The Nick Adams Stories show a memorable character growing from child to adolescent to soldier, veteran, writer & parent--a sequence closely paralle...
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May 07, 2011
Erik
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At Grinnell College there was a self-proclaimed Diggers collective which, among things like free meals, parties, parades and other "happenings", ran a "free store" off the lounge of my south campus dorm, Loose Hall (renamed Augustus Stanley Owsley Hall by its residents). Basically, it was an disused cloakroom which students were urged to fill with unwanted, but still useful, items. Among other things, I found Hemingway's Nick Adams Stories there and allowed myself the pleas
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Jan 03, 2012
Eddie
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It's funny, but I've never read a lot of Hemingway's work even though I've really enjoyed that I have read. The Nick Adams Stories is no exception; the writing, the characters, the scenic descriptions, these are all as good as it gets. This collection of short stories, inspired by Hemingways own life, follows a man named Nick Adams from his childhood to an adult man with a child of his own. I came away from this book feeling as though I knew Adams, as well as a few of his associates, personal
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Jan 31, 2010
It can be unsettling, unnerving to revisit an author embraced during one's teenage years. Reader reaction can have less to do with literature than with memory and passion. I read all of Hemingway when I was in high school, and I had quite a crush on him. He became the first version of my Jungian "animus." Now, four decades later, I reread these stories and am stunned by the powerful feelings they generate - adolescent yearning, glorious self-confidence, a naive sense of ownership of al
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May 06, 2009
Greg of A2
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Here's my admission: this collection is a sentimental favorite of mine. I have no objectivity when it comes to rating this collection. Why? I grew up in Michigan. I've traveled through much of the state (both peninsulas). I've been to Walloon Lake where Hemingway summered as a child at the family cottage called Windemere. I've visited the Little Traverse History Museum in Petoskey that houses a permanent exhibit on Hemingway in Michigan. But mostly because these stories resonate with my own chil
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Feb 09, 2010
Steve
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Uneven. About half of the 24 stories in this collection are successful. Hemingway's prose (form) only fits certain topics (content). For example, it works marvelously in the early stories about Nick's childhood, each of which centers around some Joycean epiphany or childhood lesson. The form does not work, however, in the later, plotless, slice-of-life stories of fishing, camping, or skiing.
I had not noticed prior to reading this book the massive Chekhov influence on Hemingway, espe More...
I had not noticed prior to reading this book the massive Chekhov influence on Hemingway, espe More...
Feb 06, 2009
Nolan
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Oh this book just pulls my heart until it hurts. If I ever had a place to call my home town it would be Northern Michigan. Hemingway often wrote about the same area of Northern Michigan where he would spend his summers. These short stories are about growing up there and mentions all the little towns and places I know.
I read this book every summer on the airplane when I go back to MI.
I read this book every summer on the airplane when I go back to MI.
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Jan 30, 2011
Jeff
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The Nick Adams Stories fill numerous pages in an assortment of Hemingway short story books. This particular book has put them together in chronological order, not of when they were written, but in the order of Nick Adams life. Although the stories that bare a close resemblance to Hemingway's own life, He always stood by them as works of fiction. The book begins with stories depicting Adams growing up in the woods of Michigan, most notable a story "Indian Camp", where Nick's father h
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Dec 08, 2008
Robert
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What a wonderful way to read these stories; you do appreciate them in a different way in sequence. The biggest surprise was "Last Good Country," an unfinished novella that's kind-of like Hemingway's attempt at a children's adventure story, that he stops writing just before it turns dark. I'd read "Father and Sons" before and it's just as haunting as I remember. It also prove how little was "simple" about Hemingway style. Suicide hangs over the whole thing, without
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Mar 22, 2009
Ian
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I'm giving this 5 stars as a whole, even though I'm never sold on the idea of collections of stories taken out of their original context... I'm just hard pressed to think of a character whose story is more brilliantly expressed in a series of moments than Nick Adams'... "Indian Camp", "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife", "The Light of the World", "The Last Good Country", "The Battler", "The Killers", "A Way You'll Never Be", "
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Jul 09, 2010
Heather
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I debated between the three and four star rating for this one. In terms of Hemingway's storytelling and writing ability it is certainly a four. On the contrary, in terms of how much I enjoyed the content of this book, it is most definitely a three for me. This is the second Hemingway book I've read (after promising myself that I would give each book a chance on it's own before I make my ultimate judgment on him. After tearing through "A Farewell to Arms", I immediately picked up the ne
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Mar 02, 2011
Mark R.
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This collection includes all twenty-four of the stories Hemingway wrote about his character Nick Adams, including eight that were not published in his lifetime. The stories were originally written and published in a random order, but were able to be put together chronologically, to tell the story of Nick Adams from his early childhood until his late thirties or thereabouts.
The book is divided into different sections, each dealing with a segment of Adams' life, first as a child learn More...
The book is divided into different sections, each dealing with a segment of Adams' life, first as a child learn More...
Aug 08, 2010
Zachrobhan
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It never ceases to amaze me the crud that teachers will subject their students to. This was my case in high school. I was forced to write numerous papers talking about how awesome this book was.
In reality Ernest Hemingway was a total Eeyore. Everything he writes is depressing and boring. It's crazy that every one applauds him as being such a realist. I feel sorry for anyone who sees life in that way.
I guess it's fine if you read a little Hemingway to broaden your horizon More...
In reality Ernest Hemingway was a total Eeyore. Everything he writes is depressing and boring. It's crazy that every one applauds him as being such a realist. I feel sorry for anyone who sees life in that way.
I guess it's fine if you read a little Hemingway to broaden your horizon More...
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Jan 29, 2012
Judith
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To me, this book is so eloquent I am reluctant to review it because it will be impossible to do it justice.
It is a collection of short stories from earlier works of Hemingway. In each of them, a thoughtful reader can gain insight into Hemingway and him/herself.
The following is from "Indian Camp." In it, Nick is a very young boy, and, with his physician father, he has been present at a difficult childbirth and found the victim of a suicide. Dawn is approaching and he More...
It is a collection of short stories from earlier works of Hemingway. In each of them, a thoughtful reader can gain insight into Hemingway and him/herself.
The following is from "Indian Camp." In it, Nick is a very young boy, and, with his physician father, he has been present at a difficult childbirth and found the victim of a suicide. Dawn is approaching and he More...
Jul 20, 2010
Andre
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I really enjoyed the Nick Adams Stories by Hemingway, having it passed over to me from my Dad recently. The set of short stories, mostly set in Michigan, is entertaining, haunting, and timeless. Spanning across a lifetime, Nick pulls us into the wilds of Michigan, the dark swamp of war, the sometimes frightening responsibility of fatherhood, and the decay of the Native American culture. Hemingway's stripped down prose leaps off the page at you, and like the deep Michigan woods, demands contem
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Apr 03, 2009
Mary
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The Nick Adams Stories, by Ernest Hemingway, was a worthwhile read and quite good. I enjoyed Nick Adam's adventures, but I do not like his overly macho attitude. It's a very male book, interesting and informative but annoying. I liked the outdoor stories. The war stories were upsetting and I didn't like his attitude about women and native Americans. I did like how carefully he explained everything. I did not really like the way he started things and left them unfinished without even a hin
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Aug 06, 2008
Trin
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Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories were originally published scattered through several collections, and never in anything approaching chronological order; this collection attempts to gather them all together, along with some unpublished stories and snippets, and arrange them so that the narrative moves through Nick’s life—from when he’s a very young boy to when he’s a father of a young son himself. The result was…disappointing. At least to me. I feel the need to qualify these negative statements mor
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May 06, 2007
I've read a lot of fishing writing, and Hemingway is the best. He really knows the subject and it shows. It's hard to write a review of this book because Nick Adams is a personal hero. As far as the collection goes, there are several previously unpublished stories added. Some of them read as incomplete, but one, "The Last Good Country," is a terrific addition. Reading this book takes me home and reminds me that somewhere it's fishing season. On the homesick note, I like this part, al
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Feb 10, 2012
Medina
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I'm sure many people consider Hemingway to be a genius - and while I really tried to like this book, I didn't... It was charming at times, and I like the idea of the collection of stories. However, for me this book ended up being one of those that I just wanted to finish as soon as possible rather than being one I didn't want to let go of.
With that said, I will definetely give Hemingway's other books a chance. But as far as The Nick Adams Stories goes, it's not a big favorite of mine
With that said, I will definetely give Hemingway's other books a chance. But as far as The Nick Adams Stories goes, it's not a big favorite of mine
Jun 17, 2009
Clare
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To be honest, this book was poorly written, aand I would have expected more from such a famous author. The bridging from chapter to chapter was absent, and I often found myself confused. I don't think it has any redeeming qualities, so I stopped reading on about page 270. Worse still, it had so many swear words in every sentence (a VERY colorful vocabulary), that it could give you a heart attack. For a time we had to read it out loud, and we had to beep out words more than talk! I do not recomme
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May 27, 2009
Brigid
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I read it very fast and kept getting characters confused. Different people play the same role in different stories and some people carry over while others do not. Very masculine, stark and nature centered like I always heard Hemingway's writing described. However, simple observations and small descriptions reveal deep emotions. It's kind of the way a guy talks about his feelings without becoming to vulnerable.
Jun 13, 2009
Fjorthur
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Move over Izaak Walton, Nick Adams will interest readers hook, line, and sinker.
I tried to like Hemingway, but he is repetitive and his writing is so monosyllabic that he would have been a writer on Good Morning America.
In the story, when his sister said she wanted to be a boy and he called her devil, I was thinking 'not again'. He should have written Garden of Eden and stopped there.
I tried to like Hemingway, but he is repetitive and his writing is so monosyllabic that he would have been a writer on Good Morning America.
In the story, when his sister said she wanted to be a boy and he called her devil, I was thinking 'not again'. He should have written Garden of Eden and stopped there.
Aug 14, 2010
Carole
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I enjoy Hemingway very much & this is an interesting chronolgical/biographical arrangement of the stories. The quality was uneven, some were fragments rather than stories, & there was considerable repetition & loose ends but what stood out was the wonderful descriptions of fishing - I know enough about it to really identify with the quiet satisfaction & pleasure it brings.
Jun 03, 2007
علی
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این مجموعه داستان های اولیه ی همینگوی است که اغلب آنها در مجموعه ی "دوران ما" چاش و منتشر شده و برخی از آنها توسط مترجمین مختلف ترجمه شده و در مجلات و نشریات ادواری در سال های مختلف چاپ و منتشر شده است.
As much as Twin is American, Hemingway is un-American. He is the most famous narrator of "loosers but proud". He came to literature world with Nick Adams (In our Time), lived as Nick lived and died as Nick would die! Laconic but efficient, compendious but moving. Wishing More...
As much as Twin is American, Hemingway is un-American. He is the most famous narrator of "loosers but proud". He came to literature world with Nick Adams (In our Time), lived as Nick lived and died as Nick would die! Laconic but efficient, compendious but moving. Wishing More...
Jan 19, 2012
Jonathan
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Worth it just for "The Last Good Country." I like Hemingway, but never quite understand what was so revolutionary about him. Maybe it's like The Beatles: You had to hear them in their time, not jumbled together with all their imitators on oldies radio. If I had grown up reading overwrought Victorian prose, Hemingway's breakthrough would make more sense.
Jan 04, 2012
Liz
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This was a collection of short stories written by Hemingway about Nick Adams. He wrote about his childhood, adulthood, times during the war, etc. I really enjoyed The Last Good Country, which was a longer short story about Nick and his sister hiding away after she relays to Nick that the sheriff and another man is looking for him. I felt the fishing stories were the most boring and tried to get through those quickly. Overall, I enjoyed reading more about Nick Adams in these short stories.
May 04, 2010
I'm going to try again. I know I should like Hemingway, but I'm really struggling with trying to read his books. I guess this one in particular is a little too gritty and and demeaning of native americans. I know it was written years ago and at that time it was acceptable to express the feeling that the Indians were stinking, but really....
Apr 06, 2011
Ashley
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I remember reading "Big Two-Hearted River" in high school. I didn't get it. But reading it now makes me realize what a beautiful story it is. I also liked reading the stories in the chronological order of Nick's life and how they reveal his character (and Hemingway's)as a kid, teenager, soldier, writer, husband, and parent. I loved "The Last Good Country" and "On Writing", but "Big Two-Hearted River" is the best.
May 01, 2009
Cynthia
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Read as part of the Michigan Read Project - chosen doubtless because Michigan featured so prominently in the work and because of Hemingway's childhood summers spent in northern Michigan. That's about it.
My earlier - MUCH earlier - Hemingway reads I remember as much more finely tuned works. Most of these stories seemed immature and our book group unanimously wondered just why they were ever published (ha!). We have decided to give Ernie a chance to redeem himself and will read A Farew More...
My earlier - MUCH earlier - Hemingway reads I remember as much more finely tuned works. Most of these stories seemed immature and our book group unanimously wondered just why they were ever published (ha!). We have decided to give Ernie a chance to redeem himself and will read A Farew More...
Apr 15, 2008
Funes
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If someone says they don't like Hemingway, this is usually the book I recommend to try to cure them. No (or at least little) blowharding about big game hunting or bullfighting or shit here: just short, immensely moving stories drawn from Hemingway's life. Some standout stuff:
'The Light of the World' says more about bars, whores, whores in bars, and crazy sad deluded hopeless dreaming than a dozen fat postmodern tomes, and it does it almost solely with simple dialog.
'Big Two-he More...
'The Light of the World' says more about bars, whores, whores in bars, and crazy sad deluded hopeless dreaming than a dozen fat postmodern tomes, and it does it almost solely with simple dialog.
'Big Two-he More...
Feb 08, 2011
Natalie
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My favorite story my Ernest Hemingway. Though the book is split up into a series of short stories, and way Hemingway gives the reader snap shots into Nick's life results in an ever increasing suspense. With every new story the read hopes that his life will suddenly change for the better.
