Hemingway on Fishing
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Product Description
When the taciturn hero of Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River" returns from the Great War, he heads straight to the northern Michigan woods to begin the process of healing. Camping along the river and fishing for trout, Nick Adams slowly retrieves the elements of a life interrupted, allowing familiar sensations to wash over him: He stepped into the stream. It was a shock. His trousers clung tightly to his legs. His shoes felt the gravel.... There was a tug on the line. It was his first strike. Holding the now living rod across the current, he brought in the line with his left hand. The rod bent in jerks, the trout pumping against the current. Later, breaking his leader on a large fish, he reels in, feeling "a little sick, as though it would be better to sit down." More than one critic has called "Big Two-Hearted River" the author's greatest short story. Certainly it's a model of the form, written in the uncluttered prose that Hemingway made his trademark. That he struck such a deep, cathartic chord with what seems on the face of it like a simple fish tale is no accident: Hemingway would return to his love of angling time and again over the course of his career. Hemingway on Fishing collects the bulk of the author's angling-related writings, including other Nick Adams stories and excerpts from several novels--most notably, the memorable wine-soaked pilgrimage to Spain's Irati River in The Sun Also Rises. However, the lesser-known newspaper and magazine articles may elicit even more interest among readers. A piece that the 21-year-old Hemingway wrote for the Toronto Star Weekly in August 1920 reveals his rather precocious confidence. "At present the best rainbow trout fishing in the world is in the rapids of the Canadian Soo," he announces in the first paragraph, and then proceeds to scotch any hopes of an easy catch: It is a wild and nerve-frazzling sport and the odds are in favor of the big trout who tear off thirty or forty yards of line at a rush and then will sulk at the base of a rock and refuse to be stirred into action by the pumping of a stout fly rod aided by a fluent monologue of Ojibwayian profanity. By 1933, Hemingway was writing about his true angling passion--deep-sea big-game fishing--for the likes of Esquire and other large-circulation glossies. In "Marlin of the Morro: A Cuban Letter," he notes that when the northeast trade winds blow, the "marlin come to the top and cruise the wind." To catch a fish, the saying goes, you must think like one--and Papa's perceptive descriptions of piscine behavior show why he was considered one of the premiere anglers of his day. It's true that Hemingway indulged his passions in life and on the page, and that sometimes the former got him into trouble. As for the latter, those of us who enjoy a good fish story are the luckier for it. --Langdon Cook
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Great Collection of Stories
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Comment:
Perfect for anyone who enjoys Hemingway, fishing, and/or just reading about fishing. Some of the best pieces are from magazine articles he wrote about fishing in Europe and on the Gulf Stream. It is also nicely divided in to different sections, and it is not necessary to read from cover-to-cover.
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Summary:
Excellent collection of Hemingway's best at fishing...
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Comment:
Ernest Hemingway, beside being the premier American author of the twentieth century, also fished quite avidly. The assorted writings in "Hemingway on Fishing" range from articles written for magazines, to portions of books such as "The Sun Also Rises" and "Old Man and the Sea." One of the stories rivals the Old Man and the Sea when it comes to futility and heartbreak in fishing for marlin. Excellent book: if you enjoy Hemingway and the fish of the sea, get your hands on a copy.
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Summary:
Please -- no more literature critics....
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Comment:
This book is a "matter of fact" gathered from the thoughts of a fellow who enjoyed the outdoors more than his own life. Within the pages of this 'compilation' a person can understand a little more about a poet that was not revealed through many of the original passages. As I have personally read, many of Hemingway's articles, short stories and novels are written from hindsight and many personal experiences, albiet great compositions; there was a literate outcome and method.
Nick Lyons is a great writer on his own and he has had much of a collection to work with in preparing this book. His [Lyons] piecing of this puzzle has made good sense and his additions have overwhelmed the possibilities.
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Summary:
Hemingway on Fishing
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Comment:
This is an excellent collection of Hemingway's writings about fishing, each taken from a larger work. It is a great introduction to Hemingway if your new to him, and a great refresher to him if you've been away for awhile. Read this book and you won't be disappointed, but please do each work the respect of reading the book it came from, and experience each work in it's original context.
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Summary:
Gathers Hemingway's writings about angling
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Comment:
Hemingway On Fishing gathers Hemingway's writings about angling, and while it fits into our 'literature' section quite neatly with its flowing prose and evocative descriptions, it's the fisherman who will appreciate Hemingway's passion for the sport. Nick Lyons edits the presentation and provide an introduction, Jack Hemingway the foreword in this classic treatise.
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