Hemingway

The Garden of Eden – Ernest Hemingway

mtaggartwriter12 Comments

I was on my deck. I was within a few pages of being finished. I remembered there was a small portion of a cigar left in the grill. I put the book down. I felt the familiar sadness when nearing the end of a book that’s taken me.

I opened the grill cover. The cigar sat looking pathetic and slightly damp and flaked and brittle too. It was perfect. I lit the cigar and struggled to not cough as I sat down. The book was waiting.

I finished the last page with the spent cigar in my mouth and cigar smoke ranging always near my eyes. I took a pull from my beer and said cheers to Papa.

This book is now among my most treasured.

‘Now, he told himself, you must try to grow up again and face what you have to face without being irritable or hurt that someone did not understand and appreciate what you wrote.’ The Garden of Eden. Hemingway

12 thoughts on “The Garden of Eden – Ernest Hemingway”

  2. Hemingway is one of my favorites. I have all of his works that were released before his death. He left much more unpublished. Nice tribute, I enjoyed it.

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      • I have it on the way! Thanks for reigniting that flame. Picking a favorite is tough for me but I would have to say it’s a toss up between The Sun Also Rises and Farewell To Arms. As a veteran and spending a lot of time with the ex-pat community in several countries, I thought he did a good job of capturing the flavor of that life. Of course, he had first hand experience with it and that gives him credibility to me. He was still alive when my grandmother introduced me to Old Man and the Sea in hopes of getting me interested in books and reading. I wanted to meet him. He gave up too soon but I never forgot the impression that first read made on me as a child.

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      • The Sun Also Rises takes it for me. Although The Garden of Eden just jumped in at number two. I did’t anticipate that happening. I enjoyed it that much. Yes, he having been in the first war as an Red Cross ambulance driver/found his way onto the front line and was blown up. Over 200 shrapnel wounds and then found himself needing multiple surgeries and then to walk with assistance via crutches…I agree he brings an authentic voice. And thank you. For what you’ve done. I’ll be curious to learn what you think of this book.

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  4. Re the comment above this one: what a wonderful thing to say!

    In 1985 I was eeek, 14 going on 33. One of the books studied in English was Old man and the Sea. At the time, I thought the man (Hemmingway) was on freaking drugs! I was actually projecting, it was me on drugs lol – ANYway … I re-read the book maybe 12 years later and it floored me – the way he writes, the way he see’s the world and the ways in which he must have experienced many varied traumas to be able to capture so much detail and thought in his writing.

    Alas, I’ve not read anything else by the man.

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    • Hello again! I look forward to your thoughtful comments. Please, please read another Hemingway book. I think you’re spot on. Hemingway experienced much. It’s an interesting research topic!

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