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| The days are expanding into summer. |
The clean up on Dead Broke is almost completed. I thought I'd be done by now, but other things, notably serial laziness, got in my way.
On the good side it does not appear to need much actual rewriting. Not to say my prose is golden, I merely mean I can't find anything obvious that needs work.
I know I just called that good.
It may not be.
In between corrections I played with the world-building for Saintree and sorted a few things out. I'm getting antsy to get back at it, but I promised myself I'd finish the corrections first.
On the reading end I finally finished The Sun Also Rises. I think I liked it, but I have to say I'm not sure.
It's one of those books that has to sit with me, mature a bit, let its flavours gather.
Hemingway's spare prose has its appeal. He did a fine job of it. And the lack of description most of the time worked.
But I still don't know my opinion of it save for the part where he's discussing the use of steers to keep the bulls calm before bullfighting. That was a brilliant metaphor for the impotent Jake Barnes among the other men, especially those interested in Lady Brett Ashley.
From the brief conversation about the steers in the corral:
" 'What do they have them in for?'
'To quiet down the bulls and keep them from breaking their horns against the stone walls, or goring each other.' "
-Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (Scribner Trade Paperback, 2006)
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My contribution to the cause this week:
" 'Relax, Eddie. Just relax.'
The whisper ran its hands up and down my body."
#The whisper ran its hands up and down my body."
Thanks for being here. It's good to know I'm being read.
For more or to get in on the fun please see the Women of Mystery.
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And speaking of the sun, Happy Solstice everyone.
16 comments:
The Sun Also Rises is the only Hemingway I've ever liked. Although I haven't felt a need to reread it in the past...35 years?...I still remember it pleasantly.
Happy solstice. Happy editing.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Leah, If you get a chance I recommend The Nick Adams Stories by Hemingway. THE SUN ALSO RISES, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and A MOVEABLE FEAST are my favorite full length Ernesto novels. However, I believe he was a better short story writer and Nick Adams is proof of that.
I enjoyed Hemmingway's work, but I prefer good imagery in the stuff I usually read. I read The Old Man and the Sea in high school and I thought I would never get through it.
Good luck with the rest of the editing. Here's hoping it all falls into place for you.
Hmmm, I vaguely remember the reference to the steers amid the bulls, so I must have read that somewhere in the distant past.
Happy Solstice to you! The thought that the days will now start to get longer is cheering me immensely!
Hemingway is a good read but his prejudice in writing about women...either devils of saints has always put me off. The Old Man and the Sea was least distracting that way and most enjoyable.
Mary Anne, I'm going to have to let it work through.
Thanks.
David, I've got The Old Man and The Sea in the TBR pile. I'll be getting to it shortly. Thanks for the tips.
Laurita, thanks. I really want to get done.
Bag Lady, longer days are good.
Tabor, yes re: his stand on women.
Hemingway sure does bring around strong opinion.
And a Happy Solstice to you!
Your sentence put shivers up and down my spine...in a good way:)
Just think....tomorrow our day will be TWO ENTIRE SECONDS "longer"!
;)
Why, Dawn, thanks so much. Hey, two seconds is two seconds. I'll take it.
Good to know the works are coming along. I'm tossing chapters in a folder for what I've been working on. Always easier to write another chapter than start organizing and editing what's there for an actual end product.
The Hemingway I remember fondly is FAREWELL TO ARMS. That was almost fifty years ago during a year off from college.
Happy solstice to you! Your lines gave me a shiver up and down my spine ;)
Must remember to read previous comments first, then make my own ;)
Ron, I hear you. I prefer raw creation to doing actual work.
Hemingway sure does rile up some strong feelings.
Reb, thanks. Inadvertent echoes are fine with me.
Happy Solstice!
Yes, those are good lines.
Thanks, Messymimi.
I've never read The Sun Also Rises, but I typically have the same reaction to Hemmingway. "I liked it. I think I liked it. Wait, did I like it?" Who knows why.
Arc Jerome, good to know it's not just me.
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