Clarkson from “top gear” always compares cars with coffee. There is the espresso – hard-hitting and direct; ordinary filter-coffee – hits the spot and does an okay job. Then there is “the café latte” – fluffy and without content.
Hemingway was a steaming espresso – well balanced and “larger than life”. There is the public Hemingway, with the uber-macho; game hunting, deep-sea fishing, boxing and so on. This is in stark contrast to the beauty and feel of his writing.
A great example is “A Farewell to Arms“. I was choked and disappointed when I read it for the first time, because i wasn’t able to connect the book with the man (Hemingway). But the second time i read it it reviled layers of genuine emotion, sympathy and empathy. It a love-story, without the “latté” – clean-cut and direct. The ability to write so much with so few word…
I’m looking forwards to reading a biography about the man, and perhaps shine a little lite on the man Hemingway. What made him tick. Childhood, tragic love-affair…. Deed and consequences.
My theory is that he was lost and just trying to find some kind of identity. Even willing to risk his life in seeking it. Perhaps he found some scraps of it with all of his “Near-Death Experiences” (NDE). Greater appreciation for life, increased interest in the meaning of life and increased empathic understanding,
I have always admired craftsmanship. A good chair or a work of art – it shines through. I’m looking forward to reading more of his art.
