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aaronwhite's review against another edition
4.0
Hemingway was the master of efficiency, suffusing a small, spare narrative with meanings that he trusted his readers to parse out. Here, Harry is dying in an African plain of gangrene in his leg. His rich lover believes he will survive, but Harry knows that death is coming. He uses his time to reflect on his failures, his compromises in the name of comfort, the waste of his talent. He has things he should have written but never will. He regrets some of the relationships he had in the past. At the last he imagines being rescued in a plane, but as the plane turns towards the snows of Kilimanjaro he realises that he will not arrive at life but rather death. This story is therefore a call to live, to make, to create, to not waste time and breath, as death is coming to us all.
julan1027's review against another edition
4.0
I prefer Hemingway's shorter stories to his novels.
I actually finished this several months ago and forgot to note it on goodreads and I'm not feeling fresh enough to write an accurate review. What does stick with me is that the reader is dropped in near the end of the story and it takes a while to evaluate what exactly is happening and why.
I actually finished this several months ago and forgot to note it on goodreads and I'm not feeling fresh enough to write an accurate review. What does stick with me is that the reader is dropped in near the end of the story and it takes a while to evaluate what exactly is happening and why.
callumfairweather's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
marc129's review against another edition
3.0
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?
muskeen_a's review against another edition
4.0
Hemingway was famous for his simple language and the way he left much unwritten but understood. I feel this is another story in which he has done just that. The story starts off with a man on the edge of his death, in conversation with a woman. A woman whose name he doesn't use, doesn't seem to know in his delirium, until a final scene of clarity where death whisks him away. This fact alone seems to me to contextualize his disrespectful, sexist behavior towards a woman he admittedly loves. The narrator is not in the right when he takes out his dying pains on this woman--he knows this, he lets the reader know this. The things she is at fault for (being kind to him? intelligent and well read? good in bed?) are not supposed to be understood as valid reasons. He is bitter and dying, upset that wealth seems to have dampened his talent, upset that he squandered what he believed his gift because he was indulgent--indulging in wealth and luxury (which she may have, in part, provided him) when this wasn't always his reality. This is a story of the lament of a dying man: not the most rational or agreeable of characters, but an insightful one nonetheless.
joanappgrace's review against another edition
3.0
Foi a primeira vez que li Hemingway e, por isso, este livro foi uma espécie de introdução à sua escrita e temática. Senti ao longo da leitura que uma grande e bela amizade se estava a formar entre nós e, curiosamente senti um pouco de Bukowski nestes seus pequenos contos (depois mais tarde, vim a descobrir que Hemingway foi uma grande influência para Charles Bukowski).
Um livro composto por pequenos contos onde a escrita de Hemingway se consolida à medida que avançamos na leitura. Fiquei curiosa por ler mais deste autor, convencida que este não é o seu melhor trabalho (o conto que dá o nome ao livro e "A Capital do Mundo" - "The Capital of the World" - foram para mim os melhores deste livro!). Mais que isso, achei que esta tradução falhou em transmitir uma certa crueza e pujança que Hemingway possui (e, por isso, lerei na próxima vez em inglês).
De resto, é um livro que explora temas mesmo ao meu gosto: a fragilidade humana, a cobardia, a morte, a redescoberta do amor e a redescoberta de nós próprios.
Um livro composto por pequenos contos onde a escrita de Hemingway se consolida à medida que avançamos na leitura. Fiquei curiosa por ler mais deste autor, convencida que este não é o seu melhor trabalho (o conto que dá o nome ao livro e "A Capital do Mundo" - "The Capital of the World" - foram para mim os melhores deste livro!). Mais que isso, achei que esta tradução falhou em transmitir uma certa crueza e pujança que Hemingway possui (e, por isso, lerei na próxima vez em inglês).
De resto, é um livro que explora temas mesmo ao meu gosto: a fragilidade humana, a cobardia, a morte, a redescoberta do amor e a redescoberta de nós próprios.
kim_reads87's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this but it’s not for me. I was so bored while reading this. Harry was so irritating. His hate of women is a indication of the time period but you would think that if he’s dying, he wouldn’t be describing the woman he ‘loves’ in such a way. It’s really just an emotionless rambling of an irritating man. Thank goodness it was so short.
sams84's review against another edition
3.0
While this is a good little collection of stories that are packed with vivid characters, for me it lacked some of Hemingway's usual punch and prowess. For me his style of story telling and character development needs more time to grow and progress that these short stories allow so the full potential of each story and the characters within is never met. We do get glimpses of this but nothing comparable to his longer works. Of course even at this 'edited' level Hemingway is a master of his craft and these are great character driven stories, the title story in particular sticks in the heart and the mind. Possibly a good introduction to Hemingway but not his best work.