Ernest Hemingway Novel

Ernest Hemingway did much to change the style of English prose in the 20th century. He wrote in short, declarative sentences and was known for his tough, terse prose. For his efforts he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. This month our bookclub will be reading their own choice of a Hemingway novel.

Our challenge this month was to explore Ernest Hemingway. Not just his books, but the author himself. There were a variety of Hemingway titles read including Fiesta, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Snows of Kilimanjaro, A Movable Feast and A Farewell to Arms.

This proved to be an interesting experiment; we were able to identify many common and recurring aspects of the Hemingway style. Firstly his sentence structure; short, clipped and economical language with dialogue that became muddled and confusing at times, often with the need to re-read.

Depth of character was also found wanting. We had no interest in Hemingway’s repeated insistence of mundane activities such as eating, drinking, smoking etc simply because we knew so little of the characters and unable to make any connection with them. This was particularly true with his female roles. These we found struggling at every turn, barely one dimensional and in some cases a complete void.

Judy toiled with Fiesta, finally giving up and reading a biography on Hemingway instead. She shared some interesting info with us and we were able to see a clearer picture of the man and his work. He obviously failed badly with relationships and we came to the conclusion that the only successful relationship he had was with himself. When it came to romance within his stories, we felt nothing rang true and that they failed on every level. Was his style more suited to the male reader? We tended to think so. And why is his writing so universally applauded? Viti seems to think that at the time he gave American readers a new style that was ready to be embraced.

The real conundrum with Hemingway is The Old Man and the Sea. Every one of us who have read it believes this to be one of the great literary masterpieces. So how can this be? A literary genius with one magnificent book and a whole swag of ordinary work.

Regardless of what you think of the man or his work, he has embedded himself in the world of classic literature with his style and his reputation.

So be it.

The Submission by Amy Waldman

A jury gathers in Manhattan to select a memorial for the victims of a devastating terrorist attack. Their fraught deliberations complete, the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner’s name – and discover he is an American Muslim. Instantly they are cast into roiling debate about the claims of grief, the ambiguities of art, and the meaning of Islam. Their conflicted response is only a preamble to the country’s.

A striking portrait of a fractured city striving to make itself whole.

There were some big questions asked at this month’s meeting, which showed our group was up to the task of this slightly confronting book from Amy Waldman, an American journalist turned novelist.

Foremost in everyone’s mind was simply … will we ever be a totally tolerant species, where all are considered equal regardless of race, culture or creed? Not a new topic by any means, but set in the context of 9/11, it gave us some interesting discussion points. One of them being the power of today’s media and the part it plays in the rise and fall of certain individuals, community groups and their agendas. This was thought to be well done by Waldman, whose knowledge of her characters and their environment earned her some high scores from us.

This is not to say everyone was sold. Individual taste matters in our group and some are not necessarily enamoured with American writing styles and found it a little superficial with stereotypical characters. But in saying that, we all agreed we were forced to think and maybe rethink the situation and conundrum the committee was faced with.

It was commented that this book would no doubt make a good movie and that it was a realistic snapshot of society. There was also comment about the illegal workers caught up in the 9/11 disaster, which again made us rethink and acknowledge the human catastrophe that unfolded on that day. Joan felt the author was to some extent exploiting the event, but generally the group was impressed with The Submission and is happy to recommend it as an intelligent read with plenty of questions and not many answers.

Homer & Langley by E. L. Doctorow

Brilliant brothers Langley and Homer Collyer are born into bourgeois New York comfort, their home a mansion on upper Fifth Avenue, their future rosy. But before he is out of his teens Homer begins to lose his sight, Langley returns from the war with his lungs seared by gas, and when both their parents die, they seem perilously ill-equipped to deal with the new era. As the brothers construct a life on the fringes of society, they hold fast to their principle of self-reliance. But they are mocked and spied on, and despite wanting nothing more than to shut out the world, the epic events of the century flow through their housebound lives as they struggle to survive and create meaning for themselves.

To have 12 readers agreeing to the pleasure of one book is no mean feat, but that is exactly what happened this month with Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow. Every one of us enjoyed the connectivity that the author created with the two Collyer brothers, even if he took some license with the facts. Denise felt we needed to put the real story of Homer and Langley Collyer away, and simply enjoy Doctorow’s brilliant characterisation of these two extraordinary souls.


The economic writing was a hit with the group, as was McCarthy’s a few years back, and the black humour, descriptive writing and astute observations made us all instant fans.

A few of us felt Doctorow used his characters as a platform for some of his own social and political views, but we are no strangers to this (Coetzee comes to mind) and were more than happy to absorb them within the context of the story.

Langley’s entertaining fight with the authorities was enjoyed by all and our empathy leaned strongly towards the brothers throughout the book. Ann questioned our acceptance of such eccentric individuals today, or if we found them actually living next door. Good point Ann, and it had us contemplating society’s tolerance to mental health.

There was so much to discuss in this small, unassuming book and we were all surprised by its scope and integrity. Should you read Homer and Langley? If you like a book packed with emotion that makes you laugh, cry and think, then yes, get a copy without delay!

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

Tom’s friend Paul is similarly obsessed and when a long-lost diary surfaces they finally seem to make a breakthrough. But only hours later, a fellow researcher is murdered and the two friends suddenly find themselves in great danger. Working desperately to expose the book’s secret, they slowly uncover a Renaissance tale of passion and blood, a hidden crypt and a secret worth dying to protect.

This was a tricky one for the end of the year. Some of us were not up to the task of unraveling the puzzle of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili! It may well have been the time of year, or, as someone suggested, the self-indulgence of the two authors. Either way, it was a struggle for most of our group to get through this scholarly mystery.

Ann, who did enjoy the challenge, felt you needed a love of history and accumulating knowledge to get the most from this book, and she loved the ‘mystery within the mystery’ that ran throughout. Viti also found some value within its pages and she loved the historical tidbits that the story supplied.

But the overall opinion was that Rule of Four did not quite make the grade for a good novel. To much work required, tedious, and characters that did not connect were among the majority of views. Would it have been different if we read this book at the beginning of the year? Probably not. Our book club has a well developed sense of what they like, and are not easily convinced otherwise.

So it is on to a new year of reading, which gets everyone excited about what we will discover. Keep an eye on this blog for our latest reviews of 2013.

Women in Black by Madeleine St John

The Women in Black is a fairytale which illuminates the extraordinariness of ordinary lives. The women in black are run off their feet, what with the Christmas rush and the summer sales that follow. But it's Sydney in the 1950s, and there's still just enough time left on a hot and frantic day to dream and scheme ...

By the time the last marked-down frock has been sold, most of the staff of the Ladies' Cocktail section at F.G. Goode's have been launched into slightly different careers. With the lightest touch and the most tender of comic instincts, Madeleine St John conjures a vanished summer of innocence.



The level of enthusiasm for Women in Black turned out to be understandable when we discovered how much personal knowledge of 1950s Sydney, and in particular David Jones, there was amongst our group. Most found this book a nostalgic trip into a past world where things seemed less complicated and there was much more goodwill around. The whole group felt St John captured the era perfectly and her focus on the characters rather than the plot helped to make it the enjoyable read it was.


There were plenty of laughs around the table as memories of fashion shopping and joining the work force were discussed and although we agreed the past is more often than not looked back on through rose-coloured glasses, it was still fun to relive this innocent time through the security of, dare I say it, mature wisdom!

All this praise is not to say there were no negatives. Joan felt the whole story was some what superficial and that the writing style lacked creativity. There were also a few who did not really consider this a 'novel' but more a nostalgic commentary.

Either way, it was an enjoyable read for our group after the heavier content of our last book, and the agreed 3 stars is a good indication that we found it worthwhile.

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The Balkans, 1941. As German bombs fall, a tiger escapes from his zoo and heads to a ridge above the village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in terrified thrall. But for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic – Shere Khan awoken from the pages of Jungle Book.

Natalia is the granddaughter of that boy. Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages after another war has devastated the Balkans, when she hears of her beloved grandfather’s death.

From fragments of stories told to her as a child, Natalia realises her grandfather may have died searching for the immortal ‘deathless man’. Struggling to understand why a man of science would undertake such a quest, she stumbles upon a clue that will lead her to the extraordinary story of the tiger’s wife.

The Tiger's Wife filled a two month slot for our book club as it was considered a challenging read and it worked well for us not to rush this one. As quite often happens with this style of literature, our scores swung widely from 3 to 8 stars. There will always be someone who finds something where others find nothing. A good motto for a book club!

To break it down ... most enjoyed the writing, language and description, but many also agreed that there were too many words and the continuity was a bit awkward at times. Everyone found the significance in the contrast between medicine and supersition which was very powerful in the cultural identity of the people. A strong theme and important to the overall impact of this book.

The characters did not appeal and they were hardly discussed, but the history thread kept us interested even though the protagonists became lost in the lives of the people and bogged down in their superstition.

As a group we do enjoy a challenge and this young writer's style and effort was appreciated by us.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Enter a vanished world: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Where black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver …

There’s Aibileen, raising her 17th white child and nursing the hurt caused by her own son’s tragic death; Minny, whose cooking is nearly as sassy as her tongue; and white Miss Skeeter, home from college, who wants to know why her beloved maid has disappeared.

Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they’d be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in search of a truth. And together they have an extraordinary story to tell.

This was always going to be a good meeting. This book has got everything needed for a lively discussion on all the emotional issues close to our hearts. Racism, apartheid, inequality, social standing and women’s rights. The fact that it takes place during the 60s in the southern states, USA did nothing to diminish our enthusiasm and in fact tended to educate some of us more in the ways of this part of the world.

We all loved the characters, found them well-rounded and believable, even if a little stereotypical.

Most of us were aware of the tension running through the story and felt some fear for the blacks as Skeeter continued to meddle in the long standing way of life in Jackson. Ann found it interesting that we, as white people, felt compelled to point an accusing finger at Skeeter, believing she was putting herself first in pushing for the Help’s stories. Did she really care about the danger they were placing themselves in? It was an interesting turn of the table. Would any of us have had the courage to go through with such a plan?

Some wanted a little more history and thought the writing purposely kept light for the popular audience. We touched on the Freedom Rides and Rosie Parks a little, and someone mentioned that the ending seemed a little abrupt. This, we generally considered to be unavoidable, as this story has the possibility to be eternal. How much of this is still going on today we all wondered and were able to admit that America is not the only place one finds such attitudes. South Africa and closer to home, Australia itself, has been guilty of racism and apartheid, so throwing stones was never going to work.

There was much more said and debated, as this book has such a full cast of characters, incidents, and underlying themes that were no doubt written with a screenplay in mind. Some of us have seen the movie, but we were unanimous in finding The Help an extremely readable story. One that we feel confident in placing high on this year’s to read list.