Man and the Sea 2 stars
*Green Hills of Africa 2 stars
*The Garden of Eden 1 star
*For Whom the Bell Tolls 1 star
*The Young Hemingway 3 stars
*Hemingway: The Paris Years 2 stars
*Papa Hemingway TBR
*Hemingway TBR
*The Sun Also Rises 5 stars
*The Snows of Kilimanjaro 5 stars
*A Farewell to Arms 4 stars
*A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition 4 stars
*Across the River and into the Trees 3 stars
*The Old Man and the Sea 2 stars
*Green Hills of Africa 2 stars
*The Garden of Eden 1 star
*For Whom the Bell Tolls 1 star
*The Young Hemingway 3 stars
*Hemingway: The Paris Years 2 stars
*Papa Hemingway TBR
*Hemingway TBR
January 14, 2013
The book is an exercise in self-promotion and gives of the air of fiction. I was put off at the outset by the author's 1999 new preface (in the edition I read) which takes, in my view, a low blow at Mary Hemingway, airing his old man's petty gripes with Hemingway's widow, who, conveniently enough, was dead and unable to refute his remarks. Reading further, we learn that because the author was denied access to correspondence with Hemingway, he re-created, if you will, what he remembered of the correspondence, (for legal, i.e. copyright reasons) in the form of conversations with Hemingway. So how much of it was true? Who knows.
I found it hard to believe that the 48 year old world famous author becomes a buddy (for the last 14 years of his life) with a twenty-something attorney/editor - travelling, fishing, drinking, etc. At no time in the book is there any mention of what the author was making off his adaptions for television of Hemingway's works. No, their "friendship" was pure, unsullied by commerce, and the author only lived to serve the master. But most disappointing was that the decline of Hemingway and his suicide is not sufficiently examined and worse, comes across cold and detached. I would have thought that someone with a ringside seat would have been able to comment more thoroughly on this - did Hemingway express remorse or regret for the life he had lived, a fear of death, self-pity? What's left is the thought, on the part of this reader, that Hemingway felt he couldn't party like he used to, so what was the point of living? Could anyone have been that shallow? Shouldn't the author have been more interested in motivation? More interested in trying to help "Papa?" Was the author feeling guilt at not having done more to help? Two of Hemingway's wives were still alive at the time of his death, yet the author reports almost nothing about them; only a stray remark or two about them from Hemingway. So how close could he have been to Hemingway? Or did Hemingway really let loose about Martha and Hadley, and the author had to hold back for fear of litigation, so that this "inside" look at Hemingway is worthless?
I found it hard to believe that the 48 year old world famous author becomes a buddy (for the last 14 years of his life) with a twenty-something attorney/editor - travelling, fishing, drinking, etc. At no time in the book is there any mention of what the author was making off his adaptions for television of Hemingway's works. No, their "friendship" was pure, unsullied by commerce, and the author only lived to serve the master. But most disappointing was that the decline of Hemingway and his suicide is not sufficiently examined and worse, comes across cold and detached. I would have thought that someone with a ringside seat would have been able to comment more thoroughly on this - did Hemingway express remorse or regret for the life he had lived, a fear of death, self-pity? What's left is the thought, on the part of this reader, that Hemingway felt he couldn't party like he used to, so what was the point of living? Could anyone have been that shallow? Shouldn't the author have been more interested in motivation? More interested in trying to help "Papa?" Was the author feeling guilt at not having done more to help? Two of Hemingway's wives were still alive at the time of his death, yet the author reports almost nothing about them; only a stray remark or two about them from Hemingway. So how close could he have been to Hemingway? Or did Hemingway really let loose about Martha and Hadley, and the author had to hold back for fear of litigation, so that this "inside" look at Hemingway is worthless?
July 23, 2010
Not your typical biography. This bio does not tell the story of Hemingway from birth till death in a distinctive timeline. It is written by A.E. Hotchner, one of Ernest's closest friends. It recounts events that Hotchner and Ernest shared together, many grandiose tales that define who Hemingway was and how he built his larger than life persona. Epic stories that are hard to believe actually happened, certifying Hemingway as the ultimate "man's man". It is not all positive however, a good quarter of the book is dedicated to chronicling the demise of the famous author; his mental deterioration and many attempts at suicide before he finally succeeded and ended a life that was full of the highest highs and even lower lows.
March 10, 2020
This is the best biography I’ve read on Ernest Hemingway. But it’s more than a biography—it’s an eye witness account by a friend, AE Hotchner, who was at Hemingway’s side through many episodes in his life—running of the bulls in Pamplona, relaxing at his finca in Cuba, following bullfighters around Spain during the dangerous summer, and celebrating Hemingway’s 60th birthday party at La Consula, a mansion in Malaga, Spain. If you’re a Hemingway fan, this book is a must read for you.
October 2, 2011
a biography of Hemingway, supposedly one "they" wanted to stop. It was certainly interesting reading but there was quite a lot of speculation. Not the best bio on Hemingway.
August 26, 2011
A beautiful, haunting, glorious book about a literary goliath and his truest friend.
What a great, great book.
What a great, great book.
August 2, 2024
This was a really loving account from a friend of Ernest Hemingway, who spent significant time with him for the last 13 or 14 years of Hemingway’s life.
He doesn’t sugarcoat or cover up any of Hemingway’s flaws or lifestyle, he just presents who he was as a person and as a friend. It was a refreshing account of the famous writer, absent of criticism or judgement, but also not covering up the truth. The book only reflects the last years of Ernest Hemingway and is not a biography of his whole life. It is a memoir from a trusted friend. I enjoyed it.
(Except for the detailed bullfighting in chapter 12.
Good grief, enough of that already. 😂)
He doesn’t sugarcoat or cover up any of Hemingway’s flaws or lifestyle, he just presents who he was as a person and as a friend. It was a refreshing account of the famous writer, absent of criticism or judgement, but also not covering up the truth. The book only reflects the last years of Ernest Hemingway and is not a biography of his whole life. It is a memoir from a trusted friend. I enjoyed it.
(Except for the detailed bullfighting in chapter 12.
Good grief, enough of that already. 😂)
June 23, 2025
I've been reading books by and about Ernest Hemingway my whole life. This is the most intimate and most humanizing portrayal of him I've ever read.
Hotchner surely puts a high gloss on things. After all, they were close friends. But if this is Papa Hemingway through his eyes, then it is a vivid and touching portrait of a man who gave so much to American letters, that his name will be remembered as long as people read in the English language.
I've struggled to understand Hemingway my whole life and honestly this book is the greatest stride towards that end I have ever made. If you really read it closely and sometimes between the lines, the whole story is there.
Hotchner surely puts a high gloss on things. After all, they were close friends. But if this is Papa Hemingway through his eyes, then it is a vivid and touching portrait of a man who gave so much to American letters, that his name will be remembered as long as people read in the English language.
I've struggled to understand Hemingway my whole life and honestly this book is the greatest stride towards that end I have ever made. If you really read it closely and sometimes between the lines, the whole story is there.
April 20, 2021
I enjoyed this book very much, despite the fact that there were some sections I’d previously read in Hemingway in Love. Absolutely recommend reading this book first. In any case, it’s a pretty great write up of the last 20 years of Hemingway’s life. His emotional decline over the years is easy to see, which made it seem especially poignant. The author & Hemingway were obviously true friends & that came thru loud and clear. Warmed my heart that he had people like Hotch near him until the end. Glad I read it!
May 13, 2017
This one took me a while to read but mostly because it got interrupted by health books. Hotchner gave a very clear picture of his experience of Hemingway through decades. He some incite into Hemingway's view of his own writing and writing process, which I find fascinating. Hotchner also offers a view of Hemingway's decline into mental illness, which was heartbreaking.
August 29, 2024
Very good book. Recommend. It describes the story of the last decades of Ernest Hemingway. His love for fishing, Spanish-style bullfighting, hunting, writing and women. The book full of witty stories about famous artists, writers or matadors.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews