Hemingway?

sterculelum

I've always wanted to read something by him, but never knew what. Where should I start? I always hear about For Whom The Bell Tolls, but I'm kinda put off because I'm not really interested in war stuff, and I know nothing about the Spanish Civil War. The same goes for A Farewell To Arms. Are they about other things then the war, or should I choose something different?

A Moveable feast, The Sun Also Rises and Old Man & The Sea sound pretty cool and I've heard good things about them.

Thanks.

Playboy

The old man and the sea is a great introduction to Hemingway. Its a short read and you will get a feel for the author which will help you decide if you want to read more.

sterculelum

I've heard it's a bit slow and boring compared to the others though...

supersheep

Only read a few books of his - I find them a little hard to engage with... But, The Sun Also Rises is good, so is the Old Man and the Sea. I liked To Have and Have Not the most of all his works which I have read.

Playboy

I found it the Old Man and the Sea quite brilliant ... but it all comes down to taste

lacuna

I think Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises is a great introduction to Hemingway. It was the first of his that I read and it left me dying to read more. I was in Spain at the time when I read it, around some of the places mentioned in the book which made the whole novel more real. It's a rather classy book.

The Old Man and The Sea is a fantastic book but I would still recommend some of his other material as better to begin with. The Snows of Kilimanjaro was a great selection of short stories. I haven't got my hands on For Whom The Bell Tolls so I can't discuss that yet. There are many more of his that I really enjoyed. Maybe go to a book shop and read the backs of the books and choose one that you think of most interest to you. It's always better to choose yourself.

Feenikusu

I hated The Old Man and the Sea. I found it pretty boring and hard to read, although the story is good.
And I didn't know half of the words there, but that shouldn't be a problem for you. But that made it even harder for me.

Third_Echelon

I have read 'A Farewell to Arms'...

At the start I found it a bit 'slow' to get going, but I think by the end I enjoyed it.... It was 'OK'. Not the best book I have ever read, but I wouldn't tell someone not to buy it...

I first read Michael Palin's 'Hemmingway Adventue' before I had read any of his books, and it gave me a good feel for the author and his life and I think reading his books after this, they made a lot more 'sense' to me.

theCzar

you should read For Whom the Bell Tolls and then dig up the book club discussion thread which I see has been unstickied. :rolleyes:

Setun

I read The Old Man and the Sea, found it incredible. It was so clear, and I loved the monologues. It'll only take a day to read, it's really short and you can't go wrong with it to start you off imo.

humbleCounty

Hemmingway is brilliant.

Old Man of The Sea, A Farewell To Arms, and For Whom The Bell Tolls are absolutley unbelievable. The man was a genius.