Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life

by Catherine Reef Narrated by Jill Shellabarger

Overview

Meet one of the most significant and notorious American writers of the 20th century. Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the greatest writers in modern history, and his novels and stories are read, studied, and imitated around the world. His concise prose style earned him both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. His name conjures up vivid images: grand adventurer, soldier, war correspondent, big-game hunter, bullfight aficionado, and writer. His life reads like a suspense story-full of action, romance, heartbreak, machismo, mishaps, celebrity, and tragedy. Author Catherine Reef has crafted a compelling biography that is not only a highly enjoyable account of an extraordinary life but also an accessible and tempting introduction to the work of one of our most revered-and sometimes reviled-American icons.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

In this Junior Library Guild selection, Reef, who has previously written over 40 nonfiction books for YA audiences, tackles one of the 20th century's most significant writers, proficiently weaving together key moments in Hemingway's career and personal life. YA listeners new to Hemingway will be enthralled not only by Reef's accounts of his literary accomplishments, travels, and adventures but also by her exploration of his darker side; more mature audiences, while sure to appreciate Reef's simple, direct writing style and Jill Shellabarger's (Sabrina) timeless narration, may be annoyed by the defining of such basic words and terms as jaundice, aficionado, and Madison Square Garden. Mainly for YA audiences.—Theresa Stoner, St. Joseph Cty. P.L., South Bend, IN

School Library Journal

Gr 6–10—This engaging and detailed biography will be valued for its accessible style and honest portrayal of one of America's icons. Reef's account of Hemingway's life is riveting and unglamorized, acknowledging the subject's flaws and tenuous relationship with his stern, pious mother (who regularly banned books and challenged her son's seventh-grade assignment, The Call of the Wild, for its coarseness). At 17, Hemingway volunteered for the Red Cross as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I. Returning home wounded provided fodder for the short story "Soldier's Home" and made Hemingway realize he wouldn't stay home for long. Europe energized the budding writer and with the first of his four wives, he returned to Paris and Italy. Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, and Ezra Pound provided friendship and support for his writing. Hemingway was a romantic and unfaithful in marriage, and followed in his father's footsteps by committing suicide in 1961. Captioned black-and-white photos appear on nearly every page, chronicling Hemingway's family, friends, and the places he traveled. Some excerpts of his writing are integrated into the narrative, offering readers a good sense of the work's conception and structure.—Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Kirkus Reviews

Opening with a vivid description of bullfights in Pamplona, which Hemingway saw as "death struggle raised to an art," and concluding with Hemingway's own death struggle in 1961, Reef creates a memorable portrait of the writer and his times, and even readers too young for most of Hemingway's oeuvre will enjoy armchair traveling to the bullfights in Spain, fishing expeditions to the Dry Tortugas and the Marquesas Keys, big-game hunting on the Serengeti and covering the Spanish Civil War. Along the way, they will gain a sense of the writer and his times and will even pick up some writing tips, including Hemingway's insistence on simple, declarative sentences. The volume is attractively designed with well-chosen photographs, captions that add personality to the text, solid documentation and judicious use of quotations-some peppered with strong language-to help tell the story of this complex man. Accessible to young readers but most useful to teens as they begin to read Hemingway's greatest works. (source notes, bibliography, list of major works, picture credits) (Biography. 10 & up)

From the Publisher

"Ernest Hemingway was a man's man and a writer's writer—a lover of big-game hunting and bullfights, a man drawn to any number of tests of courage, and the author of some of the most moving and influential works of twentieth-century literature. In this straightforward biography, Catherine Reef hits all the high points of Hemingway's eventful life and career, from his time with the Red Cross during WWI to his salad days as the leader of the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris to his self-exile in the Florida Keys. Narrator Jill Shellabarger is at her best reading Reef's well-formulated summaries and discussions of some of Hemingway's most enduring works, including A FAREWELL TO ARMS and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA." 
B.P. © AudioFile Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2009 - AudioFile

Ernest Hemingway was a man's man and a writer's writer—a lover of big-game hunting and bullfights, a man drawn to any number of tests of courage, and the author of some of the most moving and influential works of twentieth-century literature. In this straightforward biography, Catherine Reef hits all the high points of Hemingway's eventful life and career, from his time with the Red Cross during WWI to his salad days as the leader of the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris to his self-exile in the Florida Keys. Narrator Jill Shellabarger is at her best reading Reef's well-formulated summaries and discussions of some of Hemingway's most enduring works, including A FAREWELL TO ARMS and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. B.P. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171810955
Publisher:	Oasis Audio
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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