By-Line

A substantial collection of Ernest Hemingway's journalistic writings spanning four decades. It is a bit hit-and-miss – as, I suppose, any editorial collection would be. Many of the selections are dated newspaper articles reporting facts and (then-)current events, with Hemingway understandably not striving for literary greatness; these ones, of course, do not make for interesting reading nowadays. There is an undercurrent of obligation that I detected in many of these pieces and Hemingway lacks the artistic freedom that is allowed by the crafting of literature. On the other hand there are a number of real gems, particularly among the longer Esquire articles of the 1930s, where the writer is allowed to breathe. Whilst it is a truism show more that Hemingway's journalistic output never matched his literary output, some of these Esquire articles come damn close. Indeed, they serve as a better representation of Hemingway in the 1930s than his only novel published in that decade: To Have and Have Not.

What surprised and gladdened me the most about By-Line was the amount of humour Hemingway uses throughout. Perhaps because he never intended his journalism to be judged alongside his literature, perhaps as a reaction to the restrictions of writing to order for newspaper editors; for whatever reason, Hemingway cracks jokes and is in general more light-hearted and communicative with the reader than he often could be in his novels and his short stories. This gives you a greater appreciation of the writer's character, allowing you to flesh out the individual in a way that you cannot if you just read, say, The Sun Also Rises or Men Without Women.

The book as a whole can serve as a great introduction to Hemingway's writing, for it covers just about every topic that was of interest to him in his writing career. It covers fishing ('On the Blue Water' contains a passage which clearly served as the basis for The Old Man and the Sea), bullfighting, war ('Notes on the Next War' is as eloquent an anti-war message as anything in A Farewell to Arms or For Whom the Bell Tolls), big-game hunting ('Notes on Dangerous Game') and literature ('Monologue to the Maestro' is a gold mine of advice to writers). It also covers events of his life which he never really addressed in his fiction, such as his two plane crashes in Africa (recounted here in 'The Christmas Gift') and his experiences in World War Two. The latter are particularly good, if admittedly not on a par with the Esquire articles. What Hemingway aficionado could resist reading his experiences of a landing-craft on D-Day ('Voyage to Victory') or the battles for Paris ('How We Came to Paris') and Germany ('War in the Siegfried Line')? Overall, there are enough strong articles and enough literary flourishes to make By-Line a worthwhile read and a stellar addition to the Hemingway canon. show less

By-line: Ernest Hemingway, read by Campbell Scott, was in many places mesmerizing. These are recordings of Hemingway's reporter's work--along with magazine etc. articles, written throughout his lifetime. Particularly poignant were his works while at the Toronto Star on fishing and hunting experiences, when he speaks of youthful excursions out with his father. Also, those writings near the end of his life when he'd been--along with his wife, Mary, and their airplane pilot--gone missing and for days in the newspaper headlines after being in a plane crash in Africa. This pieces of writing being both serious and humorous in proper parts--especially when staring down more than one elephant since the airplane came down in a long used elephant show more walk. Campbell Scott's tone in the narration just seemed so right on here, and all throughout the audio book too. show less

Hemmingway's Op-eds are a great look into how his style, personality, view on humanity developed over the years. I loved the articles about hunting lions.

This is a book every writer should read. If you are a writer, I won't have to tell you why.

Selected Articles and Dispatches of Four Decades