Book Report: 'Three Stories and Ten Poems'

 

Three Stories and Ten Poems by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ernest Hemingway's first published book is a mixed bag, with plenty of impressive moments that show the promise he would one day fulfill, bogged down with inconsistency and self-indulgent scene painting that goes nowhere.

I found the poems to be largely throwaways, and two of the three stories to be worthwhile. "Up in Michigan" is a heartbreaking tale of misplaced romantic yearning that leads to crass abuse and "My Old Man" is a stirring rumination of a child's experiences in the highs and lows brought on by his father's rise and fall in the corrupt horse racing industry. The other one, "Out of Season," falls victim to Hemingway's worst qualities as a writer, and is a dense bore.

The book is so short that it's worth reading for any Hemingway fan. If you can do without the author's low points, it's skippable.

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