ERNEST HEMINGWAY: The Search for Courage

by Keith Ferrell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 17, 1984

Though not presented as a YA biography, this wispy runthrough of Hemingway's life-and-work is breathtakingly superficial--even by juvenile standards. In bland, largely admiring, often platitudinous prose, Ferrell follows Ernest from childhood through bookish/macho adolescence--with emphasis on his father's strong model, only the faintest reference to the Hemingways' marital discord. Likewise, as Ernest goes on to reporting, WW I heroism, the bohemian life in Paris and elsewhere, the dark side of Hemingway's relationships (cf. Bernice Kert's The Hemingway Women, et al.) is virtually left out--while the Hemingway view of the people around him (e.g., F. Scott Fitzgerald) is often mindlessly echoed. Ferrell is similarly undiscriminating about Hemingway's work--quoting a chunk from each major book, gushily recycling the hoary romanticism about Hemingway's quest for perfect, ""true"" prose. (""His dedication to writing was complete, his fits of ecstasy sometimes triggered by a single sentence he'd written."") And a shrill epilogue argues--in a simpleminded way--against the recent trend to view Hemingway more critically. . . though Ferrell sees ""his reputation once more on the rise."" A sad little attempt at pro-Hemingway revisionism--and an unnecessary addition to the crammed Hemingway-studies shelf.

Pub Date: Aug. 17, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Evans--dist. by Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION