Book Notes: "Hemingway on Fishing" by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway on Fishing by Ernest Hemingway

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an enjoyable collection of Hemingway's many descriptions and depictions and also his knowledge of fishing. Although many of the passages are from Hemingway novels and novella I have already completed, the Nick Adams and various Esquire, Vogue and Holiday magazine articles dating from the 1930s through to the 1950s are well worth having in one collection. I was particular enthralled by the Esquire article where Hemingway outlines the story of the Old Man and the Sea, back in 1936. It makes sense of his theory that the best writing is based on truth but it is completely made-up. Regardless, this book has inspired me to go fishing more often, and I have decided to learn how to fly-fish at the next opportunity.



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Book Notes: "This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was somewhat struck by the use of a play format for heavy dialogue, and the various long poems, interspersed with a two-book structure (and interlude) and a complex structure of interwoven characters and time-shifts. Well worth the read and I can only imagine the stir it would have caused in 1920. I can only wonder what the original drat of this novel would have been line and I remain bewildered by the life experience FSF had at such a very young age.



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Book Notes: "The Call of the Wild/White Fang" by Jack London

The Call of the Wild/White Fang by Jack London

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Brilliant. No wonder these are regarded as classics. As the synopsis suggests, reading the two novella together is a good idea. These reminded me of Black Beauty in style, yet London captures the harshness of the Northland and its people with the ever-present "Wild" that sets these two works apart.



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