Ernest Hemingway and Patrick Hemingway - True at First Light: A Fictional Memoir

Pros: Some glimpses of greatness

Cons: Self indulgent, little insight

Review: I'm a two or three-book a week guy, unless I'm struggling through something by Octavio Paz or someone else equally remote from my life. It took me three weeks to finish this Hemingway book and, sadly, it is not the best book that I've read this year....

Pros: Clean, lean prose

Cons: Muddled execution

Review: Hemingway misses the big game, but scores a fine trophy or, Winner takes
nothing.

The book, True at First Light, was well written in its first incarnation as Green Hills of Africa, but it is still a good book. It reads well and then...

Pros: It's a somewhat interesting account of African safaris

Cons: It's too long, boring, and not Hemingway's best

Review: I was thrilled when I first heard that this book was being published, because I am writing my thesis on gender conflicts in Hemingway. I thought this book would be valuable to my discussion, considering the fact that Hem's exploits in Africa play a key...

Pros: Great cover.

Cons: Boring. A self-indulgent, rambling piece which is meaningless for those unfamiliar with Africa.

The Bottom Line: Unless you are part of Hemingway's select readership and know Africa well, this one will leave you frustrated, irritated and yawning.

Review: True At First Light. E Hemingway. Fiction. Scribner 1999. Hardback pp 311. $26.00. ISBN 0-684-84921-6.

When I showed some of my writing to a relative, he remarked: “Well, it’s so-so, but I prefer stories that tell you...