I have a copy signed by Abraham Lincoln.
Just reading Hemingway’s biography now. He was an insane liar - he claimed to have killed 129 Germans in battle although he wasn’t in any armed forces (he was a journalist in the field). His lies about his participation in WWI (he was an ambulance driver in Italy) are drawfed by his drunken, paranoid lies about WWII.
That being said, he and Fitzgerald are the greatest American short story writers.
“The Old Man and the Sea” was his best IMHO
I did my thesis on Hemingway. Most good short story writers are terrific liars. Faulkner was the same way. Before he got famous, he lied that he was a pilot in WWI. He never got past Canadian flight training.
I always liked “Big Two Hearted River.” Great short story.
Hemingway was a bloated egotist. It’s odd that he became so hostile toward journalism because that’s where he made his name and developed his terse, bare-bones style.
I’ve found most of his work over-rated. But I agree with you about Fitzgerald. If you’re only talking about 20th-century writers ...
What always amazes me is that as much as Hemingway hated journalism, his style is pure, crisp journalism (just the basics...nothing extra, nothing not completely necessary).
I have a copy signed by Abraham Lincoln.
I don’t know I find Hemingway a hot or miss writer. Some stuff was pretty good, some a mishmash of crap.
The most overrated piece he ever wrote was “The Old Man and the Sea”. The first time I read it I thought it had be written by some kid in High School. It just wasn’t that good yet he get a Pulitzer and a Nobel for it, go figure.