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The Good Life According to Hemingway
In the fourteen years that A. E. Hotchner traveled with Ernest Hemingway, he collected a lifetime's worth of Hemingway's experiences, anecdotes, and observations on the backs of matchbooks, napkins, and slips of paper. Speaking on everything from war to women to writing, Hemingway's words are at turns funny and poignant, revealing a rich portrait of the American literary giant and the world he took by storm.
Complete with black-and-white photographs that cover nearly two decades of Hemingway's life, The Good Life According to Hemingway is an exuberant celebration of his remarkable genius and the chaotic adventure of his life.
Complete with black-and-white photographs that cover nearly two decades of Hemingway's life, The Good Life According to Hemingway is an exuberant celebration of his remarkable genius and the chaotic adventure of his life.
153 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
A.E. Hotchner
48 books131 followersAaron Edward Hotchner was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer. He wrote many television screenplays as well as a biography of Ernest Hemingway. He co-founded with Paul Newman the charity food company Newman's Own.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 27, 2024
Things That Hemingway Might Have Said
Review of the HarperCollins Kindle eBook (October 19, 2010) of the Ecco hardcover original (April 19, 2008).
I've been a bit leery of Hotchner's various Hemingway memoirs. The first one Papa Hemingway (1966) was certainly entertaining and revelatory, but had the sour note of its attempted suppression by Mary Hemingway, the subject's last wife. Hemingway in Love: His Own Story (2015) had the whiff of a late cash-in by its recycling of material from the 1966 work and building a romanticized tale which was likely inspired by Paula McLain's success with her historical fiction of Hemingway's first marriage in The Paris Wife (2011). It also had several errors in it as noted in my review Back to the Well at the time.
So I hadn't give The Good Life According to Hemingway much of a thought until it came up as a Kindle Deal of the Day recently. At a bargain price I thought it was worth a go.
The thing that strikes you about it is that although it is supposedly filled with Hemingway's views about topics such as writing and life, the book is not credited to Hemingway himself, but rather to Hotchner. So you realize these are Hotchner's recreations of things Hemingway said over the 14 years or so that they were friends. A lot of it does sound like things Hemingway would have said, so in that sense Hotchner does capture the voice. Still you are left feeling a bit doubtful about the authenticity.
The volume is pretty slim at 154 pages of which space half is taken up with Hemingway photos, several of which were new to me.
Trivia and Link
The Guardian's obituary of A.E. Hotchner (1917-2020) gives an excellent overview of his career and especially his friendship with Hemingway. It also mentions his friendship with actor Paul Newman, which led to their partnership in the founding of the Newman's Own brand of food products.
Review of the HarperCollins Kindle eBook (October 19, 2010) of the Ecco hardcover original (April 19, 2008).
It’s all so beautiful in this misty light. Mr. Degas could have painted it and gotten the light so that it would be truer on his canvas than what we now see. That is what the artist must do. On canvas or on printed page, he must capture the thing so truly that its magnification will endure. That is the difference between journalism and literature. There is very little literature. Much less than we think.
I've been a bit leery of Hotchner's various Hemingway memoirs. The first one Papa Hemingway (1966) was certainly entertaining and revelatory, but had the sour note of its attempted suppression by Mary Hemingway, the subject's last wife. Hemingway in Love: His Own Story (2015) had the whiff of a late cash-in by its recycling of material from the 1966 work and building a romanticized tale which was likely inspired by Paula McLain's success with her historical fiction of Hemingway's first marriage in The Paris Wife (2011). It also had several errors in it as noted in my review Back to the Well at the time.
So I hadn't give The Good Life According to Hemingway much of a thought until it came up as a Kindle Deal of the Day recently. At a bargain price I thought it was worth a go.
The thing that strikes you about it is that although it is supposedly filled with Hemingway's views about topics such as writing and life, the book is not credited to Hemingway himself, but rather to Hotchner. So you realize these are Hotchner's recreations of things Hemingway said over the 14 years or so that they were friends. A lot of it does sound like things Hemingway would have said, so in that sense Hotchner does capture the voice. Still you are left feeling a bit doubtful about the authenticity.
The volume is pretty slim at 154 pages of which space half is taken up with Hemingway photos, several of which were new to me.
Trivia and Link
The Guardian's obituary of A.E. Hotchner (1917-2020) gives an excellent overview of his career and especially his friendship with Hemingway. It also mentions his friendship with actor Paul Newman, which led to their partnership in the founding of the Newman's Own brand of food products.
May 17, 2011
This is my idea of an airplane book: a collection of quotations from Ernest Hemingway, accompanied by excellent pictures of the author at various stages of his life. Aaron E. Hotchner got to know Hemingway in Havana in 1948 when Hotchner was an agent for Hearst Corp. and Cosmopolitan Magazine (back when it was a literary magazine). Hotchner would later meet Paul Newman in Connecticut, where both lived, and start Newman's Own Foods.
I'm a sucker for books of quotations anyway (baseball, business, authors) and this one has a few Heminway classics:
"When a writer first starts out, he gets a big kick from the stuff he does, and the reader doesn't get any; then, after a while, the writer gets a little kick and the reader gets a little kick; and, finally, if the writer's any good, he doesn't get any kick at all and the reader gets everything."
"The test of a book is how much good stuff you can throw away."
"Who said a dilemma had only two horns? He must have been fooling around with little dilemmas before they were of age. A real dilemma has between eight and ten pairs of horns and can kill you as far as you an see it and vice versa."
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast."
I'm a sucker for books of quotations anyway (baseball, business, authors) and this one has a few Heminway classics:
"When a writer first starts out, he gets a big kick from the stuff he does, and the reader doesn't get any; then, after a while, the writer gets a little kick and the reader gets a little kick; and, finally, if the writer's any good, he doesn't get any kick at all and the reader gets everything."
"The test of a book is how much good stuff you can throw away."
"Who said a dilemma had only two horns? He must have been fooling around with little dilemmas before they were of age. A real dilemma has between eight and ten pairs of horns and can kill you as far as you an see it and vice versa."
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast."
August 10, 2019
I enjoy Hotchner’s write, and THE GOOD LIFE ACCORDING TO HEMINGWAY is well designed, easy to read, and nicely illustrated.
April 2, 2023
Thank you “Hotch” for allowing us to hear from Ernest Hemingway in his own words.
June 6, 2013
Good for hipsters really into Hemingway who do not actually care much for a large bio. >____> Okay, and maybe just a gimmicky thing to have.
December 23, 2018
.Fantastic
I have loved any written, spoken, lectured, imagined or dreamed. any reference to PaPa. This book meets my every desire. Oh to have known this man! I love him through the written word.
Hotch has made my life a feast., Thank you.
I have loved any written, spoken, lectured, imagined or dreamed. any reference to PaPa. This book meets my every desire. Oh to have known this man! I love him through the written word.
Hotch has made my life a feast., Thank you.
August 29, 2023
This is a scrapbook of pictures and quotes from the legendary Ernest Hemingway. This is the kind of book that stays perched on the table so you can revisit from time to time during coffee or 3pm on a Sunday.
Easy to read, hard to forget.
Easy to read, hard to forget.
March 26, 2025
One of my favorite books of 2025 so far. So many great Hemingway quotes, with such rich context into his life from his words and pictures of his life.
Really loved the forward from the author explaining their relationship and how Hemingway wouldn’t allow him to walk away from his assignment.
Really loved the forward from the author explaining their relationship and how Hemingway wouldn’t allow him to walk away from his assignment.
April 3, 2018
Charming little collection of quotes on everything, most I had never read before. Lots of fun.
December 19, 2019
Quick read worth the time. Good for quote hunting.
July 5, 2022
A great reference book for Hemingway quotes along with some photographs including the last photo taken of him by the author.
January 19, 2024
Better read the full Hotchner biography
August 23, 2024
Insightful
The more you know the more you might appreciate the writing. Being eclectic is just exactly that- being. And Hemingway was all about being.
The more you know the more you might appreciate the writing. Being eclectic is just exactly that- being. And Hemingway was all about being.
November 9, 2020
It’s very bad luck to work on a Sunday. It’s better to be disciplined than to be inspired. “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” Liquor is the only mechanical relief from the mechanical oppression of modern life. Happiness in intelligent people was the rarest Hemingway knew.
Lots of good stuff.
Lots of good stuff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2014
Brilliantly put together with fascinating snapshots in words and pictures. Touched on all the things I'd expected about Hemingway, his loves of women and adventure and friendship and places.
Organized to keep the interest with snippets, yet dense with clear "moments" of Hemingway's thoughts and feelings.
And this is where I was most surprised, at the depth of this famous writer's feelings about things, and what they were, at least as expressed or overheard by his friend, Hotchner.
Most surprising, for me, was Hemingway's distinction between bravery, courage, and a caution about an endless need for war. That fighting to fight was not the thing he admired.
And finally, ending the book with the writer's quotes about death, very chilling. Left things unsaid.
Which, in a family with such an extensive run of suicides, leaves a question much larger than that (which is what I had tentatively settled on over the years) of an famous writer taking his life arrogantly flauntingly taking his own life.
There was more to the man than I had expected.
And I believe there's more to the story of his (and so many of his family) death, than I had initially believed.
A satisfying read in all the modern age requirements: small bite portions easily consumed between moments of too much busyness.
Organized to keep the interest with snippets, yet dense with clear "moments" of Hemingway's thoughts and feelings.
And this is where I was most surprised, at the depth of this famous writer's feelings about things, and what they were, at least as expressed or overheard by his friend, Hotchner.
Most surprising, for me, was Hemingway's distinction between bravery, courage, and a caution about an endless need for war. That fighting to fight was not the thing he admired.
And finally, ending the book with the writer's quotes about death, very chilling. Left things unsaid.
Which, in a family with such an extensive run of suicides, leaves a question much larger than that (which is what I had tentatively settled on over the years) of an famous writer taking his life arrogantly flauntingly taking his own life.
There was more to the man than I had expected.
And I believe there's more to the story of his (and so many of his family) death, than I had initially believed.
A satisfying read in all the modern age requirements: small bite portions easily consumed between moments of too much busyness.
March 11, 2016
How much one likes this short, quick, often hilarious, often bombastic, often wise book will depend on how much the reader likes Hemingway, and how much one forgives him for his excesses and self-importance, and how much one envies the quantity and quality of LIVING he packed into what amounts to a fairly brief adult life.
Hotchner (author) has collected random quotes and thoughts of the big guy, some just a single sentence, a few as much as half a page, into a book that has no plot, no through-line, no direction...just the jotted down or overheard 'stuff' that came out of Hemingway's typewriter, letters, or mouth. And absolutely wonderful vintage photographs.
I think for the first time I appreciated the vast spread of his life: 4 wives, 3 children, 2 long hunting safaris to Africa, participated in Spanish Civil WAR and was a correspondent in WW II - present at Normandy landing and Battle of the Bulge, lived in Paris when it was possible to live very cheaply and knew intimately EVERYONE of artistic and/or literary and/or dramatic importance, houses in Key West, Cuba, and Idaho; lived in Spain, skied in Alps before there were chair lifts...and STILL found time to write A WHOLE LOT of books before killing himself at age 61. Look up hemochromatosis, if you're interested in why at least 7 close family members of his, including of course himself, might have committed suicide.
Hotchner (author) has collected random quotes and thoughts of the big guy, some just a single sentence, a few as much as half a page, into a book that has no plot, no through-line, no direction...just the jotted down or overheard 'stuff' that came out of Hemingway's typewriter, letters, or mouth. And absolutely wonderful vintage photographs.
I think for the first time I appreciated the vast spread of his life: 4 wives, 3 children, 2 long hunting safaris to Africa, participated in Spanish Civil WAR and was a correspondent in WW II - present at Normandy landing and Battle of the Bulge, lived in Paris when it was possible to live very cheaply and knew intimately EVERYONE of artistic and/or literary and/or dramatic importance, houses in Key West, Cuba, and Idaho; lived in Spain, skied in Alps before there were chair lifts...and STILL found time to write A WHOLE LOT of books before killing himself at age 61. Look up hemochromatosis, if you're interested in why at least 7 close family members of his, including of course himself, might have committed suicide.
May 23, 2016
Hemingway’s influence on the 20th century literature is not debatable. His writings are his reaction to the world.
What A.E. Hotchner tried to do with this collection of quotes and photographs of Hemingway’s (in the name of their close friendship) is to re-create the realistic portrait of the writer who was a vibrant conversationalist, funny, wise, argumentative and fiercely opinionated, an extraordinary raconteur with acute recall of people and events.
There are honest stories, anecdotes and clever observations speaking about everything – war, sports, art, women, life and death. Reading them is like having a friendly face-to-face conversation with Papa Hemingway. He feels and speaks about the need to return to basic principles of living, praising the need for love, health, friendship and culture, the universal themes.
See the full review on blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
What A.E. Hotchner tried to do with this collection of quotes and photographs of Hemingway’s (in the name of their close friendship) is to re-create the realistic portrait of the writer who was a vibrant conversationalist, funny, wise, argumentative and fiercely opinionated, an extraordinary raconteur with acute recall of people and events.
There are honest stories, anecdotes and clever observations speaking about everything – war, sports, art, women, life and death. Reading them is like having a friendly face-to-face conversation with Papa Hemingway. He feels and speaks about the need to return to basic principles of living, praising the need for love, health, friendship and culture, the universal themes.
See the full review on blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...
October 15, 2008
i like papa hemingway the man much more so that i've liked what i've read from him thus far, which is admittedly not saying much, as i've only read 'the old man and the sea' and 'the sun also rises.' but he seems to have been such a vital person, so adventurous and full of feeling, and he lived in such an interesting and important time, that i can't help but be drawn to his mythos. his type of masculinity is non-existent today, which is a shame, if only because i find the moustache of his younger days to be rather sexy.
June 19, 2008
A wonderful compilation of quotes and photographs of A.E. Hotchner's dear friend, Ernest Hemingway, by Hotchner. They cover every aspect of his life, from writing to war, Hollywood to hunting, writers to women, life to death. Totally Hemingway...totally enjoyable!
July 2, 2014
This is a collection of photos, quotes and thoughts collected by a friend of Hemingway. Super quick read that I'd recommend if you're a fan! "Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."
March 14, 2016
Pause to think and reevaluate.
The Goodlife According to Hemingway. Amazing how many of Hemingway's words/thoughts deal not only with his writing and life but life in general. I believe I will reread this book many times. I highly recommend it.
The Goodlife According to Hemingway. Amazing how many of Hemingway's words/thoughts deal not only with his writing and life but life in general. I believe I will reread this book many times. I highly recommend it.
January 24, 2016
This slim volume collects quotes from Hemingway and organizes them by topic, accompanied by photos of the writer. Despite its brevity, a reader gets a sense of what it was like to be in conversation with Hemingway.
January 27, 2016
It's an interesting compilation of Hemingway quotes, arranged by topic. If you know his writing, you'll enjoy this. Some of the quotes sounded familiar to me, although the author said they had never been published before. overall, an entertaining read if you like Hemingway.
June 29, 2008
The wisdom of Ernest Hemingway as collected by Hotchner some 47 years after EH's death.
Unless you are a Hemingway fan (like I am), don't bother reading this.
Unless you are a Hemingway fan (like I am), don't bother reading this.
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August 15, 2008pretty cool book...
random little tidbits on hemingway and his thoughts on life, the universe, and everything collected by a friend on cocktail napkins and spare notebook pages...
random little tidbits on hemingway and his thoughts on life, the universe, and everything collected by a friend on cocktail napkins and spare notebook pages...
February 24, 2010
A collection of photos and quotes from Hemingway. My favorite: "If I were reborn, and I had a choice, I'd be a Mormon."
November 29, 2010
Some good gems in here. A few I'd already heard and it was nice to see them again. This is mostly for Hemingway fans. A very quick read, too.
September 22, 2011
Quick read. Brilliant writer - unfulfilled life - hmmm. Just interesting.
April 10, 2012
Hemingway quotes, along with some new-to-me pictures adds to my knowledge base of the man and his world.
June 25, 2013
Puro deleite!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews