Leah’s Reviews > Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway > Status Update

Nope, can't take it any more. Fragments of sex, drunkenness and violence. Hemingway is staring into the gutter looking for meaning, but all he is finding is dirt and degradation. He should take Flaubert's advice and try looking up at the stars.

OK, having finally escaped from Les Misérables, here I am back with Mr Miserable himself, the man whose observations of life are made through the bottom of a tumbler, his gaze turned always towards the nearest matador, boxer or whore. Fragments of shallow observation, flashes of good characterisation, reams of repetitive dialogue. Hemingway's whole world is populated by drunks and losers. What fun he is.

Two weeks since I touched this one - I fear it's heading for the abandoned pile. I'll give it one more week and see if enthusiasm hits me at any point. Note to self: never acquire any book with the word 'Complete' in the title.

Reading a few of these unsatisfying repetitive fragments about war, masculinity and alcohol every week is becoming like a long stay in purgatory. I don't know if I can struggle through the whole collection. I also don't know why he is praised as a master of the short story form. To me these are completely forgettable.

This is becoming a Sunday penance...

So variable. One story will be an empty fragment, the next will be a wonderfully crafted piece of characterisation, or depiction of society, or glimpse into a semi-revealed situation. It's hard work, and best read in very small doses!