Men Without Women
by Ernest Hemingway
I picked up this book because I read the title and it sounded right up my alley.
However, I was shocked and mortified when I opened the thing and discovered it
was all words! Not a single picture at all!! HAHA! All jokes aside, I found this
book sitting on a shelf one day while lounging around at home. I had no
recollection of seeing it before. The cover was nice and the title was
non-threatening so I thought I’d give it a read. Also, it’s real thin and
Hemingway was noted for his straightforward prose – perfect for an dim old chunk
of coal such as myself.
Its a collection of short stories with totally titular themes so I think its
best to just go through them one by one and give my thoughts
(also, I haven’t finished them all yet and this makes updating my review real
easy)
The Undefeated
I understand why this was chosen to open the collection. Its a depiction of the
kind of sad, rumpled, and yet suicidally defiant masculinity that you expect
going into the book. Although, as fitting as this is, it was the *exact* sort of
thing I was expecting. ‘Past-His-Prime Bull-Fighter Who Just Won’t Quit’ is
almost too Hemingway and would feel pretty rote at this point, given the man’s
influence. And, that would indeed be the case if it weren’t for the strength of
Hemingway’s prose. During the actual bullfight, I felt as though I was down in
the arena – watching from the sidelines.
The ending, as predictable was it was thematically, was not so predictable as to
deminish the stakes of the fight or make it feel like a forgone conclusion. In
fact, it was a little more tender than I had expected.
Pretty good for 31 pages
In Another Country
Its probably only due to the setting of this one but it really reminded me of
Catch-22. Catch-22 is my favourite book of all time so this is probably a good
thing… probably. I don’t really have much to say about it, really. Definitely
more forgetable than The Undefeated.
The one thing that stuck out to me was the nebulous “Machines” that were
constantly mentioned. They were never properly described and named so
monolithically; It really made them feel strange and alien. I almost felt like I
was reading some alt-history or even sci-fi despite knowing that they, no-doubt,
were in reference to some real-world ‘thing’ that Hemingway had seen in a
hospital somewhere. Probably several “hightech” things that seemed impenitrable
or even magical back in 1928.
Also, the dialogue here is great. Some of the most realistic I’ve read in a
while.
Hills Like White Elephants
What the hell?! There’s a lady in this one!! I thought that title was
non-threatening but it was a TRAP!! I let my guard down and now I feel SCARED
and UNCOMFORTABLE.
I have lots of thoughts about this one but they’re too complicated or personal
to put down. Maybe both. I can’t be bothered and also I don’t want to be.
The Killers
I really didn’t like this one. Felt like a Tarantino flick. I guess that means
most people probably would like it. Do think that Ol’ Quint has read this.
Alright so I looked into it a little and it turns out that I’m not the only
person to pick up on this. However! My theory is a little different. QT probably
saw the 1964 Don Siegel adaption of the story and ripped it off from there. The
Siegel movie looks good, though. Gotta check that out.
Oh, I should mention that The Killers follows a lot of the same beats as
Pulp Fiction: Boxer, Bickering Hitmen, Diner gets held up. Probably should
have put that at the start.