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I've read a lot of books by Hemingway, and this is my favourite so far. Quite short, but oh, so good.
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
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The ideal introduction to the genius of Ernest Hemingway, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories contains ten of Hemingway's most acclaimed and popular works of short fiction. Selected from Winner Take Nothing, Men Without Women, and The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories, this collection includes "The Killers," the first of Hemingway's mature stories to be accepted by an American periodical; the autobiographical "Fathers and Sons," which alludes, for the first time in Hemingway's career, to his father's suicide; "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," a "brilliant fusion of personal observation, hearsay and invention," wrote Hemingway's biographer, Carlos Baker; and the title story itself, of which Hemingway said: "I put all the true stuff in," with enough material, he boasted, to fill four novels. Beautiful in their simplicity, startling in their originality, and unsurpassed in their craftsmanship, the stories in this volume highlight one of America's master storytellers at the top of his form.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1,1936
This edition
- Format
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144 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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January 1, 1999 by Scribner
- ISBN
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9780684862217
- ASIN
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0684862212
- Language
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English
About the author
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Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, in mid-1961, he died of suicide.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, in mid-1961, he died of suicide.
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Such beautiful writing, of course! I have heard this title for many years, but never had read it until now. So glad I know now the story of The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
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I read these short stories because I'm never going to finish For Whom the Bell Tolls and because, since climbing Kili, everyone asks whether I've read them. From the scope of half a century, the stories function more as a lens into the world of Hemingway and men like him and who, at the end of their lives, saw that world slipping away. But reading about these men, who were so determined to be men (and they had a particular and exacting definition of what that meant), its easy to see why their way of life no longer exists (or as been exiled to the fringes). Namely, they would destroy themselves and everyone around them to maintain the ideal. I suppose there is a tragic aspect of it all - men, trying to cling to their code and their as the world changes around them, refusing themselves to change, rending themselves irrelevant.
Some stores were better than others. The first and last, in particular, were highlights. Both are about the end of a man's life, one man's life ended just as he recognized what it was to be a man (which, of course, led to his death) and the other about a man who, at the end of a long life lived exactly how he wanted, takes stock of who he became as a result of his choices.
Some stores were better than others. The first and last, in particular, were highlights. Both are about the end of a man's life, one man's life ended just as he recognized what it was to be a man (which, of course, led to his death) and the other about a man who, at the end of a long life lived exactly how he wanted, takes stock of who he became as a result of his choices.
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Good story. Adult. Good twist. Fun to read.
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Hemingway at the height of his personal low.
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other stories is bookended by two magnificent stories of dying and loving in Africa. The title story is rich and layered, implying a whole novel in its condensed space — the story of a man who outlived himself.
“He had had his life and it was over. And then he went on living it again with different people and more money”
The book’s final tale, The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber, sketches the effects of an African safari on a problematic marriage, and a man’s triumph over his own cowardice. They are Hemingway’s best work —five stars.
Other stories stand out in this collection. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a paean to dignified nihilism:
“Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee.”
The Gambler, The Nun, and the Radio highlights both Hemingway’s skill for creating mood and his dry, dark humor. The Killers also shows off his gallows humor and refined sense of nihilism. And Fifty Grand may just be the best story about boxing ever written, displaying Hemingway’s deep knowledge of the sport, its culture, and its characters.
These ten stories, republished together in this volume the year Hemingway died, essentially create a best of volume. They are his best known, most powerful tales, a collection of masterpieces. If you read only one book by Hemingway, this should be the one.
“He had had his life and it was over. And then he went on living it again with different people and more money”
The book’s final tale, The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber, sketches the effects of an African safari on a problematic marriage, and a man’s triumph over his own cowardice. They are Hemingway’s best work —five stars.
Other stories stand out in this collection. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a paean to dignified nihilism:
“Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee.”
The Gambler, The Nun, and the Radio highlights both Hemingway’s skill for creating mood and his dry, dark humor. The Killers also shows off his gallows humor and refined sense of nihilism. And Fifty Grand may just be the best story about boxing ever written, displaying Hemingway’s deep knowledge of the sport, its culture, and its characters.
These ten stories, republished together in this volume the year Hemingway died, essentially create a best of volume. They are his best known, most powerful tales, a collection of masterpieces. If you read only one book by Hemingway, this should be the one.
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I have not read much Hemingway. I am also not a fan of short stories but after reading these short stories may have to change that viewpoint. The stories follow themes of regret, solitude, hatred of women, stupidity and a love of the outdoors. Hemingway writes crisply and oddly none of his characters are very likeable and mostly without depth or rather shallow. My favourite was the first one about a man dying in the African bush after he was scratched by a thorn, reflecting on his life and all the regrets.
Some of the stories are linked with one character such as Nick who seems to be forever at a crossroads and obsessed with trout fishing. The small bits at the start of the stories about either bullfighting or war are thought provoking. An enjoyable read.
Some of the stories are linked with one character such as Nick who seems to be forever at a crossroads and obsessed with trout fishing. The small bits at the start of the stories about either bullfighting or war are thought provoking. An enjoyable read.
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I’d forgotten what a good short story writer Ernest Hemingway could be. This collection came out in 1961, the same year as the author’s death. But most of the stories were published in magazines in the 1920s and 30s, when he was at the height of his powers, and all were available in earlier volumes.
There’s an impressive range of work here, from the ambitious title story about a man dying of gangrene while on safari and slipping into and out of consciousness, remembering scenes from his (wasted) life – the story has the depth and richness of a novel – to the noir classic “The Killers,” which inspired two famous films and contains some very amusing gangster dialogue.
“Fifty Grand” takes you into the world of boxing (there’s also a boxer in “The Killers”), and has a narrative left hook you might not see coming (I didn’t), while “The Gambler, The Nun, And The Radio” – about a man who’s been shot and his colourful hospital visitors – shows you just how funny Hemingway could be.
Also included is a classic story that I’ve read several times but still seems mysterious to me: “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” about two waiters discussing the final patron in their bar before it closes for the night. The old, deaf man tried to kill himself the week before, and the contrasting reactions of the waiters is very telling.
Some stories in the book didn’t resonate with me, particularly the Nick Adams war tales. (I recall the Adams stories from In Our Time working much better.) But their themes – grace under pressure, war and death, initiations of various sorts – are in keeping with the rest of the volume.
I think my favourite story is the final one, “The Short And Happy Life Of Francis Macomber,” which feels connected to the opening tale because it’s also set on safari and includes a man, woman, death and the concepts of courage and dignity. I love the way it’s constructed and how the characters’ actions in a moment of pressure tell you things that will affect their entire lives. Also, it and “Fifty Grand,” the story that precedes it, are simply exciting on a narrative level.
I don’t know why I’ve been on a Hemingway kick recently – three of his books in less than a month – but I’m glad I picked this up. These days, the author’s legend seems to overshadow his work; it’s encouraging to know the writing, at least in the author’s prime, was solid.
There’s an impressive range of work here, from the ambitious title story about a man dying of gangrene while on safari and slipping into and out of consciousness, remembering scenes from his (wasted) life – the story has the depth and richness of a novel – to the noir classic “The Killers,” which inspired two famous films and contains some very amusing gangster dialogue.
“Fifty Grand” takes you into the world of boxing (there’s also a boxer in “The Killers”), and has a narrative left hook you might not see coming (I didn’t), while “The Gambler, The Nun, And The Radio” – about a man who’s been shot and his colourful hospital visitors – shows you just how funny Hemingway could be.
Also included is a classic story that I’ve read several times but still seems mysterious to me: “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” about two waiters discussing the final patron in their bar before it closes for the night. The old, deaf man tried to kill himself the week before, and the contrasting reactions of the waiters is very telling.
Some stories in the book didn’t resonate with me, particularly the Nick Adams war tales. (I recall the Adams stories from In Our Time working much better.) But their themes – grace under pressure, war and death, initiations of various sorts – are in keeping with the rest of the volume.
I think my favourite story is the final one, “The Short And Happy Life Of Francis Macomber,” which feels connected to the opening tale because it’s also set on safari and includes a man, woman, death and the concepts of courage and dignity. I love the way it’s constructed and how the characters’ actions in a moment of pressure tell you things that will affect their entire lives. Also, it and “Fifty Grand,” the story that precedes it, are simply exciting on a narrative level.
I don’t know why I’ve been on a Hemingway kick recently – three of his books in less than a month – but I’m glad I picked this up. These days, the author’s legend seems to overshadow his work; it’s encouraging to know the writing, at least in the author’s prime, was solid.
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