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The Hemingway Stories
A new collection showcasing the best of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories including his well-known classics, as featured in 'Hemingway', the magnificent three-part, six-hour PBS documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2021
411 people are currently reading
5918 people want to read
About the author
Ernest Hemingway
2,180 books32.2k followersErnest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
April 7, 2021
Overall, I was not keen on these stories. 😟 I feel terrible saying that, knowing that this is Ernest Hemingway doing the writing and that Ken Burns is airing a documentary on him on PBS now, and that this book was put out to accompany the documentary. 😟
Perhaps I was a not a huge liker of these stories because I do not appreciate deep-sea fishing or bullfighting or shooting big game in the African Serengeti And I know these stories overall were much more than that…there were some war stories. The bullfighting story was so, so detailed and dragged on…I suppose like a prototypical bullfight…not the type I had envisioned in my head (given I never have watched a real bullfight). Anyway, here are the stories from the collection. I did not read from this collection...I read from “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway—The Finca Vigia Edition (Quality Paperback Book Club, 1993). A Goodreads friend of mine, Alan, was kind enough to send me some of the short commentaries that accompanied the stories by such acknowledged writers as Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, Edna O’Brien, and Mary Karr. He was also kind enough to send the table of contents. I am glad that I did read these stories. My ratings are below (average rating was 2.5).
1. Up in Michigan (1923)—3.5 stars
2. Out of Season (1923) — 3 stars
3. Indian Camp (1924)—3.5 stars
4. Cross-Country Snow (1924)—3 stars
5. The End of Something (1925)—3.5 stars (this was very good…sad)
6. The Three-Day Blow (1925)—3 stars
7. Vignette (While the bombardment...) from in our time (1924), later the Chapter 7 interchapter before Soldier's Home (1925)—Couldn’t figure out where this story was…no rating
8. Soldier’s Home (1925)—4.5 stars (very sad and very good)
9. Big Two-Hearted River (1925)—2.5 and 2 stars…there was a Part 1 and a Part 2
10. The Undefeated (1925)—2.5 stars (the bullfighting story)
11. In Another Country (1927)—3 stars
12. Hills Like White Elephants (1927)—3 stars
13. The Killers (1927)—4.5 stars (pretty good! 🙂
14. Now I Lay Me (1927)—3 stars
15. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933)—3 stars
16. A Way You’ll Never Be (1933)—2.5 stars
17. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936)—3.5 stars (damn good writing)
18. Under the Ridge (1939) —4 stars
19. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936)—2.5 stars
Perhaps I was a not a huge liker of these stories because I do not appreciate deep-sea fishing or bullfighting or shooting big game in the African Serengeti And I know these stories overall were much more than that…there were some war stories. The bullfighting story was so, so detailed and dragged on…I suppose like a prototypical bullfight…not the type I had envisioned in my head (given I never have watched a real bullfight). Anyway, here are the stories from the collection. I did not read from this collection...I read from “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway—The Finca Vigia Edition (Quality Paperback Book Club, 1993). A Goodreads friend of mine, Alan, was kind enough to send me some of the short commentaries that accompanied the stories by such acknowledged writers as Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, Edna O’Brien, and Mary Karr. He was also kind enough to send the table of contents. I am glad that I did read these stories. My ratings are below (average rating was 2.5).
1. Up in Michigan (1923)—3.5 stars
2. Out of Season (1923) — 3 stars
3. Indian Camp (1924)—3.5 stars
4. Cross-Country Snow (1924)—3 stars
5. The End of Something (1925)—3.5 stars (this was very good…sad)
6. The Three-Day Blow (1925)—3 stars
7. Vignette (While the bombardment...) from in our time (1924), later the Chapter 7 interchapter before Soldier's Home (1925)—Couldn’t figure out where this story was…no rating
8. Soldier’s Home (1925)—4.5 stars (very sad and very good)
9. Big Two-Hearted River (1925)—2.5 and 2 stars…there was a Part 1 and a Part 2
10. The Undefeated (1925)—2.5 stars (the bullfighting story)
11. In Another Country (1927)—3 stars
12. Hills Like White Elephants (1927)—3 stars
13. The Killers (1927)—4.5 stars (pretty good! 🙂
14. Now I Lay Me (1927)—3 stars
15. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933)—3 stars
16. A Way You’ll Never Be (1933)—2.5 stars
17. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936)—3.5 stars (damn good writing)
18. Under the Ridge (1939) —4 stars
19. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936)—2.5 stars
July 9, 2022
Narrating 'The Hemingway Stories'
Review of the Simon & Schuster audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Scribner paperback & Kindle eBook editions (March 2021) > a selection from various earlier publications (1923-1939) with added introductions & commentaries
I reviewed this 'Best of' selection when it was first released in March 2021 in conjunction with the then upcoming Ken Burns / Lynn Novick PBS TV mini-series documentary Hemingway (April 5-7, 2021).
When Audible offered the audiobook for a sale price in May 2022 I didn't hesitate to pick up a further edition as this selection contains most of my top favourites of Hemingway's short stories, some of which I have probably read over a dozen times by now, but which are still intriguing for the simple but complex views of life and death which they present. The selection provides the bonus of other authors giving their commentary on each of the stories (most of which you can read in my Kindle highlights).
Actor Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway in the 1-man biographical play "Pamplona" (2017/18) by Jim McGrath. Image sourced from a theatre review at WTTW Chicago.
This audiobook primarily collects actor Stacy Keach's readings of The Short Stories/The First Forty Nine Stories With A Brief Preface By The Author: The First Forty Nine Stories With A Brief Introduction By The Author (1938) from the 3 Volume audiobook set The Short Stories (2002-03). Two exceptions are made, compiler Tobias Wolff himself reads "The Indian Camp" (1923) and the Spanish Civil War story "Under the Ridge" (1939) is read by John Bedford Lloyd from his narration of Selected Hemingway Stories: A New Audio Collection (2019).
Although a reading by Stacy Keach exists, Wolff presumably chose to read "The Indian Camp" himself as it is
Trivia and Links
Stacy Keach previously played Ernest Hemingway in a 1988 TV miniseries "Hemingway" and you can still see the trailer on YouTube here.
Stacy Keach returned to performing as Ernest Hemingway in the stage play "Pamplona" in 2018, after an aborted early run in 2017. The story of that can be read at the New York Times here.
Review of the Simon & Schuster audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Scribner paperback & Kindle eBook editions (March 2021) > a selection from various earlier publications (1923-1939) with added introductions & commentaries
I reviewed this 'Best of' selection when it was first released in March 2021 in conjunction with the then upcoming Ken Burns / Lynn Novick PBS TV mini-series documentary Hemingway (April 5-7, 2021).
When Audible offered the audiobook for a sale price in May 2022 I didn't hesitate to pick up a further edition as this selection contains most of my top favourites of Hemingway's short stories, some of which I have probably read over a dozen times by now, but which are still intriguing for the simple but complex views of life and death which they present. The selection provides the bonus of other authors giving their commentary on each of the stories (most of which you can read in my Kindle highlights).
Actor Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway in the 1-man biographical play "Pamplona" (2017/18) by Jim McGrath. Image sourced from a theatre review at WTTW Chicago.
This audiobook primarily collects actor Stacy Keach's readings of The Short Stories/The First Forty Nine Stories With A Brief Preface By The Author: The First Forty Nine Stories With A Brief Introduction By The Author (1938) from the 3 Volume audiobook set The Short Stories (2002-03). Two exceptions are made, compiler Tobias Wolff himself reads "The Indian Camp" (1923) and the Spanish Civil War story "Under the Ridge" (1939) is read by John Bedford Lloyd from his narration of Selected Hemingway Stories: A New Audio Collection (2019).
Although a reading by Stacy Keach exists, Wolff presumably chose to read "The Indian Camp" himself as it is
One of my favorite stories in the world. Hemingway was a baby when he wrote it, but it is a work of great sophistication. And it handles very sensational material in an absolutely unsensational way. - Introduction to "The Indian Camp" by Tobias Wolff.Stacy Keach provides an excellent reading of the stories which is enhanced by his own association of playing the role of Ernest Hemingway several times in his life. Wolff's and Bedford's readings are excellent as well.
Trivia and Links
Stacy Keach previously played Ernest Hemingway in a 1988 TV miniseries "Hemingway" and you can still see the trailer on YouTube here.
Stacy Keach returned to performing as Ernest Hemingway in the stage play "Pamplona" in 2018, after an aborted early run in 2017. The story of that can be read at the New York Times here.
March 6, 2021
This is a repackaging of some of Hemingway's best short stories, from a handful of semi-autobiographical Nick Adams stories to his masterpiece, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. This release is tied in with the upcoming Ken Burns/Lynn Novick three-part series on Hemingway.
As a youth I was averse to anything Hemingway. His death by suicide occurred three months after my 1st birthday, and when I was going through school, he was still a prominent author in secondary school English studies. But all I knew of him was his myth as a macho misogynist who was obsessed with bullfighting and big game hunting. I never identified with this myth, so I largely ignored his writings.
In my thirties I started reading his literature and I devoured everything within a short period of time. Now, almost twenty-five years later, with a wife and teenage child and a new career steeped in behavioral psychology, I have returned to his work, largely thanks to the Burns/Novick biopic and the wonderful ongoing roundtable discussions they are having. I find myself learning more about the man behind the myth and have been watching these roundtables with my child. Reading these short stories have allowed me to view them through a different lens thanks to my growth and self-awareness.
The Hemingway Stories has a (very) brief introduction to each story by a Hemingway scholar, including Tim O'Brien whose work I love. If you already own his short stories, the addition of these intros would probably not warrant another purchase, but if you have ever wanted a good entry into these stories, it is a good collection. Kilimanjaro alone is worth the price - in my opinion, it is probably the perfect short story, and a nice summary of the life of Hemingway himself, tragic as it was.
As a youth I was averse to anything Hemingway. His death by suicide occurred three months after my 1st birthday, and when I was going through school, he was still a prominent author in secondary school English studies. But all I knew of him was his myth as a macho misogynist who was obsessed with bullfighting and big game hunting. I never identified with this myth, so I largely ignored his writings.
In my thirties I started reading his literature and I devoured everything within a short period of time. Now, almost twenty-five years later, with a wife and teenage child and a new career steeped in behavioral psychology, I have returned to his work, largely thanks to the Burns/Novick biopic and the wonderful ongoing roundtable discussions they are having. I find myself learning more about the man behind the myth and have been watching these roundtables with my child. Reading these short stories have allowed me to view them through a different lens thanks to my growth and self-awareness.
The Hemingway Stories has a (very) brief introduction to each story by a Hemingway scholar, including Tim O'Brien whose work I love. If you already own his short stories, the addition of these intros would probably not warrant another purchase, but if you have ever wanted a good entry into these stories, it is a good collection. Kilimanjaro alone is worth the price - in my opinion, it is probably the perfect short story, and a nice summary of the life of Hemingway himself, tragic as it was.
June 6, 2025
Best of the Hemingway Shorts
Review of the Scribner Kindle eBook edition (March 2021) collected from various earlier publications (1923-1939) with an added introduction & commentaries
Scribner's new edition of selected Hemingway short stories is released in conjunction with the upcoming Ken Burns PBS TV documentary Hemingway (April 5-7, 2021) and is edited by Tobias Wolff with individual story commentary by Wolff and several other authors. This is an excellent 'best of' selection even though fans will inevitably lament the absence of 1 or 2 favourites (I definitely missed seeing Cat in the Rain and The Sea Change).
Over the years, I have probably read each of these a dozen times or more, but I still find new nuances to appreciate every single time. The selected commentaries were excellent as well. I especially enjoyed those by Edna O'Brien.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Tobias Wolff.
1. Up in Michigan (1923) commentary by Edna O’Brien
2. Out of Season (1923) Tobias Wolff
3. Indian Camp (1924) Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, Abraham Verghese
4. Cross-Country Snow (1924) Tobias Wolff
5. The End of Something (1925) Tobias Wolff
6. The Three-Day Blow (1925) Amanda Vaill
7. Vignette (While the bombardment...) from in our time (1924), later the Chapter 7 interchapter before Soldier's Home (1925) Tim O’Brien
8. Soldier’s Home (1925) Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff
9. Big Two-Hearted River (1925) Tim O’Brien
10. The Undefeated (1925) Tobias Wolff
11. In Another Country (1927) Michael Katakis
12. Hills Like White Elephants (1927) Edna O’Brien
13. The Killers (1927) Mario Vargas Llosa, Edna O’Brien
14. Now I Lay Me (1927) Tobias Wolff
15. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933) Tim O’Brien
16. A Way You’ll Never Be (1933) Tim O’Brien
17. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936) Abraham Verghese, Mary Karr
18. Under the Ridge (1939) Tobias Wolff, Leonardo Padura
19. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936) Tim O’Brien, Abraham Verghese
Trivia and Links
There are several articles, interviews and events related to the upcoming TV documentary at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/ken-bu...
https://mynorth.com/2021/03/ken-burns...
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/hemingwa...
Review of the Scribner Kindle eBook edition (March 2021) collected from various earlier publications (1923-1939) with an added introduction & commentaries
Scribner's new edition of selected Hemingway short stories is released in conjunction with the upcoming Ken Burns PBS TV documentary Hemingway (April 5-7, 2021) and is edited by Tobias Wolff with individual story commentary by Wolff and several other authors. This is an excellent 'best of' selection even though fans will inevitably lament the absence of 1 or 2 favourites (I definitely missed seeing Cat in the Rain and The Sea Change).
Over the years, I have probably read each of these a dozen times or more, but I still find new nuances to appreciate every single time. The selected commentaries were excellent as well. I especially enjoyed those by Edna O'Brien.
Many women feel that Hemingway hated women and wrote adversely about them. I would ask his detractors, female or male, to read this story. Could you in all honor say that this was a writer who didn’t understand women’s emotions and who hated women? —Edna O’Brien on Up in Michigan
You get a picture of the whole relationship without Hemingway spelling out the words. What’s not said is so wonderful. The control that he mastered is one of his signature strokes of genius. It’s a sad story, but Hemingway pretends not to shed a tear during it. We shed a tear. I’d like to meet Hemingway when he finished that story. I’d like him to read it to me. - Edna O’Brien on Hills Like White Elephants
One of the greatest stories I have ever read about tension, and a masterpiece of withholding. Hemingway “withheld.” It was in his genes, it was in his chemical makeup. He knew what it was to be afraid all the time and wrote about that. He gets to the heart of the matter, absolutely and unflinchingly. —Edna O’Brien on The Killers
Table of Contents
Introduction by Tobias Wolff.
1. Up in Michigan (1923) commentary by Edna O’Brien
2. Out of Season (1923) Tobias Wolff
3. Indian Camp (1924) Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff, Abraham Verghese
4. Cross-Country Snow (1924) Tobias Wolff
5. The End of Something (1925) Tobias Wolff
6. The Three-Day Blow (1925) Amanda Vaill
7. Vignette (While the bombardment...) from in our time (1924), later the Chapter 7 interchapter before Soldier's Home (1925) Tim O’Brien
8. Soldier’s Home (1925) Tim O’Brien, Tobias Wolff
9. Big Two-Hearted River (1925) Tim O’Brien
10. The Undefeated (1925) Tobias Wolff
11. In Another Country (1927) Michael Katakis
12. Hills Like White Elephants (1927) Edna O’Brien
13. The Killers (1927) Mario Vargas Llosa, Edna O’Brien
14. Now I Lay Me (1927) Tobias Wolff
15. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933) Tim O’Brien
16. A Way You’ll Never Be (1933) Tim O’Brien
17. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936) Abraham Verghese, Mary Karr
18. Under the Ridge (1939) Tobias Wolff, Leonardo Padura
19. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936) Tim O’Brien, Abraham Verghese
Trivia and Links
There are several articles, interviews and events related to the upcoming TV documentary at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/ken-bu...
https://mynorth.com/2021/03/ken-burns...
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/hemingwa...
December 4, 2022
This is a collection of some of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. There were a couple of them that I enjoyed (The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and Other Stories and The Snows of Kilimanjaro), and others, not so much. Overall, I'm glad I picked up this book.
March 9, 2021
Haven't read Hemingway for a while. This was an interesting collection to read, positioned in chronological order. The short stories that I won't forget (and perhaps will re-visit) include Soldier's Home, Big Two-Hearted River (my Dad would have loved this), The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (gut-wrenching to read of wanton killing of animals), The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
April 14, 2022
What can I say? If you like both Hemingway and short stories you’re going to enjoy this collection. If you dislike either then you’ll dislike this. I enjoyed it.
This unbiased review is based on a copy won through Goodreads giveaways.
This unbiased review is based on a copy won through Goodreads giveaways.
April 3, 2021
It has been nearly a century since Hemingway wrote these stories. Rereading many of them after about 50 years, one is still struck about his biggest achievement: revolutionizing the use of dialogue in short stories. Still in many ways, there is no one who can write a sentence like Hemingway, but I am not as enamoured with his writing as I once was. Half a century later, many of his stories are cringeworthy for their subject matter: bullfights, fishing, dumping girlfriends more so than their craft. No one could get away with the way he usually eases his way into a story or the gradual build-up to an ending. He is still to be admired for his willingness to lop off his original beginnings and endings and start a story somewhere inside. It takes great restraint not to divulge information most writers feel compelled to write. I like well-placed adjectives or adverbs. Hemingway used them sparingly, but he had a penchant for using and to convey ennui or string together thoughts. There is little variation in his paragraphs that often begin with the movements of a character. Still a master, a little more difficult to fall in love with in this age of fallen heroes.
August 24, 2021
Good if you down with stories that are about nothing but leave you overthinking your life at the same time?
March 10, 2023
enough fishing. enough.
May 6, 2021
I’m not a Hemingway fan but I love short stories, and, after seeing the Ken Burns special about Hemingway, I decided to try out his short stories. Some of them are spectacular - Hills Like White Elephants, The Killers, Up in Michigan, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. I was less fond of the war-oriented stories but they were also powerful. I don’t always care for his staccato, repetitive style, but sometimes I found it very impactful. At other times, it feels like he just goes on and on without getting anywhere. I tend to be more of a surface reader than a deeper meaning reader; that may be my problem with Hemingway.
June 15, 2023
Hemingway is an amazing writer and he is also very versatile unlike some may believe. There are war stories, fishing stories, tragedies and comedies and more here to read. They are all beautifully written and enjoyable. Never once did I find myself bored and there are always multiple layers to everything. This collection was very neat and entertaining and I loved reading it.
April 4, 2021
The concept of the book is very nicely done. The short stories come in chronological order and show how Hemingway's style of writing developed. I also liked a lot the introductions that come with every short story. Although he is definitely one of the greatest American writers I am personally not a big fan of his spare and profound prose. Typical for Hemingway, the topics circle around hunting, fishing, whisky, women and basic human conflicts. I liked "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" the most.
May 6, 2022
I thought this would be a good intro for me into Hemingway. Some of the stories were great, others I had a hard time following. Hemingway’s writing style provides vivid imagery, which i enjoyed. Some of the subject matter is very dark, while some is just not interesting. Overall, I’m glad I read this. 3.5 stars probably.
July 28, 2024
Life, death, and a lot of fishing. Hadn’t read much Hemingway before this and feel it was a good introduction. Didn’t love all the stories but definitely some great ones in here. The short happy life of Francis Macomber, The Killers, and Soldiers Home were most memorable to me
April 5, 2023
Good collection of Hemingway stories. I enjoyed "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", "Snows of Kilamanjaro", "Big Two-Hearted River", and "Soldier's Home" the most.
April 2, 2021
Hemingway is at his best with his short stories, perfect outlets for his sparse, staccato language that drops you in and out of a narrative without fanfare or explanation. Somehow it works, as the moment itself is the important part, not the rarely loveable characters or larger plot.
July 3, 2021
This book is a byproduct of the excellent Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary. It's the umpteenth repackaging of some of Hemingway's best stories.
One measure of a great short story is how it impacts you over time. Stories I didn't much like decades ago ("Up in Michigan," "A Clean, Well Lighted Place," "The Killers") now seem exquisite. Stories that seemed exquisite then ("Big Two-Hearted River," "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber") have lost not a scintilla of luster.
This book possesses the beauty of brevity, excellent intros and keen insights into an author who's been called everything under the sun, both good and bad. Was he bully or nurturer, misogynist or feminist, warmonger or war hater?
From these stories, I'm convinced that no biographer or filmmaker has gotten Hemingway exactly right, not even Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. He remains as elusive as moonlight on the sea, and as brilliant.
Slap on five stars.
One measure of a great short story is how it impacts you over time. Stories I didn't much like decades ago ("Up in Michigan," "A Clean, Well Lighted Place," "The Killers") now seem exquisite. Stories that seemed exquisite then ("Big Two-Hearted River," "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber") have lost not a scintilla of luster.
This book possesses the beauty of brevity, excellent intros and keen insights into an author who's been called everything under the sun, both good and bad. Was he bully or nurturer, misogynist or feminist, warmonger or war hater?
From these stories, I'm convinced that no biographer or filmmaker has gotten Hemingway exactly right, not even Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. He remains as elusive as moonlight on the sea, and as brilliant.
Slap on five stars.
May 25, 2021
To be nice, I might give it 2.5 stars for the few short stories I did enjoy. But the rating was more than just not enjoying the stories. It was the writing style and the "guessing game."
Reading these short stories by Ernest Hemingway, born in Oak Park, Illinois, just miles from my hometown and a widely well-known author, was something I expected to enjoy. Something that I expected to be pleasantly surprised and even angry with myself for not having read sooner. That was not the case.
Every story had to be decoded. It was like he started them in the middle of a greater story and ended them in the middle of a greater story. Many of the blurbs from author Tobias Wolff, Tim O'Brien, and others kept telling me to read between the lines, see the lessons he's teaching or the story behind the message. I get it. If you really, realllllllly stretched it, it was there. But mostly it just left you with a curled lip and questioning eyes like "what did I just read?"
Furthermore, many of his stories were a reflection on his interests, almost all of which are zero interests of mine: hunting, fishing, bull-fighting, and drinking. It left it hard to relate and, at times, something I truthfully didn't want to read about. But, to always find the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel, I accounted it for knowledge about something that I didn't have before. So, there you go.
Reading these short stories by Ernest Hemingway, born in Oak Park, Illinois, just miles from my hometown and a widely well-known author, was something I expected to enjoy. Something that I expected to be pleasantly surprised and even angry with myself for not having read sooner. That was not the case.
Every story had to be decoded. It was like he started them in the middle of a greater story and ended them in the middle of a greater story. Many of the blurbs from author Tobias Wolff, Tim O'Brien, and others kept telling me to read between the lines, see the lessons he's teaching or the story behind the message. I get it. If you really, realllllllly stretched it, it was there. But mostly it just left you with a curled lip and questioning eyes like "what did I just read?"
Furthermore, many of his stories were a reflection on his interests, almost all of which are zero interests of mine: hunting, fishing, bull-fighting, and drinking. It left it hard to relate and, at times, something I truthfully didn't want to read about. But, to always find the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel, I accounted it for knowledge about something that I didn't have before. So, there you go.
April 15, 2021
I'd read these all before. Years ago. Bur had forgotten how abrupt and succinct his writing was. i also watched the Ken Burns documentary so this was a perfect companion. I always knew he held women in higher esteem than he was infamously remembered to be. This re read reminded me. The commentary preceeding each story was very very good. I am glad to have revisited.
September 30, 2024
I get the hype. Snows of Kilimanjaro is one of the best stories I have ever read.
April 11, 2023
I purchased this a couple of years ago because it was a companion to the wonderful Ken Burns documentary on Ernest Hemingway.
I had previously read all the stories it contains.
They were selected by Tobias Wolff, a favorite author of mine.
Since I have reviewed them in the past, I’ve decided to focus on Wolff’s introduction and the paragraphs preceding each story written by other contemporary authors expressing their thoughts about the story or of Hemingway the man.
I particularly enjoyed Wolff’s telling of his introduction to the work that inspired his own career.
INDIAN CAMP
One of my favorite stories in the world. Hemingway was a baby when he wrote it, but it is a work of great sophistication. And it handles very sensational material in an absolutely unsensational way.
-Tobias Wolff
If Hemingway were a camera he would be coming in for extreme close ups all the time. He’s coming in, in, in and every little detail suddenly is very, very big. This is not the way nineteenth-century writers wrote, which is very panoramic, where the camera is set way back and you see a giant expanse of experience.
-Amanda Vaill
HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS
You get a picture of the whole relationship without Hemingway spelling out the words. What’s not said is so wonderful. The control that he mastered is one of his signature strokes of genius. It’s a sad story, but Hemingway pretends not to shed a tear during it. We shed a tear. I’d like to meet Hemingway when he finished that story. I’d like him to read it to me.
-Edna O’Brien
THE KILLERS
One of the greatest stories I have ever read about tension, and a masterpiece of withholding. Hemingway “withheld”. It was in his genes, it was in his chemical makeup. He knew what it was to be afraid all the time and wrote about that. He gets to the heart of the matter, absolutely and unflinchingly.
-Edna O’Brien
I had previously read all the stories it contains.
They were selected by Tobias Wolff, a favorite author of mine.
Since I have reviewed them in the past, I’ve decided to focus on Wolff’s introduction and the paragraphs preceding each story written by other contemporary authors expressing their thoughts about the story or of Hemingway the man.
I particularly enjoyed Wolff’s telling of his introduction to the work that inspired his own career.
INDIAN CAMP
One of my favorite stories in the world. Hemingway was a baby when he wrote it, but it is a work of great sophistication. And it handles very sensational material in an absolutely unsensational way.
-Tobias Wolff
If Hemingway were a camera he would be coming in for extreme close ups all the time. He’s coming in, in, in and every little detail suddenly is very, very big. This is not the way nineteenth-century writers wrote, which is very panoramic, where the camera is set way back and you see a giant expanse of experience.
-Amanda Vaill
HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS
You get a picture of the whole relationship without Hemingway spelling out the words. What’s not said is so wonderful. The control that he mastered is one of his signature strokes of genius. It’s a sad story, but Hemingway pretends not to shed a tear during it. We shed a tear. I’d like to meet Hemingway when he finished that story. I’d like him to read it to me.
-Edna O’Brien
THE KILLERS
One of the greatest stories I have ever read about tension, and a masterpiece of withholding. Hemingway “withheld”. It was in his genes, it was in his chemical makeup. He knew what it was to be afraid all the time and wrote about that. He gets to the heart of the matter, absolutely and unflinchingly.
-Edna O’Brien
March 6, 2023
(4.2/5)
This was largely my first introduction to the short stories of Hemingway. I was disappointed in some areas and blown away in others. As far as favorite stories from this collection go two loom in my mind:
- “From In Our Time”
- “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
One story that I did not really enjoy was “The Undefeated.”
“From In Our Time” I had the great privilege to read first while resting on a small bed in an even smaller hotel room in Madrid. This story haunts me. It’s quite short, a mere paragraph, but it will stay with me the rest of my life. I may even try to memorize it at one point, who knows. All I can say is that it’s stuck with me.
Overall a great collection. It’s hard to rate a short story volume though so I’ll leave it up for you to decide. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and look forward to many more hours with Hemingway in the future.
This was largely my first introduction to the short stories of Hemingway. I was disappointed in some areas and blown away in others. As far as favorite stories from this collection go two loom in my mind:
- “From In Our Time”
- “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
One story that I did not really enjoy was “The Undefeated.”
“From In Our Time” I had the great privilege to read first while resting on a small bed in an even smaller hotel room in Madrid. This story haunts me. It’s quite short, a mere paragraph, but it will stay with me the rest of my life. I may even try to memorize it at one point, who knows. All I can say is that it’s stuck with me.
Overall a great collection. It’s hard to rate a short story volume though so I’ll leave it up for you to decide. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and look forward to many more hours with Hemingway in the future.
November 13, 2021
I wasn’t expecting to like these short stories as much as I did. Hemingway does a really good job of building character through action instead of a tedious backstory. His to the point writing style is on full display here and I can’t get enough of it. He tackles themes of death, manhood, maturity, abortion, love and love lost, feelings of nostalgia, and so much more. I’ll definitely be revisiting these stories over the course of my life.
“‘That’s all we do, isn’t it - look at things and try new drinks?’
‘I guess so.’”
- Ernest Hemingway; Hills Like White Elephants
“‘That’s all we do, isn’t it - look at things and try new drinks?’
‘I guess so.’”
- Ernest Hemingway; Hills Like White Elephants
February 9, 2022
The thing about collections of one author's short stories is that you get a chance to see what they are really like. One Hemingway story isn't enough to truly capture his style, themes, and motifs. He was an incredible writer. I am not crazy about war stories, or hunting and fishing, but he makes these topics okay to read about. I have been fascinated by this man for many years, and I found a lot to like within this compilation.
June 22, 2021
Hemingway is a big miss or a bull’s eye. He’s never in between for me. Two stories worth reading in this book. A clean well lighted place. The short happy life of Francis Macomber. Ignore the rest. Read Steinbeck instead.
May 16, 2021
Great collection of Hemingway’s short stories. Just exemplifies what a great writer he was.
January 12, 2022
Read for a book club. We were only required to read four but I read them all. Some were better than others.
March 2, 2022
How can I rate Ernest Hemingway three stars?!
Reading short stories brought back an old affection. Thinking about reading more of them.
Ernest Hemingway is simple and powerful. Some stories more than others.
Reading short stories brought back an old affection. Thinking about reading more of them.
Ernest Hemingway is simple and powerful. Some stories more than others.
August 24, 2025
Can’t believe i read that whole thing
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