He does write well about that I must say. Still, lots of writers write well about that period : Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, Hermann Hesse etc all capture the emptiness/ loss of meaning very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by JBI
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He does write well about that I must say. Still, lots of writers write well about that period : Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, Hermann Hesse etc all capture the emptiness/ loss of meaning very well.Quote:
Originally Posted by JBI
I must be quite a Philistine - Steinbeck is my favorite writer and I find Hemingway dreadful. For Whom the Bell Tolls is his only work that I've read cover to cover, so I'm certainly no expert and am definitely planning on reading more. But I just didn't see anything that justified all the praise heaped on him. If I was a Spanish civil war aficionado I may have enjoyed it immensely, but to me it was just a simple theme wrapped in an overly dramatized* book that was 200 pages too long.
* Particularly the ending
I am rather surprised at all this Hemingway fuss. I recently reread For Whom The Bell Tolls, and there are things to like in it, but Hemingway seems incapable of humanizing characters beyond Hollywood cliches. I was certainly not moved by what I should have been moved by in Rabbit's experiences, or the other peasant soldiers of the doomed Republic. I got much more, in fact, from a Granta contributor recently recounting an earlier travel writer's experiences in 1930's Spain.
But I am not here to trash the man either--there is something to be said for the reporting style he brought to fiction. Fitzgerald transcends Hemingway, Faulkner transcends both, but they were men of their era, and I disagree with JBI putting Wharton in their camp.
Edith Wharton, like Henry James, represented the last gasp of America in the Victorian age, and that she outlived James by a significant margin doesn't change that.
Let's all take a deep breath? (In and out... )
Both Hemingway and D.H. Lawrence are better as Travel writers.' Sea and Sardinia'' and ''A Moveable Feast'' are good. Can't read Henry James and don't think much of Grahame Greene.
In this particular case, I cannot separate the writer from his writing. Just as if Karl Rove or Dick Cheney wrote the most well-written fiction book loosely based on all the great things they've done for middle east, or if Michael Vick was the most eloquent writer on the planet, I would read none of their books because they are major jerks/idiots who lack the slightest amount of empathy or compassion and possess an acute disrespect for their fellow living creatures. These type of folks have nothing of value to impart to me at this time of my life. It's not about whether an author's life (in this case Hemingway's) was exciting or boring, it's about the moral character of the individual himself/herself. It permeates and shines through in a writer's works.Quote:
Originally Posted by Etienne
His alcoholism I couldn't give a crap about. Many authors are alcoholic. Or have some sort of addiction or self-destructive foible or idiosyncrasy (sometimes these shortcomings actually enhance the author's writing, making it more interesting or rich with understanding). But if the person appears to have a bloodthirsty streak for needlessly hurting fellow creatures, then that person more than likely has nothing meaningful to impart to me. It indicates a severe lack of depth in their perception of life.
Perhaps if I hadn't read Hemingway's works before and disliked them, I would give him another chance. But I have already read a few of his novels, and did not receive enjoyment or fulfillment from them. So why would I torture myself by reading his books again? Especially when the man's character is so repugnant to me?
For the person who enjoys boxing....good for you. Nothing like watching the spectacle of pointless bloodshed carried out by two willing individuals. I just wish and pray they would bring back the old gladiatorial "games" of Rome. I don't think there is enough gore or innocent animals involved in modern day fighting.
(By the way, Etienne, is that Borat as your avatar? ;-)
Well of course, but then the reason would be that you disliked his writing, not that the man was a hunter...Quote:
Originally Posted by integrity
No, Andrei Bely :lol: I think I'll have to change it it's confusing people :lol:Quote:
(By the way, Etienne, is that Borat as your avatar? ;-)
For what it is worth I would just like to throw my coins into the Hemingway well and say that personally I find his novel A Moveable Feast to be easily his best work. Hemingway seems to be at his best in this novel because it is closely biographical and therefore it seems to step away from the “Hollywood” aspect of some of his other novels. Fiesta is also one of his best works. Both these works while not outstanding by any means present a flavour of continental life that I find very attractive.
In this particular case, I cannot separate the writer from his writing. Just as if Karl Rove or Dick Cheney wrote the most well-written fiction book loosely based on all the great things they've done for middle east, or if Michael Vick was the most eloquent writer on the planet, I would read none of their books because they are major jerks/idiots who lack the slightest amount of empathy or compassion and possess an acute disrespect for their fellow living creatures. These type of folks have nothing of value to impart to me at this time of my life. It's not about whether an author's life (in this case Hemingway's) was exciting or boring, it's about the moral character of the individual himself/herself. It permeates and shines through in a writer's works... if the person appears to have a bloodthirsty streak for needlessly hurting fellow creatures, then that person more than likely has nothing meaningful to impart to me. It indicates a severe lack of depth in their perception of life.
Integrity brings into play an intriguing question. Can we separate the artist from the art? Can a real a@#hole produce great art? Do we find it impossible to divorce who the artist was from what the artist did? I think such questions are in need of another thread altogether... and so:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...810#post614810
I want to read more Hemingway but what on earth happens in The Old Man and The Sea?! It is apparantly 'one of the most profound stories ever told' but all they're currently doing is eating fish and reading about baseball!
It's purely a personal opinion, but...
Jane Austen
...
*runs*
Anyone would be overrated with her amount of rating
This story may be apocryphal but I read somewhere that Dan Brown decided to become a writer when he was lying on a beach reading a best seller and he said to himself 'I could write a better book than that.'Quote:
Originally Posted by teejay17
Whoever the author was is the person we are looking for.
Oh, Stephenie Meyer has imagination but her writing is terrible. She doesn't exactly have a way with words.
from a very prose-centric perspective i agree, jack kerouac is so often terribly careless in terms of style and technique in generalQuote:
Originally Posted by mister_noel_y2k
Stephenie Meyer is definitely the most overrated author ever in my book. I am sick to death of hearing about her and seeing her books, and people gushing over her, when she is a mediocre writer at best.
Even when I was in highschool I could not have stood to read her and was reading works of higher quality.