Let Hemingway’s young and restless spirit, his pre-persona satire take you on a delightful journey.
I did on a warm summer day in London and it made me get up and go walking late in the night, realizing how long it had been since I’d done that, how easy it was to open the door and walk out of the smoky beaneries of my life, breathe in some fresh air, let my spirit soar. Tear the grime away and leap into a world free of self-important customs and convention. This novel, for all its gruffness, reminded me of the choices one makes in life, the ways in which one may choose between still life and open flow. It may have been written in jest, but its message worked. Not everything has to be highbrow or serious. Jokes — even hard-nosed ones, such as this book, with its critique of other people’s writing and way of thinking, its mocking, ironic humor, have a way to communicate a message that no serious drama and no straight-up comedy ever can.