graham_med's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
There’s a lot hiding in the sparse language in typical Hemingway fashion. It almost functions like a novella with how many of these stories are interconnected, that’s where the real magic comes out of the otherwise vague vignettes.
yusraakbari's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
yroshah's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
schenkelberg's review against another edition
4.0
I think I've read all these stories before, but they're all still brilliant. I know its out of fashion to like Hemingway, and he has plenty of problems and horrible opinions and all these reasons for readers to turn on him, but I would be lying if I said his writing weren't among my very favorites.
leticiasother's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
analyndagrace's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to rate it higher, but honestly I couldn't even summarize it, none of it was memorable. Maybe I wasnt ready to take these stories in, or maybe short stories aren't my thing.
jackbowerman's review against another edition
3.0
Was in my suitcase that got stolen before I read the last chapter :(
Very nice writing from Hemingway, as always. I get that each chapter is supposed to represent a recollection of Harry's life, but it does result in there being not much of a flow to the narrative and you have to take each chapter as it comes. I did very much enjoy the chapter called, "my old man."
Very nice writing from Hemingway, as always. I get that each chapter is supposed to represent a recollection of Harry's life, but it does result in there being not much of a flow to the narrative and you have to take each chapter as it comes. I did very much enjoy the chapter called, "my old man."
radiojen's review against another edition
3.0
Typical Hemingway. Very long sentences that often make it difficult to ascertain what exactly is going on. I had to go back and re-read a few paragraphs because I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. After re-reading, I still wasn't sure.
The major storyline is very interesting, and even quite satisfying. But the substories may have added even more if I had been able to decipher what was happening.
Oh Hemingway, why do I need to go back to English class to sometimes understand you? He is brilliant and can write so much in such a short story, but that doesn't mean you can breeze through his works any faster. Well, unless you've decoded his formula, perhaps.
The major storyline is very interesting, and even quite satisfying. But the substories may have added even more if I had been able to decipher what was happening.
Oh Hemingway, why do I need to go back to English class to sometimes understand you? He is brilliant and can write so much in such a short story, but that doesn't mean you can breeze through his works any faster. Well, unless you've decoded his formula, perhaps.
selaadin's review against another edition
2.0
This book only took so long to finish because, despite only being 140-ish pages, I had to really struggle through the last set of tales due to how unrelated and removed from the interests of chronicled human experience they are. I treated this mostly as a set of short stories and experiences, working a bit like Italo Calvino's Mr Palomar, except this also had some stories that fell outside that of the main character (if you could call him that), Nick. The descriptions of the scenery were beautiful written, as you would expect from Ernest Hemingway, but in general the stories themselves did not captivate me too much, aside from a couple of chapters.