The
Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Hemingway Library Edition – Ernest Hemingway
– (Scribner)
There is something old-timey about Ernest Hemingway’s
short story-telling style and it’s not just because the stories collected here
were penned between 1916 and 1938.
There is a cinematic sense in that spare style, but it
runs deeper than that. These aren’t traditionally visual stories; they read
like old time radio dramas where you, the reader/listener is left to imagine
the visual rather than having the setting, the locale and the visual space
filled for you.
Hemingway builds a spare frame and allows you to fill
in the blanks. I was left with an Orson Wells-y narration running through my
head as I thumbed through these often familiar stories.
This collection features some nice additional bonus
material including reproductions of the original typed manuscripts,
illustrations of early draft versions of some of the stories and few first
stabs at story ideas that would later evolve. It also features an introduction
by Hemingway’s grandson, Sean and a foreword from Hemingway’s only surviving
son, Patrick. This makes for both a great introduction to those new to
Hemingway’s short stories and a nice addition to longtime fans of his work.
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