Papa Hemingway

I grew up in Idaho, approximately three hours’ drive from where Hemingway met his sad end. As it happens, I didn’t know that he had died in my home state until after it was no longer my home state, as my family moved to Tennessee before my Grade 11 year. To be fair, Hemingway isn’t a writer that children should really be exposed to, but still I am surprised that the fact was not not more widespread in the general cultural consciousness.

I happened to finish this book on the 62nd anniversary of Papa’s death, 2 July 2023. In fact, I stayed up to 23:30 at night to make sure I finished the last chapter on that day. This is perhaps the most significant anniversary of Papa’s death, since he would have turned 62 on 21 July 1961, show more Hotchner’s book, correctly called a memoir rather than a biography, chronicled a significant amount of the author’s experiences along the fringes of Hemingway’s entourage. Hemingway maintains his reputation as a larger-than-life literary master, maintaining relationships with many of the leading lights from literature and other forms of entertainment from the 1920s to the 1950s.

The pacing of the book is somewhat uneven, and there are many portions in which Hotchner describes Hemingway from afar, through letters, phone calls, or even press accounts. I think it would be a bit better had the book stayed within the times when Hotchner was in Hemingway’s presence. Then, the tone could have shifted markedly once Hemingway’s mental illnesses became impossible to suppress any longer. Their suppression, principally by Papa himself, is unsurprising, since, as Hotchner reports, he was ever fearful of losing his “equipment,” his mind and his talent, This fear is typically the case with public figures who rely on the power of their minds. Two other prominent examples come to mind: the only American to officially be recognized as world chess champion; and the great comedian Robin Williams, whose manic behavior, in retrospect, kept the “demons” at bay.

I enjoyed this book and it has inspired me to restart my own writing, which became stalled due to everyone’s favorite pandemic and the pressures that came with it. show less

This covers 1948 and 1961 during which time Ernest Hemingway drew in fellow author, editor and playwright A.E. Hotchner into his inner circle. They traveled together, including raucous and risky forays into the bull-fighting ferias of Spain (once Hotchner even was goaded into acting as a matador in an actual bullfight), fishing the waters off Cuba Papa had prowled seeking U-boats, hunted in Idaho, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, and more. For fourteen years, Hotchner and Hemingway shared their thoughts and careers with Hotch acting as agent and representative. As Hemingway reminisced about his childhood, recalled the Paris literary scene of the twenties, and recounted the many real events that lay behind his fiction, including The Sun show more Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hotchner took it all down.

What may have made this book controversial at the time is the final act. This part seeks to unravel why Ernest Hemingway took his own life, shooting himself at his Idaho home while his wife Mary slept. Hotch blames growing depression over the realisation that the best days of his writing career had come to an end and bolsters this with noted conversations and a couple of previous suicide attempts. Signs such a personality disorder of undetermined cause and the toil of hospitalization on the independent, free spirit. Dismissed as part of the end of life delusions is FBi surveillance, which apparently was true, after all. show less

A very personal look at Ernest Hemingway.
Many insights into Hemingway. Clearly he was very bright and clearly he was severely emotionally ill at the time he shot himself.
Interesting vignettes of his time in Cuba and Spain and of his love for bullfighting and matadors. Many things came together at the end of his life to diminish his capabilities and lead to his depression and anxiety.
Given his family history there must be a genetic contribution to his emotional illness and suicide. Clearly the attempts to treat his emotional illness failed dismally.
THe author clearly knew Hemingway well and had a lot of insight into his mind.
Some of the information about Hemingway’s work habits were very interesting.

A memoir of A.E. Hotchner a journalist who spent years with Hemingway in his later years as a friend and confidant. The book is insightful in getting a feel for the twilight of Hemingway's life and the struggles he encountered at the end. It was curious to me that Hotchner was taken in to Hemingway's confidences from an encounter as a journalist covering a story on him. Regardless Hotchner does become this and the book highlights the times they spent together around the world and at Hemingway's residences. It was a sad ending as Hemingway sinks into his depression and paranoia that led to his suicide. Not particularly pleasant material as he struggles to recapture his past and lifestyle that as in most such cases is not doable. show more Hemingway will always hold as a legend but in reality much of his life had to do with his struggles to maintain the life of adventure and experience. show less

This was a fascinating look by his son. I would have loved more details and more insight, yet it shows hemingways life through the eyes of his son.

This is a personal memoir by Hotchner, who was a close friend of Hemingway's throughout the last 14 years of his life. Many of the stories told here are not surprising. Most who are familiar with Hemingway and his work will not be surprised to learn that he liked to fish, drink, make love, and go to bull fights. On the other hand, the Hemingway fan will get a better insight into what made Papa tick and just what led to his ultimate destruction.

The biggest drawback that I found to the memoir was that Hotchner sometimes introduces people without explaining who they are to the reader. That is fine with more famous people, like Ava Gardner and Gary Cooper, but there are other people who have a close relationship with Hemingway who just show more appear in the book without any introduction. I found this to be off-putting and frustrating.

Despite this major flaw, I found the book to be helpful in allowing me to know who Hemingway really was as his friends saw him, and I found Hotchner's ending to be poignant, touching, and even a tad motivational. I was also impressed with the obvious influence Papa had on Hotchner's writing style. He used the same short sentences as Hemingway, and he got right to the action and wasted little time beating around the bush. The best accolade that I can give this book is that it made me want to read more Hemingway. I really liked it. show less

Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961/Hotchner, A. E. > Friends and associates/Authors, American > 20th century > Biography/Journalists > United States > Biography