Brad’s Comments (group member since Dec 27, 2008)

Brad’s comments from the The Importance of Reading Ernest group.

Trudy and Nick and Billy. Interesting little triangle. And what do y'all make of the importance of the father in a man's (Nick's) sexual make-up?

Preb wrote: And, as always, [Hemingway:]’s good at small details. Such as his dad’s exceptional eyes and fantastic sight. Another detail: In the ‘hemlock woods’ where ‘long splintered pieces of wood hung like javelins in the tree that had been struck by lightning’. What a great image.

So much of this story is about those small intimate details. Any others that stick out for anyone, or anything you'd like to add about Hemingway's talent for details? Here's the place.

It is very hard to remove Hemingway from Nick, isn't it? There is such evident parallel between the man and his character.

This story puts me in mind of Hemingway's Islands in the Stream. It was the last of Hemingway's books I read, and it sat on my shelf for years, just waiting for me to pick it up, but I started it once when I was younger and realized that I just wasn't ready to read it yet. Then I had my son and daughter and being a Dad made me ready.

There is something in the father/son relationships that Hemingway thoroughly got. I am taking some of your comments to open up another thread, Preb. Hope you don't mind?

We are indeed reading Fathers and Sons, Barbara. Welcome to the group. Dive into the conversation as soon as you've read it.

This isn't our first Nick Adams story, but there is no avoiding Nick in this one. What do you think about him in this story?

Reading this makes me want to tackle Big, Two-Hearted River again.

You should go check out our discussion for "Up in Michigan" and "Cat in the Rain," Meredith. They were some of our first, but I, for one, would love for someone to go freshen them up and regenerate them.

I love what you have to say about the old man residing "in the shadows and grey area of life." So much of this story is about light and shadow, like an old film noir at its purest.

Misha wrote: I love that Hemingway gives just enough detail of the scene and setting that I could create a vivid mental picture, but allowed enough flexibility that I was creating the picture. It's my imagination filling in the gaps, and so the cafe and the old man and the shadows and the empty tables became mine.:

I imagine that each of us would draw a different "Clean Well-Lighted Place" all our own. It's one of the great strengths of Hemingway, I think; this ability to paint a picture with minimal brushstrokes while trusting his audience to complete the picture for themselves invests us deeply in his work -- if we're willing to go along for the ride. All of his that I love best are like this whether they are a short story or a novel.

I was thinking much the same thing, Misha. It seems to add something more to the idea that the men in this story could represent Hemingway himself. I've never been a big supporter of direct, autobiographical Hemingway connections in his stories, but there is something compelling about these four men and the way they connect with the Hemingway we know about, particularly the young soldier and the deaf old man who tried to kill himself.

Fathers and Sons it is then.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place is such a vivid world creatd by Hemingway. The bar is its own self-contained universe of texture and light and shadow. Is there any image that stands out for you?

Hey...that's real progress. We made you buy the Hemingway. Sweet.

I have indeed, Joseph. I've read every word of Hemingway's but for True at First Light.

It's exciting that you publicized our group on Danish TV, Preb (fame in the land of my team's striker, yet). And me...I like our group for the same reasons. Sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to get us all back in and talking, and I think maybe a story every two weeks was a bit much.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place is an exemplar of Hemingway's style, Ruth. For sure. It's what I think of when I think of how much I love his prose.

I really like the bit about Hemingway being embodied by one of the men in the bar. I imagine that he was each of those men at some point in his life, even the old man who tried to commit suicide. It makes me wonder if he thought about this story before he pulled the trigger.

Preb wrote: These three men, the bartender is less involved, represent stages of life, don’t they?

That's an excellent insight and I think it deserves a thread all its own.

I wonder, too, if the soldier passing on the street fits into this at all.

All good choices, Preb

I love how lustily you read Hemingway, Joseph. You are a true aficionado of Papa's work, and I think that kicks.

Great way to kick off the first impressions, thanks.

Here you go, folks. Make some suggestions of stories you'd like to discuss.

Hey everyone. I've noticed a big tailing off of interest over the past little while, and I'd hate to see our group fall apart, so I've decided to make some changes.

First, story discussion will now run for a month. Two weeks seems a little pressed, and a month should give people a chance to take it easy and get to the story when they can. I hope it will encourage more people to comment as well.

Second, I am going to open a new topic for suggestions of stories you are interested in making our story of the month. That way we can pick some stories that people actually want to read, rather than the random generation of stories that leads us obscure works no one has ever heard of (maybe we can do more of those later).

Third, I am going to keep trying to find new people to lead discussions as the months go by. New voices make discussing much more fun.

Fourth, I am going to beg: please, please, please, invite anyone you know who you think might be interested in this group to come join us.

This is widely considered one of Hemingway's best short stories. Have at her, friends.