13 April 2011

THE SNOWS OF KILAMANJARO AND OTHER STORIES by ERNEST HEMINGWAY

OK, It is official. Ernest Hemingway is just not for me. I read this book because I am doing a three month "Give an author a second chance" challenge, and I couldn't think of anyone who I needed to give a second chance more than Hemingway. I have only read two books by Hemingway in my whole like, The Old Man and the Sea and The Sun Also Rises. Both of those were a long time ago. So I thought, how perfect for the challenge. At first, ans I started the book, I was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't as bad as I remembered, but every time I would really start to get into a story.....BAM, he would slap me upside the head with one of the traits of his writing that drive me crazy, thus reminding me why I don't read Hemingway. 

For example, in one story he spends a whole page having the two characters say 

"Watch the game with me." 
"No, I'm going to pray." 
"Watch the game with me." 
"No, I'm going to pray." 
"Watch the game with me." 
"No, I'm going to pray." 
"Watch the game with me." 
"No, I'm going to pray." 

Literally, a whole page. Or he describes something in the most undescriptive way possible. Or he doesn't describe it at all. In my opinion the man has no imagination at all. The only things that he writes about are old men who are womanizers, like to either hunt or fish, and want to commit suicide. In other words, himself. I will not be running out to get any more Hemingway anytime soon.

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