CLASSIC SHORT STORIES FROM THE MASTER OF AMERICAN FICTION
First published in 1927, Men Without Women represents some of Hemingway's most important and compelling early writing. In these fourteen stories, Hemingway begins to examine the themes that would occupy his later works: the casualties of war, the often uneasy relationship between men and women, sport and sportsmanship. In "Banal Story," Hemingway offers a lasting tribute to the famed matador Maera. "In Another Country" tells of an Italian major recovering from war wounds as he mourns the untimely death of his wife. "The Killers" is the hard-edged story about two Chicago gunmen and their potential victim. Nick Adams makes an appearance in "Ten Indians," in which he is presumably betrayed by his Indian girlfriend, Prudence. And "Hills Like White Elephants" is a young couple's subtle, heartwrenching discussion of abortion. Pared down, gritty, and subtly expressive, these stories show the young Hemingway emerging as America's finest short story writer.
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"There is this story from Hemingway called 'Hills like white elephants' and my English teacher gave it to me when I was 16. It is still one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. I give it to my students as well, not to all of them, but to adults and those who can intellectually digest it. Every time I do it, I learn something new although I know this story by heart but Hemingway confuses readers with setting and symbolism and when you have something very confusing in front of you, you are prone to go deep with analysis. I forbid my students to use Google because I want them to be sick of thinking, which they always end up being. Literally they come to me and sigh in anguish: they don't understand it, they mostly hate Jig and her partner, they are fed up with the title and they can't tell me why atmosphere is so tense and under the boiling pressure, although all that these two do is wait for their train to get them to Madrid, drink and talk about nature, open spaces and heat. And then after 70 minutes of discussion I ask them certain trigger questions and I always see that never ending effect of eyes widening and constant eyelashes fluttering when they finally understand and then they always say: oh my God, really?! I love this story, sometimes I top-toe around it because you never know how people will react and I don’t want to push them overboard but I like it when I see groups of people in front of me, just contemplating and actually arguing about literature, forgetting that I’m in the classroom, eating candies or just writing down another theory in my Ernest Hemingway folder. There are three other stories that make people equally nervious but I always get best thinking effects after we finish our sessions. Raymond Carver's short story 'So much water so close to home', Tim Burton's 'The melancholy death of Oyster boy' and Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'' which isn't at all a nice fairy tail. Social casualties that follow these analysis are always strickening." — Jana (5 out of 5 stars)
"There is this story from Hemingway called 'Hills like white elephants' and my English teacher gave it to me when I was 16. It is still one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. I give it to my students as well, not to all of them, but to adults and those who can intellectually digest it. Every time I do it, I learn something new although I know this story by heart but Hemingway confuses readers with setting and symbolism and when you have something very confusing in front of you, you are prone to go deep with analysis. I forbid my students to use Google because I want them to be sick of thinking, which they always end up being. Literally they come to me and sigh in anguish: they don't understand it, they mostly hate Jig and her partner, they are fed up with the title and they can't tell me why atmosphere is so tense and under the boiling pressure, although all that these two do is wait for their train to get them to Madrid, drink and talk about nature, open spaces and heat. And then after 70 minutes of discussion I ask them certain trigger questions and I always see that never ending effect of eyes widening and constant eyelashes fluttering when they finally understand and then they always say: oh my God, really?! I love this story, sometimes I top-toe around it because you never know how people will react and I don’t want to push them overboard but I like it when I see groups of people in front of me, just contemplating and actually arguing about literature, forgetting that I’m in the classroom, eating candies or just writing down another theory in my Ernest Hemingway folder. There are three other stories that make people equally nervious but I always get best thinking effects after we finish our sessions. Raymond Carver's short story 'So much water so close to home', Tim Burton's 'The melancholy death of Oyster boy' and Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Little Mermaid'' which isn't at all a nice fairy tail. Social casualties that follow these analysis are always strickening."
“Painfully good.”
" never again hemingway, myth busted "
" I don't know why, but whenever I'm between books and can't get into anything, I always reread this book. So many of the stories are just perfect. "
" Such short, minimal sentences. Worth reading these short stories for 'An Alpine Idyll' alone. Very black. "
" This is the first Hemingway that I have read. It was an anthology of his stories. I liked it enough to try a complete story. I didn't always understand what he was talking about. "
" Beautifully and intelligently written. Emotionally gripping. "
" I'm not a fan of short stories, but I did make my way through it. I have been planning for years to start reading some Hemingway, and this was on the list. "
" Some of Hemingway's very fine short stories. The only reason it doesn't get five stars is because it doesn't have, in my opinion, Hemingway's absolutely best stories. Good stuff, though. "
" This collection has some very interesting short stories. I do not remember the names of them in particular, but my favorite one is about two henchman that enter a bar in a small town. I think it was the inspiration for Pulp Fiction (part of it anyway). "
" This is a collection of Hemingway's earlier work. It's great. The reader will be surprised with the path the stories take. You truly do not know what is coming next and where the story is going to lead. From the beginning, Hemingway was a master with words. "
" short stories are good to carry around in your purse. hemingway made me want to chill in a train station in spain or italy, to hide out from the blazing sun. "
" As usual, the bullfighter story is the best of the bunch. "
" Wow. Fun to read in combination with Richard Ford's, "Women Without Men" "
" :) Hemingways mastery of filling an entire universe with-in single digit page boundaries is proven once again with this wonderful collection of short stories about men in/on many different stages of life. "
" Hemingway had an agenda when he wrote. They're mostly about two tourists, one of whom can speak the local language, if they're not about boxing or bullfighting. Reading this is like dosing yourself with Hemingway. "
" It was obviously well written and interesting. It was hard to get started because he uses terms I don't know about bull fighting and Italy, etc. But it is interesting to think of one snapshot in time and he's descriptive enough to make me wonder about the rest of the story. "
" Hemingway's writing is at its best in his short stories and this collection contains some of his most impressive work. "
" A great collection from a great writer. Most stories are the perfect length to read on the toilet. "
" Some stories were good however more than a few just fell flat. "
" I didn't realize this was a collection of short stories before I picked it up...I usually prefer reading novels. But these all had a common theme, which kept it more interesting. Some were excellent, others I didn't quite 'get' "
" Introduced me to Hemingway. I prefer his short stories to his novels. "
" "In the morning there was a big wind blowing and the waves were running high up on the beach and he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken." "
" Typical Hemingway territory, hard-edged language and not a word too many. Not a style I am used to or necessarily enjoy reading for leisure but I can appreciate it's uniqueness. I really enjoyed how the last two stories tied in with the ones presented at the beginning. "
" 14 different tales with different themes, Men Without Women never ceases to capture the reader. "
" Bite size stories , intricately woven as if a part of a much bigger picture. It is evident that Hemingway experiences have affected his writing. "
" There are some really incredible short stories in this collection. Hills like white elephants, 50 grand, a canary for one. "
" I'm a Fitzgerald girl but I do love to read Hemingway's bio stories as they reveal a self consciousness I don't think his characters have. "
" Definitely not among his best work. The stories "The Undefeated" and "The Killers" are very good though "
" A great concept and a couple decent shorts but nowhere near as good as A Movable Feast. "
Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work, The Sun Also Rises. He also wrote Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, the story of an old fisherman’s journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, and his victory in defeat. He also wrote short stories that are collected in Men Without Women and The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories. Hemingway died in Idaho in 1961.
Stacy Keach is perhaps best known for his portrayal of hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer. He played Ken Titus on the sitcom Titus, Warden Henry Pope in the hit series Prison Break, and has been seen in numerous film and stage productions. He won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ernest Hemingway and starred as Richard Nixon in the US National Tour of Frost/Nixon. His performance in the title role of King Lear has received international acclaim.
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