The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories

by Ernest Hemingway

Auf einer Safari am Fuße des Kilimandscharo erleidet der Schriftsteller Harry eine Beinverletzung, die Wundbrand entwickelt. Während seine Frau und er auf das Rettungsflugzeug warten, lässt er sein Leben in Gedanken Revue passieren.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, American, Africa, 20th Century

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Ernest 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.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dude is bleak.

A collection of ten short stories by Ernest Hemingway, master of bleakness and stale storytelling.

I have this feeling reading Hemingway is like having a depressing, often chauvinistic, old grandpa smoking his pipe, retelling stories of his manly glory days, while at the same time scratching his ass and balls like it’s nothing. He may surprise you or make your eyes widen once in a while, but mainly he just angers you and weirds you out, and that is when he doesn’t just completely bores you out of your mind.

His stories seem to be nearly always ridden with a frequently over-descriptive, insufferably ponderative prose, where virtually nothing happens at all, except through dialogs, and stuff. And if I had a machine to keep track of how many times it made me doze, I’d venture to guess it made me doze off around fifty times or more while reading this thing. Possibly a record.

Nevertheless, I still want to read “The Old Man and the Sea”, because I’m stupid, you know?

Anywho, if you enjoy Hemingway and his writings never mind anything I say here. Just add a plus two to each story and go wild, bet he’ll knock your socks off, one way or the other.

Go for the Best, consider the Good, whatever the Meh.

The "Good" :
★★★☆☆ "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." [2.5]
★★★☆☆ "The Killers." [2.5]
★★★☆☆ "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." [2.5]

The Meh :
★★☆☆☆ "In Another Country." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "Fifty Grand."
★★☆☆☆ "A Day’s Wait."
★★☆☆☆ "Fathers and Sons." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio."
★☆☆☆☆ "A Way You’ll Never Be." [0.5]

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1936] [144p] [Collection] [Not Recommendable]
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★★☆☆☆ The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
???????? The Old Man and the Sea

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El tipo es sombrío.

Una colección de diez cuentos cortos por Ernest Hemingway, maestro de la desolación y narración rancia.

Tengo esta sensación de que leer a Hemingway es como tener a un viejo abuelo deprimente, a menudo chovinista, fumando su pipa, contando historias de sus varoniles días de gloria, mientras al mismo tiempo se rasca el culo y las pelotas como si nada. Puede que te sorprenda o te haga abrir los ojos de vez en cuando, pero principalmente sólo te disgusta y te da cosa, y eso cuando no te aburre por completo.

Sus historias parecen casi siempre estar plagadas de una prosa frecuentemente sobredescriptiva e insufriblemente reflexiva, donde prácticamente no sucede nada en absoluto, excepto a través de diálogos, y eso. Y si tuviera una máquina para llevar la cuenta de cuantas veces me hizo dormitar, me atrevería a suponer que me adormiló alrededor de unas cincuenta o más veces mientras leía esta cosa. Posiblemente un récord.

Aunque todavía quiero leer “El Viejo y el Mar”, porque uno es estúpido, ¿vio?

Pero bueno, si disfrutás de Hemingway y sus escritos, que no te preocupe nada de lo que digo acá. Simplemente agrega un más dos a cada historia y dale a lo loco, apuesto a que te volará la cabeza, de una forma u otra.

Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, loquesea lo Meh.

Lo "Bueno" :
★★★☆☆ "Las Nieves del Kilimanjaro." [2.5]
★★★☆☆ "Los Asesinos." [2.5]
★★★☆☆ "La Corta y Feliz Vida de Francis Macomber." [2.5]

Lo Meh :
★★☆☆☆ "En Otro País." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "Cincuenta Mil Dólares."
★★☆☆☆ "Un Día de Espera."
★★☆☆☆ "Padres e Hijos." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "Un Lugar Limpio y Bien Iluminado." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "El Jugador, la Monja y la Radio."
★☆☆☆☆ "Una Forma en la que Nunca Serás." [1.5]

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1936] [144p] [Colección] [No Recomendable]
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[Ree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading Hemingway, for me, feels like panning for gold. At the beginning I am really enthusiastic. People have told me about the gold, I believe in the gold, and I want to find it. After the first couple stony pages, my excitement starts to waver. Where is this aforesaid treasure? My attention wanders off. My interest is fading. I'm almost inclined to call it off. There's nothing there for me. But I keep panning, because of this disbelief that I may not be able to discover what so many have before me. And then - suddenly - I see a glimmer at the pebbly bottom of the river. The tiniest crumb of gold, I've found it. It's really there! Then it's back to stones and pebbles. Stones and pebbles. Stones and pebbles. What's that? Something shiny? You don't think - gold again?! Indeed! Several crumbs! A nugget! My first assessment was too hasty. There's gold in Hemingway. You just gotta be patient. How wonderful that my endeavours have paid off! I'm converted, the gold rush is justified! But why are the nuggets getting so rare again? Are they simply slipping my attention? Are they really there? And why is panning getting so frigging boring again?

Maybe the gold was just an illusion. Maybe I just don't see it. Maybe it's not the right time. I don't know.

[Brina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading short stories, either in collections or as stand alones. When I look back at what I have read in the last two years, I notice many books under two hundred pages. Because I have a tendency to go into a proverbial reading slump in between quality novels, these short stories serve the purpose of preventing a slump and keeping my reading mind fresh. As in previous years, a square on classics bingo is to read a classic short story. Having read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea last year, a Pulitzer winner that moved me, I selected The Snows of Kilimanjaro to fulfill this square. In this short work, Hemingway once again proves that his writing is Nobel worthy.

First written in 1936, The Snows of Kilimanjaro features a writer named Harry who has gone on an African safari with his wife, or perhaps girlfriend. While in Africa, he scratches his knee on a thorn and develops gangrene in his right leg. As Harry's condition deteriorates toward death, he looks back at the key moments in his life which lead him to being at the present in Africa. With enough material to fill an entire book, Hemingway moves from Harry's past to present interspersed with his significant other's reminiscing as he leaves his readers hanging for the duration of this short tale. While reading, one can only hope that Hemingway would have followed up this story by revisiting Harry with a full length novella discussing his life and stories in more minute details.

Like Hemingway, Harry is a writer. As he reflects on the life passing before his eyes, he reflects on his army service in World War I, his convalescence, flashbacks, time in Paris, up until the present in Africa. With the gangrene poisoning setting in, one does not know if Harry is living in the present or the past. Meanwhile, his significant other reflects on her own past: her first husband, his tragic death, her children; in sum, a life worthy of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Harry detests the rich and yet the two ended up together in a relationship that saved them both from the throes of depression. Both were on the verge of turning the corner when Harry contracted gangrene. Hemingway leaves the reader to imagine what will happen to his significant other moving forward.

At the story's onset, Hemingway, or perhaps an editor, notes that Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa. On the summit's western edge, there lies a leopard carcass and no one can fathom what a leopard was doing at that altitude. Like Harry, perhaps the leopard was near death or had come to Kilimanjaro to reflect on his life flashing before his eyes. One never learns the purpose of the leopard in the story as this opening note is its only mention. In just thirty short pages, a reader can experience Hemingway's brilliance, leaving one compelled to reach for one of his full length novels. As I try to vary my reading, it may be awhile until I revisit Hemingway again although suffice it to say this will not be the last time I read his work. A true story telling master, Hemingway's work is always a treat to read, regardless of its length.

5 stars

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

His latest novel.
Despite its unfinished form, it is probably one of its best.
The sensuality and languor that emerge from the characters' ambiguity in this triangular relationship are remarkable.
And as always, the dialogues and the silences of Hemingway.
It is a masterpiece without question.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nineteen short stories, many of them interrelated and/or semi biographical, set in the United States and Europe in the early first half of the twentieth century. Lots of fishing and bullfighting, typical Hemingway. Hemingway, as is his style, managed to reveal human emotion and tenderness at the same time that he is writing about human adversity and tragedy. Also features the 25 page 'Snows of Kilimanjaro' from which Hemingway himself managed to complete a film script for the same named Hollywood blockbuster. 4 out of 12, Two Stars is the best this can get from me.

2011 read

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was never what he had done, but always what he could do. (6)

Air. Fresh air. Clarity for the mind. A pause. Another view. Many things. Many things can be found in a white landscape. The snow hides many secrets. The beginning and the end of everything, there, on the top of Kilimanjaro. Harry knows it now. A little too late.
Wait, it is never too late, you say? Nonsense. Sometimes it is
too
damn
late.

A couple, Harry and Helen. They are in Africa. He is dying of gangrene; she is by his side, taking care of him. This is my first Hemingway and I really enjoyed it. His writing—at least in this short story—has the ability of conveying the inner process of one conflicted soul. He described feelings and memories with such beauty and acuity that I felt completely captivated. I do not care so much about the plot if you let me see what is inside somebody's mind by following the inextricably fascinating rhythm of your prose. Hemingway wrote. I followed. I got hurt, then healed while staring at the ceiling with that dreadful book next to me.

I did not know what to expect, to be honest. I do not know if this was the best short story to start my journey with this writer (whose work has also been described as... “painful”; I am officially afraid of his novels now). But I saw it. I felt it. During the whole time I was reading this story, I felt the air getting heavier. It was filled with nostalgia and regret: powerful things that can choke you to death. Death. It does not sound so scary when you start thinking about regret. The story you could have written. The call you should have made. The kiss you should have given. The confession you could have shared. The vulnerability you should not have hidden. The words you could have said; the words you should have swallowed. The life you should have lived. To the fullest. Whatever that is.
Death cannot be avoided. But regret... that unbearable weight upon your chest. That stubborn attitude of waiting for tomorrow knowing there are limits. Unforgivable. I have no excuse to justify mine. No good excuse, at least.
“Never look back.” “I don't regret anything”. Is that possible? Is that even human? We are swinging between the avoidable and our humanity.
Some riddles cannot be answered.

You kept from thinking and it was all marvellous. You were equipped with good insides so that you did not go to pieces that way, the way most of them had, and you made an attitude that you cared nothing for the work you used to do, now that you could no longer do it. But, in yourself, you said that you would write about these people... But he would never do it, because each day of not writing, of comfort, of being that which he despised, dulled his ability and softened his will to work so that, finally, he did no work at all. (5)

You cannot stop death. He kindly stops for you, a poet once wrote. He awaits by your side, resting his head on the foot of your bed while contemplating the setting sun. A bicycle policeman. A bird. A hyena.
But regret chokes. Slowly. Inexorably. Taking away all trace of existence while you are still breathing. The hunger for living. The desire of doing. Stillness.
A bundle of miserable contradictions. There are few things so human as regret.


March 31, 15
* Also on my blog.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this collection of ten Ernest Hemingway short stories when I was looking for Literature (with a capital L) to suggest to my real-life book club for its monthly read (whoever is hosting book club that month is responsible for nominating 5 or 6 books, and then everyone in attendance votes). Poor Hemingway was a no-vote-getter; North and South won in a landslide. But since (a) I'd already brought this book home from the library, (b) I like short stories, and (c) I felt like I needed to add more Hemingway to my life than the one or two short stories I'd read in the past, I decided to read this book anyway.

These stories were written in the 1920s and 1930s. Ernest was a good-looking guy when he was young:


Maybe his good looks and intelligence and talent made it more difficult for him to be happy and satisfied in life; I don't know. In any case, he lived an adventurous and problematic life (he was married four times, had any number of affairs, and committed suicide at age 61 due to serious illness).

Hemingway had a somewhat unique and testosterone-soaked code of honor in which dignity and courage were the paramount virtues, and that comes through pretty clearly in most of these stories. They're chock-full of violence and brutality and various types of unpleasantness:

* detailed, brutal scenes of hunting on an African safari in "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"
* a man dying of an infected leg in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"
* a fixed (or is it?) boxing match in "Fifty Grand"
* hit men on the prowl in "The Killers"
* men suffering both physical and mental war wounds in ... several stories.

The women characters in these stories are of the ball-and-chain variety and/or actively predatory and cruel; the first and last stories in particular have some really nasty relationship issues. Some of the stories are so slice-of-life that I'm not sure what their point was.

It would be very easy, especially in our day and age, to be dismissive of his stories. I can't say that the values espoused in them really speak to me in any profound or moving way.

And yet there's something in these stories, often below the surface of his simply-told tales, that has worked its way into my head and pokes at me and my comfortable life. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is, at least in part, a cautionary story about using your talents and not letting life pass you by because it's easier to say "I'll do that sometime later." These stories have made me think a little harder about being, and doing, what is important to me, even if they're not the same things that Hemingway thought were important.

[Paula K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story about regret from a dying man set in Africa.

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

گرچه شخصیت های اصلی داستان برفهای کلیمانجارو زوج هری و هلن هستند اما مرگ را باید نقش اصلی داستان همینگوی دانست . مرگ را می توان همه جا ، در لاشه پلنگ در ابتدای داستان ، آواز شوم کرکس ، ناله نحس کفتار و بوی عفونت بدن هری پیدا کرد.
احتمالا کمتر کسی مانند هری را می توان منتظر و مشتاق مرگ یافت ، اشتیاقی که شاید از شکست در نویسندگی و میل و علاقه مفرط به نوشیدن حاصل شده باشد .
داستان همینگوی در حالی با مرگ به پایان می رسد که او از همان ابتدا عفریت مرگ را در نزدیکی خود دیده و بی میل به زیستن ، هیچ گونه تلاشی هم برای نجات خود نکرده است .
به زحمت می توان معنای چندانی برای کتاب بسیار معروف همینگوی که برخی آنرا شاهکار هم دانسته اند یافت ، همچنین ترجمه ضعیف اسدالله امرایی هم آشکار به کیفیت کتاب لطمه زده است .

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this collection of Hemingway stories when it came out in 1970, and a few times since. I have read all of the stories many times, previously collected in other configurations. I see Papa =as one of the greatest short story writers of all time, and one of the great writers of all time. I don’t have to talk about his life to say that. Some/many famous artists may be philandering drunks, crazy, and so on. But while I see him as a five-star short story writer, I don’t think this particular collection is quite five-stars-excellent, but most of the stories here are great.

I read this book in (machismo-oriented?) Alaska recently, one of my trips of a lifetime, and this may have made me forgive him for that aspect of the work I find a little (for me) anachronistic, as in the kill-a-lion-and-prove-you-are-a-man-to-secure-the-love-of-a-woman idea, but I still find most of the writing stunning. Some of it was seen as experimental, at the time, trying to get at how to represent man-thinking/consciousness, and anecdotes/slice-of-life ala Chekhov. Some of the stories, stripped down minimalist and at the same time lyrical, are wonderful.

***** "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was first published in 1936 and though was written in his late thirties, already has a tired-of-life quality . Harry, the main character, has gangrene and is occasionally delirious, mean to his wife, a rich woman. Hyenas and vultures hovering. End-of-life stream of consciousness memories.

“That in some way he could work the fat off his soul the way a fighter went into the mountains to work and train in order to burn it out of his body.”
“He had never quarreled much with this woman, while with the women that he loved he had quarreled so much they had finally, always, with the corrosion of the quarreling, killed what they had together. He had loved too much, demanded too much, and he wore it all out.”
“It was not so much that he lied as that there was no truth to tell.”

***** "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" first published in 1933, is one of my all-time favorites and one of his most despairing/empathetic stories, featuring an old man who comes in every night to drink himself to closing, and one waiter who reveals he is sympathetic to him. There is a nihilist Lord’s Prayer, existentialist, Our nada who art in nada.

**** "A Day's Wait" is a short story probably based on Hem’s own life, where his son feared he would die based on a mis-reading of his fever in Celsius vs. Fahrenheit.

**** "The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio" first published in 1933, is weird, I had forgotten it, about a Mexican gambler and a nun that loves Notre Dame football and a guy like Hem who had been hospitalized watching it all. Not my fave but well-written.

***** "Fathers and Sons" features Hemingway's Nick Adams and his father and grandfather. Papa is at his most romantic--lyrical and spiritual--when writing about the outdoors, maybe especially fly fishing.

**** "In Another Country" is an earlier story, 1927, also a Nick Adams injury story (Hem had been injured when he was an ambulance driver in Italy). About courage, has lyrical writing as in A Farewell to Arms. Shorter, but still fine.

***** "The Killers" is also an earlier story, 1927, also a Nick Adams story set in the Chicago area, maybe even (one time home of many gangsters) Oak Park? I had heard he may have drafted a version of this when he was a student at Oak Park High School, in the noir fashion, about two thugs who come into a diner looking to kill Ole Anderson. Nick tries to warn Ole, but Ole is hopeless, resigned. Bleak noir story, mostly dialogue, wonderful.

**** "A Way You'll Never Be" has Nick Adams in a hospital with a head injury, sometimes delirious, clearly brain-injured. Captures this state very well, scarily, tragi-comic. Maybe not great, but the idea is how to capture the mind thinking.

***** "Fifty Grand" is another early noir story that reminds me of Ring Lardner and Bukowski, a story about Jack, a boxer who just wants to quit, and some corrupt guys who want him to throw the fight. Twisty cool ending. Great sports story.

**** "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." So we know from the title what happens, basically. Beautifully written but dwells too much on the code of kill to show a woman you are brave so she will love you. Macomber runs when a lion shows up, so the relationship is over. . .. or is it? Rich lady Margot is the heartless wife, and professional hunter Robert Wilson represents Hem and his moral rules for manly conduct, eh. “Doesn’t do to talk too much about it. Talk the whole thing away.” But it is still a great story on many levels. Has redemption in it, even if I don’t agree with the terms for the redemption.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read anywhere close to the full set of Hemingway’s short stories - slowly chipping away, so might as well get some on the board. I have done the super classics, and this collection actually contains a couple of them.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is quite possibly my favourite Hemingway story of all time. Seriously, I am in awe of how much he does with a few pages. I think I go through a whole range of emotions every time I read it. Why? Well… like I said, admiration for Hemingway’s choice of setting and character. Some random bar, very late night, close to closing time. Old man. Solitude. Regret? Sadness? Empathy? Apathy? Life? Fuck me.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro is beautiful too, as is A Day’s Wait. Come to think of it, there is a theme in the ones that I find most impactful. Hemingway Heads, I was also going to say that I enjoyed Fathers and Sons and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Yes. Yes there is definitely a theme. I can’t help it; I’m just fascinated thinking about how death looms over us all, how we deal with it, make sense of it, go out to greet it. In that sense, this is about as good a collection of short stories as you can get. I often find it really difficult to give any collection of stories 5 stars, because that would imply that it was damn near perfect. This isn’t. No nadirs, but a couple of stories that phoned it in for me.

[Glenn Sumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d forgotten what a good short story writer Ernest Hemingway could be. This collection came out in 1961, the same year as the author’s death. But most of the stories were published in magazines in the 1920s and 30s, when he was at the height of his powers, and all were available in earlier volumes.

There’s an impressive range of work here, from the ambitious title story about a man dying of gangrene while on safari and slipping into and out of consciousness, remembering scenes from his (wasted) life – the story has the depth and richness of a novel – to the noir classic “The Killers,” which inspired two famous films and contains some very amusing gangster dialogue.

“Fifty Grand” takes you into the world of boxing (there’s also a boxer in “The Killers”), and has a narrative left hook you might not see coming (I didn’t), while “The Gambler, The Nun, And The Radio” – about a man who’s been shot and his colourful hospital visitors – shows you just how funny Hemingway could be.

Also included is a classic story that I’ve read several times but still seems mysterious to me: “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” about two waiters discussing the final patron in their bar before it closes for the night. The old, deaf man tried to kill himself the week before, and the contrasting reactions of the waiters is very telling.

Some stories in the book didn’t resonate with me, particularly the Nick Adams war tales. (I recall the Adams stories from In Our Time working much better.) But their themes – grace under pressure, war and death, initiations of various sorts – are in keeping with the rest of the volume.

I think my favourite story is the final one, “The Short And Happy Life Of Francis Macomber,” which feels connected to the opening tale because it’s also set on safari and includes a man, woman, death and the concepts of courage and dignity. I love the way it’s constructed and how the characters’ actions in a moment of pressure tell you things that will affect their entire lives. Also, it and “Fifty Grand,” the story that precedes it, are simply exciting on a narrative level.

I don’t know why I’ve been on a Hemingway kick recently – three of his books in less than a month – but I’m glad I picked this up. These days, the author’s legend seems to overshadow his work; it’s encouraging to know the writing, at least in the author’s prime, was solid.

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a link to the story: http://www.cardinalhayes.org/ourpages...

This story grabbed me from the start. It did not let me go until its very last line. It is about a man, Harry, dying of gangrene out on the plains of Africa. He is with Helen, a woman he loves. Will he die, or will he be saved?

Harry is quarreling with Helen. Why is it that we are the meanest to those we love most? Read this, found at the beginning of the tale:


"He looked at her and saw her crying.

'Listen,’ he said. ’Do you think that it is fun to do this? I don't know why I'm doing it. It's trying to kill to keep yourself alive, I imagine. I was all right when we started talking. I didn't mean to start this, and now I'm crazy as a coot and being as cruel to you as I can be. Don't pay any attention, darling, to what I say. I love you, really. You know I love you. I've never loved any one else the way I love you.’

He slipped into the familiar lie he made his bread and butter by.

'You're sweet to me.’

'You bitch,’ he said. 'You rich bitch. That's poetry. I'm full of poetry now. Rot and poetry. Rotten poetry.’

'Stop it. Harry, why do you have to turn into a devil now?’

'I don't like to leave anything,’ the man said. 'I don’t like to leave things behind.’"

And then later:

"'You're a fine woman,’ he said. 'Don't pay any attention to me. ’"

Who is this book about? For me it is about Hemingway himself and his and other authors’ need to write.

“There was so much to write. He had seen the world change; not just the events; although he had seen many of them and had watched the people, but he had seen the subtler change and he could remember how the people were at different times. He had been in it and he had watched it and it was his duty to write of it; but now he never would."

Hemingway’s ability to write of places, be it Africa, Paris, a ranch, the Black Forest of Germany or anywhere else, is perfected in this story. Harry speaks of the Paris he cared about but had not yet written of:

“There never was another part of Paris that he loved like that, the sprawling trees, the old white plastered houses painted brown below, the long green of the autobus in that round square, the purple flower dye upon the paving, the sudden drop down the hill of the rue Cardinal Lemoine to the River, and the other way the narrow crowded world of the rue Mouffetard. The street that ran up toward the Pantheon and the other that he always took with the bicycle, the only asphalted street in all that quarter, smooth under the tires, with the high narrow houses and the cheap tall hotel where Paul Verlaine had died. There were only two rooms in the apartments where they lived and he had a room on the top floor of that hotel that cost him sixty francs a month where he did his writing, and from it he could see the roofs and chimney pots and all the hills of Paris."

There is something in Hemingway’s prose that feels natural, so clean and simple and so absolutely wonderful to me! Regardless of the plot, there is always the writing to enjoy; this alone satisfies me.

Here, as Harry lies there dying, thinking of all he has not yet written and wants to write tears come to my eyes. I feel as though I am losing someone who must survive because he has such talent for writing. Is it silly that I feel sorrow for the loss of his writing? Is it silly that I feel profound sorrow for the stories and lines that may never come to be?

One more thing--the ending is perfect.

I adore this story. For me, this is perhaps Hemingway’s best.

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★
“No, he thought, when everything you do, you do too long, and do too late, you can't expect to find the people still there. The people all are gone. The party's over and you are with your hostess now.”

Harry’s dying. Gangrene. He’s not happy about it, but he’s resigned to it and short-tempered with his wife who tries to feed him broth and withhold whiskey, insisting he needs to keep his strength up for when the truck or the plane comes. This is Africa. No casual passersby.

He daydreams and dreams about all the women in his life, each richer than the previous one, and this last wife the richest of all. He remembers what fun Paris was, all the friends he had, but he’s aware that his current wife, through no fault of her own, will be his last companion, the “hostess”.

A lot of people seem to think this is autobiographical, and to a point, it is. Harry and Hemingway are both writers. Harry laments that he wasted his time and didn’t write what he should have. Africa, plane crash, multiple wives – both.

BUT, this was published in Esquire Magazine in 1936, almost 20 years before Hemignway's 1954 plane crashes (and before a couple of wives as well). AND, nobody can accuse Hemingway of not writing productively. Perhaps this was written as a caution to himself?

It is also a platform where he can champion the poor and criticise the rich. Consider the irony of this being first published in a men’s magazine whose target market was most decidedly not the poor!

Harry’s silent reminiscing is no doubt partly Hemingway’s well-known escapades, but a lot is a good writer’s imagination. Cautioning himself or not, Hemingway did acquire more women and maintain a colourful lifestyle.

The fact that Harry’s stranded in remote Africa with his wife means he knows he hasn’t got long to live. Hemingway isn’t maudlin, or tugging at heartstrings. Harry is matter-of-fact and cranky. He is sorry for his perfectly decent wife, stuck in the African bush with a dying man, and he does his best to be pleasant, but it’s hard work.

Some might consider this a

After he finally drifts off to sleep, he is happily surprised to see daylight and welcome his old mate Compton and his plane. He describes their view of the snow atop Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the highest on the African continent and “the plain as far as you could see, gray-yellow now and ahead old Compie's tweed back and the brown felt hat.”

Download the story here:
http://www.cardinalhayes.org/ourpages...

Thanks to Chrissie from the Reading for Pleasure Group who have short story discussions.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I think that this story serves as a moving account of a man who comes to terms with his life as he prepares to die. However, while I hate to sound as repetitive in my reviews of Hemingway as Hemingway sounds in his actual writing, I cannot stand how his protagonists always take out their frustrations on women. As the main character suffers, he calls his partner a "rich bitch" and a "caretaker and destroyer of his talent." I rate Hemingway's work so low because from my perspective, I must point out how he lets his characters get away with sexism and misogyny, even if they do indeed face painful circumstances. I will say it now and I will say it again: an individual's anger does not justify their mistreatment of another person. I wish Hemingway had understood that in his life and in his writing.

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Why, I loved you. That's not fair. I love you now. I'll always love you Don't you love me?"
"No," said the man. "I don't think so. I never have."
"Harry, what are you saying? You're out of your head."
"No. I haven't any head to go out of."
"Don't drink that," she said. "Darling, please don't drink that. We have to do
everything we can."
"You do it," he said. "I'm tired."

WHAT A FUCKING ASSHOLE! This is one of those *i'm dying so i can be an ass, and people would just let me be, So i'm gonna shit on everything and everyone* kind of books. the writing was fine (to me at least) smooth really. But Goddamn. Harry's personality made me want to reach out, and strangle him to death. He was an arrogant, rude, obnoxious, prick. he did shut his wife down, When all she ever wanted to do is to help him and fix him. i hate when women gets mistreated, but she still is nice and warm and loving toward the person whom she should hate. *SIGH*

a sentence summary of this book: how an asshole behaves in the face of death.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Snows of Kilimanjaro, is one of Hemingway’s most famous and no doubt garners such appeal because it deals with the essence of every man’s life...what he has accomplished before he dies. Some see it as a treatise on procrastination, but I do not. I believe it is every man’s lot to die with things undone, hopes unrealized, opportunities missed, and I think Hemingway is making that point as well. We are busy living our lives and these things slip by us, sometimes without a thought, but often with the idea that we will come back to them, do them later, and then life runs out, as life always does. We all die in the midst of living. A secondary, but important theme, would seem to me to be that of isolation. No matter who is there holding our hands, soothing our brows, we die alone. No one can take that journey with us, and those who will continue to live after we are gone do not truly understand our going as we understand it, as an end of second chances, a startling realization that whatever we might have done is lost to us now, forever.

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ernest Hemingway writes. Beautifully. But it seems his writings are always autobiographical. They are always about death, and It seems like he or someone else is always killing something or destroying relationships. In the end he even destroyed himself. It's the bullfights and the safaris. It's always the same.

This story is about a man and his woman who are waiting at the airport for a plane to come and take him to the hospital. His knee is wounded and he believes that he is dying. As they sit there talking with each other, He begins to verbally abuses wife or girlfriend, Telling her that he does not love her, that she is a rich bitch,... He even tells her that he is with her only because of her money.

I read some books by Ernest Hemingway in my youth, But now it is too difficult to read him. It just isn't worth it to me.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in the same year as Hemingway’s death, this collection of ten previously released short stories comprises some of his very best short work.

"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" first published in 1936 is a strange and thoughtful account at the end of a life with many regrets.

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" first published in 1933, this is one of my favorite of his short stories. Describing a time and place and mood of introspection, isolation and solitude.

"A Day's Wait" first published in 1933, this is a touching scene of interactions between a father and son, revealing a very human side to Hemingway’s writing.

"The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio" earlier published in 1933, this is a tragi-comic story reminiscent in the setting and style to something John Steinbeck may have written.

"Fathers and Sons" was first published in 1933 and features Hemingway’s recurring protagonist Nick Adams. Telling of three generations of men, this explores themes of relationships, race and sex, leadership and influence. Like many of Hemingway’s most illuminating work, this centers around outdoor activities like hunting and fishing.

"In Another Country" first published in 1927 and the unnamed protagonist is likely Nick Adams, who is an injured American officer serving with the Italians during WWI. This is an exploration of courage, fear and loss.


"The Killers" first published in 1927, this is another Nick Adams story but one set in Illinois and describes a tense scene where two assassins seek to kill a local prize fighter and Adams’ talk with the target, Ole Anderson. This scene, where Adams seeks to warn Anderson of the plot against him, is one of existential ennui and hopelessness.

"A Way You'll Never Be" was earlier published in 1933 and describes Nick Adams recovering from a head wound in Italy during the first world war. Interestingly, this describes an illuminating scene of post-traumatic stress disorder decades before that condition was explained in medical science.

"Fifty Grand" first published in 1927 and centers around an aging boxer training for his final fight. Like hunting and fishing, boxing was a theme for which Hemingway revealed not just an affinity but also a sophisticated depth of understanding. A good sports story, this also expounds and illustrates Hemingway’s moral code.

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" was first published in 1936 and is perhaps my favorite Hemingway story. In his economical style, Hemingway packs a novel amount of content into a short story length. The reader is guided through explorations of wealth, value, relationships, fear, courage, betrayal and redemption. Margot, like Lady Britt from The Sun Also Rises, is one of Hemingway’s most villainous women. The hunter Robert Wilson, in his narrative asides, reveals Hemingway’s moral code and an eagerness to live a principled, heroic life.

This would be an excellent introduction to Hemingway’s great work for a new reader.

[Celeste Corrêa · Rating 3 out of 5]

( editado)
Dizem que neste conto Hemingway ridiculariza o conceito de ricos e pobres transmitido por Scott Fitzgerald em «The rich boy», que li há poucas semanas.
Eis que encontro a passagem:

«Agora ela já não bebia tanto. Desde que o tinha a ele. Porém, se ele não morresse, nunca escreveria a respeito dela, sabia-o perfeitamente. Nem a respeito de quaisquer outros. Os ricos eram maçadores e bebiam muito ou jogavam excessivamente ao gamão. Eram maçadores e repetiam-se constantemente. Lembrava-se do pobre Julian e do aborrecimento que este lhes tinha. Certa vez principiara a escrever uma novela que começava assim: "Os muito ricos são diferentes de ti e de mim". E alguém dissera a Julian : " Sim, têm mais dinheiro ". Mas Julian não achara graça ao comentário. Considerava-os uma raça especial, cheia de atractivos, e quando verificou que não era como os imaginava, essa conclusão destroçara-o completamente.
Tinha desprezo por aqueles que tudo destroem. Não era preciso gostar para compreender. " Tudo podia vencer, pensou, "porque nada o magoava, desde que não lhe ligasse importância.»

De salientar, que, no início deste excerto, noto também uma piadinha ao « Terna é a Noite», que estou a ler em simultâneo.

Não sei exactamente qual era a relação entre Hemingway e Scott Fitzgerald; eram inimigos declarados, ou detestavam-se cordialmente? Mas, pergunto eu, ambos não transmitem a ideia de uma vida ociosa caracterizada por bichos carpinteiros?

Quanto a este conto: no sopé do Kilimanjaro, acompanhado por um criado e uma mulher, um escritor com gangrena recorda e reflecte sobre o seu passado ( a vida ) e a morte inevitável. E começa a ficar aborrecido com a vida e a morte, ou a ideia de morrer. Porque é uma maçada tudo o que interessa durante muito tempo; porque pouco interessa a companhia que gostaríamos de ter; porque as pessoas acabam sempre por se afastar; porque quando as festas acabam, ficamos sempre sós com os donos da casa.
O pessimismo de Hemingway num conto que não me deslumbrou, mas tem um título bonito.

[Jay Schutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I accept Hemingway's writing for what it is. Not the greatest to get into. It can really be out there sometimes. This collection of short stories is a case in point. "Snows" was really good along with most of the others. A few were befuddling.

[Helga · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
...just then, death had come and rested its head on the foot of the cot and he could smell its breath.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a semi-autobiographical story about a dying man, his reminiscences, his thoughts about life and death and his dreams and regrets.

[Theo Logos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories is bookended by two magnificent stories of dying and loving in Africa. The title story is rich and layered, implying a whole novel in its condensed space — the story of a man who outlived himself.

”He had had his life and it was over. And then he went on living it again with different people and more money”

The book’s final tale, The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber, sketches the effects of an African safari on a problematic marriage, and a man’s triumph over his own cowardice. They are Hemingway’s best work —five stars.

Other stories stand out in this collection. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a paean to dignified nihilism:

”Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee.”

The Gambler, The Nun, and the Radio highlights both Hemingway’s skill for creating mood and his dry, dark humor. The Killers also shows off his gallows humor and refined sense of nihilism. And Fifty Grand may just be the best story about boxing ever written, displaying Hemingway’s deep knowledge of the sport, its culture, and its characters.

These ten stories, republished together in this volume the year Hemingway died, essentially create a “best of” volume. They are his best known, most powerful tales, a collection of short masterpieces. If you read only one book by Hemingway, this should be the one.

[Mevsim Yenice · Rating 5 out of 5]

İçindeki birkaç öyküyü dönüp dönüp tekrar okuyacağımdan eminim. Özellikle öykü severlerin ıskalamaması gereken bir kitap Kilimanjaro'nun Karları.

"Tanrı hiçliği yarattı ve hiçlik bize daha fazla hiçliği sağladı. Bizi hiçlikten alıp hiçliğe soktu."

"Artık, iyi yazabilmek için yeterli donanıma sahip oluncaya kadar beklettiği hiçbir şeyi yazamayacaktı. En azından, yazmaya çalışırken başarısızlığa düşmek zorunda değildi. Belki de asla yazmayı beceremeyeceği için vazgeçmiş, bir türlü başlayamamıştı. Yazsa nasıl olacağını hiçbir zaman bilemeyecekti artık."

"Eğer her şeyi gereğinden daha uzun süre yaparsan ve artık çok geçse, insanları bıraktığın yerde bulamazsın. Tüm insanlar gitmiş, parti bitmiştir ve sen ev sahibiyle tek başına kalmışsındır."


Tavsiye ederim.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this when I was 16, and, of course, I was far too young to be able to properly appreciate this book; I loved it only moderately. Reread it when I was almost 50: clearly this is top class, especially by the very precise way of writing things down, more introspective and honest towards himself. Hemingway here clearly de-bunks the machismo for which he always is both praised ànd loathed. Apparantly, he managed to strike a more balanced tone in later life. Or is this just an illusion of mine?

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 4 out of 5]

«هرگز این نبود که چه کرده است،
همیشه این بود که چه باید بکند.»

کتابهایی که همون روز تو کتابفروشی می‌بینی و بااینکه بی‌رحمانه گرون تر از حجمشه اما یچیزی درونت میگه نیاز داری بخریش و امشب بخونیش و شب کنج اتاقت با پنجره‌ای که باز میکنی تا کمی از سوز برفهای کلیمانجارو رو حس کنی و بساط چای و پتو و جورابت رو راه میندازی تا شصت صفحه مهمون همینگوی باشی و طبق معمول شگفت‌زده‌ت بکنه و تازه وقتی میری یوتیوب درمورد کتاب بیشتر بشنوی میفهمی یه فیلم دهه پنجاهی با دو تا ستاره‌ی خفن هم ازش ساخته شده؛ کتابهای فراموش‌نشدنی و دوست‌داشتنی‌ای هستن که بهت ثابت میکنن چرا نود هزار تومن برای آوردنش به خونه‌ ارزشش رو داشت، چون دیگه خیلی وقتها راجع به پولش نیست، راجع به خاطره‌شه، حسشه، و این حسِ خرید تا خوانش رو هیچوقت نمیشه با کتابهای دیجیتال تجربه کرد.

🔖آبان ۱۴۰۴

[Gabrielle Dubois · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had already heard about The Snow…, but as surprising as it may seem, I had no idea of the content of this short story; which is very annoying, because as the story, the time, the characters and the subject of this story are revealed few pages after the beginning, we don’t know who the characters are, or when the story happens. In my humble opinion, before reading a book, you don’t have to know the author, the story he tells, the dates, places, why and how. And in this short story, if we do not know anything about all this before opening the book, we are very annoyed! And personally, I do not like that.
In short, before I understood the problem of the main character, Harry, I hated him. He suffers, alright. He has little hope of recovery, alright. That makes him irritable, I can understand, because I have physical and permanent pains that will never pass and I know that it can make irritable ... if we don’t control ourselves! Harry’s not a child anymore, is he! Biting people who love you and would do everything they could to help you is not excusable.
This being said, I kept on reading, after all, an unsympathetic main character, this can be interesting or entertaining or whatever. While waiting for help to arrive, Harry remembers some parts of his life.
The first memory sets in Karagatch. Do you know where Karagatch is? Well, I'll tell you, it's a village in the North Caucasus, in Russia. I didn’t know where it was, I looked for, so you won’t have to do it, if you have not read The Snows of Kilimanjaro yet.
Oh! And I’m going to tell you where is Schrunz or Schruns: it’s in Austria. But as I don’t ski in Austria or elsewhere, I didn’t know it either!
Oh, and a weinstube is a restaurant-wine bar… if you don’t speak German!
Anyway, next! We’re told about a group of young secretaries who are going to die in the snow; obviously, an old man has knowingly sent them. Obviously, this is happening in Bulgaria, but I had neither the courage nor the desire to search for the historical truth of this fact to know what it was about.
A certain Herr Lent, who owns a mountain, a ski resort, a capital, loses all while playing cards with Harry our "hero". Why? What is the interest of this anecdote?
And Hemingway writes that Harry had never written a line on it and it was too late. Dare I say that perhaps Hemingway should not have written these memories either? These memories that his alcoholic, brawler, quarrelsome, unfair hero, who’s envious of the rich people but who marries only rich women and despises them, a hero too lazy to write all this when he could have done it, did not write either?
And Harry continues to be unpleasant towards his wife, and his memories continue to wander, confused. Maybe they are confused to show us that Harry is delirious? But I didn’t understand the interest of his memories.
Then it would seem that Hemingway practices the litotes: a figure of rhetoric and attenuation, which is to say less, to make one hear more. In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, the author says less, for sure. But I should have had to open my ears to hear more, maybe?
In addition, there are sometimes weird phrases like: "He knew his neighbors in this neighborhood, because they were poor." ? Does this mean that when you’re rich you can’t know your neighbors? And when you are from the middle class? Do you know only some of your neighbors?
The only thing that pleased me in this short story is what Marie says. She’s a a housekeeper, and full of common sense: "When you have a husband who works until six o'clock, he gets drunk only a little while coming home, and he doesn’t waste too much. When he works till five o’clock, he's drunk every night and leaves you without money. It’s the wife of the worker who suffers from this reduction of working time. "
I will have to read other Hemingway books to reconcile myself with his writings.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up purely on instinct from the newly refurbished 'Classics' section of my local library. I have only dabbled lightly in Hemingway's work, and I thought this collection of short stories was an ideal place to start.

This collection revolves around men, the atrocities of war, being a Father and the wounded, and for the most part, I found these stories to be complex, but interesting, and I can see why he is such a popular writer. However, I cannot say I loved his characters, but maybe that was the point.

'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' was the only story I had heard of, and I also just discovered that this was made into a film adaptation. This was my favourite of the collection, being about a man dying of gangrene of the leg, musing to himself about his life, his accomplishments and his failings. Did he do enough? Were there various missed opportunities? I suppose this enters all of our minds at some point or another. The dying man treats his wife fairly inhumanely towards the end, speaking to her badly, but all the while knowing he was set to pass from this world alone. I thought the themes here were important, and definitely thought-provoking.

The rest of the stories were compelling, and admittedly, a couple went completely over my head, but what stood out the most is how deep and complex his stories travel. On the surface they feel rather thin and watery, but actually, the subject matter here is gritty, uncomfortable and truthful, and Hemingway tackled it head-on.

[Quo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judging a composite work, a short fiction anthology as an example, is a bit like isolating individual letters in an alphabet soup, a thankless task. I would assign Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro & Other Stories a score of 3.5 if it were possible but 2 (perhaps 3) of the stories are excellent, worthy of a 4+ rating! The collection covers a long period of time & some of the tales seem experimental, unfinished, considerably less than robust.



It has been said that with Hemingway, one often gets more than is apparent at first glance, in part because his prose seems so simple, even formulaic at times & thus often parodied but upon rereading the short story or novel, it appears much-enhanced. Hemingway has a way of conveying inner fears & contrasting emotions within the human condition that can on some occasions seem almost banal but at other times seem quite riveting.

Beyond that, these stories--at least in my Hudson River Edition for Scribners--portray a period when frequent use of the N-word for black people & a pejorative epithet for Jews was probably commonplace but which now seem quite out-of-place & even distinctly offensive. One story also describes a bloody, gruesome slaughter of African animals, much at odds with the views of many preservation-minded readers today.

The title story, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" represents the tale of a dying man named Harry, suffering from gangrene while in the midst of a big game hunt in East Africa, haunted by the sight of vultures as well as the sounds of hyenas & malignant odors that accentuate the feeling of decay. But beyond that, it is the lament of a man who senses not just time dwindling away but time wasted, a 2nd form of decay because..."now he'd never write the things he'd saved to write until he knew enough to write them well."



Yes, a rather common theme for E.H., particularly in a book like A Moveable Feast, a book not just about times past but time lost. The story set near Kilimanjaro details memories of Paris, Switzerland & Turkey, a wife who Harry apparently married for her money & who seems to love the man but who is accused of having destroyed his talent.

Often Hemingway preferred both the money that came from his first wife Hadley's trust fund thus magnifying his lifestyle, while also desiring to maintain the image of a starving artist. He admired money but not so much those who had it. In this story the main character has flashbacks while being stalked by death, even as his wife attempts to console & encourage him. Harry intones..."so this was how you died, with whispers that you do not quite hear." The story is quite poignant, detailing the manner in which an artist's talent can atrophy due to booze, lack of dedication & various distractions while using a man perishing of gangrene in sight of the snow-covered peak of Africa's largest mountain as a metaphor.

"The Short Happy Life of Francis McComber" is a 2nd excellent story within the collection. It again takes place on safari in Africa & portrays a very wealthy man who in this case married a beautiful woman, Margot, a "trophy wife". At the point of the tale, McComber is in search of big game, or trophies of a different sort. Francis experiences fright not once but twice, as many might in sight of an aggressive lion or a wounded cape buffalo, with the prey being stalked now very much on the attack.

McComber's wife finds her husband's lack of courage while on the hunt for big game trophies a defining moment in their marriage, taunts him & even shares intimacy late at night with the "white hunter" they have enlisted, Robert Wilson, who had to bail out Francis on 2 occasions. After the 1st unsuccessful bout, failing to stand fast in the face of danger, McComber reflects:

I'd like to clear away that lion business. It's not very pleasant to have your wife see you do something like that. That night, after a dinner and a whisky & soda by the fire, Francis McComber lay on his cot with the mosquito net over him & listened to the night noises.

He felt that it was neither all over nor was it beginning. It was exactly as it happened with some parts of it indelibly emphasized and he was miserably ashamed. But more than shame, he felt cold, hollow fear in him. The fear was still there like a cold, slimy emptiness where once his confidence had been & it made him feel sick.

And yet, partly in search of a way to redeem himself & his marriage, McComber endeavors to try again on the next day's hunt. It was said by some that their marriage, when viewed at a distance was "comparatively happy" but in reality was one "where divorce is often rumored but never occurs".

The ending of the story of Francis McComber's African safari is quite ambiguous & the lack of clarity about his demise adds to the appeal of this particular tale, with his wife as a potential culprit. Or was she merely intending to come to McComber's rescue? Or, perhaps did she see herself in competition with her husband in quest of her own misguided trophy? Come what may, this is one of Ernest Hemingway's profiles of "grace under pressure", or in this case, its absence.

"The Killers", written in 1927, portrays 2 would-be assassins of a man called Ole Andreson, hired guns named Max & Al, with Nick Adams as the overseer of the narrative that ultimately seems more of an outline than a meaningful story. In 1946, the story was greatly expanded to fill in gaps about why the killers had taken aim at Andreson. "It's a hell of a thing; it's an awful thing" says Nick Adams commenting at the diner where the assassins briefly converge. "Well, you'd better not think about it", says George, as he wipes down a counter at the diner after Max & Al have moved on when Ole Andreson fails to appear at his usual time. Perhaps, the lack of resolution adds something to the story but I found it lackluster.

Likewise, "Fifty Grand" the story of a prizefighter who is literally at the end of his ropes, an Irishman named Jack Brennan who has bet on his opponent, a well-regarded opponent named Walcott, in a boxing match while attempting to make a good show of the contest, seemed lacking in dramatic edge & not very compelling. "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" presents the image of a lonely, old man who comes nightly to a cafe, drinking to the point of insobriety, observed by 2 waiters who are forced to keep the cafe open until the man finally departs, while sharing in his ennui.

"Fathers & Sons" seems a story of alienation between a boy & his father, also involving the boy's sexual encounter with his Native-American friend's sister. "The Gamble, the Nun & the Radio" is a longer tableau with some interesting details but still seems incomplete. And, "A Way You'll Never Be" builds an image in the aftermath of WWI, with two soldiers reunited by chance and a considerable uncertainty about the background of one of them.

What the reader finds with many of the short tales in The Snows of Kilimanjaro & Other Stories is a young Hemingway exploring the framework for just how to structure a short work of fiction & eventually a novel, often building the skeletal background or literary scaffolding without always making the story concrete. Still, it was not unpleasant to reread some of the more familiar stories, most of which are also within the author's more comprehensive short story anthology, The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway.

*My version of the anthology including "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" did not seem to be listed at Goodreads but is the Hudson River hardcover edition, published by Charles Scribners & Sons.

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

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