The Complete Short Stories (1925) by Ernest Hemingway (In-Progress)

The best short stories always seem capable of crafting a meaningful episode populated by interesting characters in such few pages, and this suits Hemingway's trademark style perfectly.

I was awestruck immediately on cracking this one open with a pair of absolute spellbinding examples of short fiction, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Snows of Kilimanjaro—both of which I found of high enough quality that they deserved their own reviews, which I've linked.

A young Ernest Hemingway

The Nick Adams stories which follow are often subtle and worthwhile. One particular example of great characterization from Hemingway was in The Battler, which sees the titular Nick Adams character absorb a beating before coming face-to-face with a former prizefighter who's absorbed far too many. The episode is notable for what isn't discussed, as perhaps Adams sees what he could become in the future should he continue on his current path as a vagabond and tramp. Ad Francis is an unstable force—friendly and talkative one moment, brooding and violent the next—and his scarred visage puts Adams off immediately, despite the initially welcoming nature of the man. Perhaps what frightens Adams most is the similarity between this man and himself, rather than the potentially aggressive and violent nature of Francis.

Also notable is the character of Bugs, who's referred to pejoratively with racist epithets through the narrative, but shows himself to be the warm, welcoming, intelligent character that Francis initially appears. Hemingway, a famous fan of Mark Twain's, plays off his contemporary readers' expectations with the character and subverts their expectations as Twain did with his stories.

Note: This review is in-progress. I'll add more thoughts as I continue to read.

A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens

I've read most classic writers, whether in school or since, despite my lack of reviews on this website. However I'm ashamed to admit that this is my first exposure—ever—to Charles Dickens. I'm not sure how I managed to avoid all of his novels, novellas, short stories, and the like up to this point, but here we are. And after experiencing his work for the first time I can confidently consider it a failing not only of my own reading choices, but of our education system.

Perhaps most affecting in the story is how much of myself I saw in Scrooge. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that might have been Dickens' intent. We're all curmudgeonly, miserly, and stingy with our affections at times, and Scrooge's initial character represents that quite well. While this novel did a lot to reform the Christmas holiday and popularize it, it's also a general reminder for us to be more kind, generous, and empathetic towards one-another, which, from what I understand, is a common theme in Dickens' work.

The changes Scrooge goes through in subsequent pages, though unsubtle, is touching and doesn't seem cloying, though it very well could have in the hands of a lesser writer. The dialogue and Dickens' imagination in designing the spirits are particular highlights for me.

Though it's equal parts comical and beautifully written, what's most striking is that Dickens prose remains so readable now, nearly 200 years after he began writing. I breezed through A Christmas Carol pretty easily, and I sometimes have troubled getting into Victorian literature.

I went in somewhat cynical, but Dickens changed my mind. This is every bit the influential modern fable it's reputed to be, and I'm looking forward to making up for lost time and reading more Dickens next year. Perhaps The Pickwick Papers next, followed by Oliver Twist?

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936) by Ernest Hemingway

It's easy to miss a lot of the more introspective qualities of Hemingway's work. Granted, they are often hidden behind (or perhaps overshadowed by) the bombastic, hyper-masculine chest-thumping he's famous for. But the more self-conscious passages in which he struggles with self-doubt, failures in character, and deeds left undone are present in most of his enduring works for those willing to look beyond the lion-hunting, war-fighting, cocktail-drinking, and womanizing.

Snows differs from some of his other work in that these qualities are much more readily apparent. And though less delicate in their presentation, the honesty with which they're laid bare creates an intriguing, layered main character in just a few dozen pages; one that reveals Hemingway is not lacking the self-awareness that his naysayers seem to conveniently ignore.

Beautifully written in the terse prose that influenced American literature for the remainder of the 20th century, The Snows of Kilimanjaro is quintessential Hemingway and thus not to be missed by anybody with any interest in classic American literature.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1936) by Ernest Hemingway

This was originally a short story I wasn't going to review. It was another solid effort from Hemingway, pretty typical of his quality and similar in theme to his other stories I'd read in the past. Worth reading but somewhat unremarkable in the presence of his canon.

I ended up doubling back to write this a month or so after I read it because the story resonated with me more over time. I read many short stories and since this I've dipped into Shirley Jackson, Pynchon, some of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Poe (who's one of my very favorite writers), Lovecraft (who's very much not one of my favorite writers), etc. And still this one seems to occupy a growing amount of brain real estate.

The characters are what most stuck with me. Each of the three main characters has their own voice and their own motivations and the titular Francis Macomber makes a drastic change in a story that involves a lot of introspection on his part. There is great difficulty in being confronted with our own faults. We're either crushed by them or evolve to overcome them, and that's what the story is about for Francis.

The more Hemingway I read, the more easily I'm able to turn aside criticisms of his focus on masculinity as dampening the quality of his work. In stories like this I find Hemingway to be intensely aware of his own weakness rather than thumping his chest and celebrating himself as a pillar of masculine vigor. In turning the spotlight on Francis's cowardice, Hemingway seems to be examining his own. I found it a deeply insecure and personal story for the writer.
The other two characters are equally intriguing. I didn't hate Margot and was surprised to see that other readers did. On the contrary, when considering her situation I actually grew somewhat sympathetic to her. She is certainly not a sympathetic character, but neither did I find her to be shallowly evil. Her marriage with Francis is not a happy one and the two are left in a martial power struggle because of their inability to end their involvement. Margot uses the weapons at her disposal to wound Francis in this martial cold war, and Francis does the same to Margot. I didn't find her to be a shoddily written women-are-evil type character that reviewers seem keen to toss Hemingway under the bus for, and, frankly, I find that critique to be as shallow and dishonest as it paints Margot. There's more here than that.

The only character I couldn't find much sympathy for was Wilson, who himself can't seem to find much sympathy for anyone in the story aside from the lion. Wilson shows little humanity and rationalizes his disinterest and near-sociopathy in childlike ways. He also provides an interesting foil to Macomber and Margot: two people who seem to care too much.

Wilson is the archetypal man's man in this story—the brave and capable hunter—and he's also the least likable fellow of the bunch. I believe Hemingway was aware of this and intended it. I don't think this is a story which says to us that Wilson is the ideal, and that Francis's weakness and cowardice is what dooms him. I believe it's a story that says to us that all men are weak and cowardly, and that examining this weakness, knowing it, coming to terms with, and overcoming it, is what true masculinity—or even humanity—is all about. Wilson is "strong" because he doesn't care. He's a man alone with no family or friends. Francis becomes strong because he does.

But perhaps I'm just projecting all of this onto the story because I enjoyed reading it. Perhaps it was intended to say the exact opposite of the message I took from it and I'm a total nincompoop. Either way, I quite enjoyed The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. I enjoyed the characters, their power dynamic, and I greatly enjoyed the ending, which I found profound. Hemingway definitely has some stinkers, but this short story isn't one of them. It serves as a great companion for the introspective, cerebral, and more well-known The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐