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.

NETSUKE by RIKKI DUCORNET

I  have to say, I really couldn't decide at first what to give this book, but ending up deciding on 4 stars. This was a really interesting book, only 128 pages, and every one of them both appalled me and enthralled me at the same time. It is about a psychoanalyst who has a lot of erotic encounters, and frankly, needs a psychoanalyst himself. As I read through this book, I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pretty sure that I was watching someone's life turn into a train wreck. And the ending really stunned me. 

I am giving it four stars mostly because as disgusted as I was by the main character, I couldn't stop reading the book. It was like a really bad reality show. You know, the kind that you know you shouldn't be giving legitimacy to by watching, but you just can't stop yourself. Since I am pretty easily turned off by graphic sex, the fact that I even finished this book surprised me, and I figure if a writer can get me to finish a book like this, he must be a good writer. 

All in all a very weird, weird, little book. Did I enjoy it.....I wouldn't say that, but I will say I couldn't put it down.