I know what someone is saying already, and you know what? Enough with all the bad mouthing- machismo and alcoholism jabs. Yeah, so what? All someone has to do is crack the spine of a Hemingway and you can practically taste the raw realness of his work.
Lately I've been reading through the most recently published compilation of his short stories, "The Finca Vigia Edition". Hemingway deals with the edgiest of human nature and somehow turns it into poetry. His short stories could be quickly categorized into war, death, sexuality, and more death. But as with all stereotyping if the reader refuses to look past these recurring things he will miss the unparalleled humor, prose, and fairness he puts into his character's and story lines.
If pressed to pick a favorite of his short story pieces I would probably choose "The Undefeated" or "Natural History of The Dead"
Undefeated is a classic "man vs. nature" scenario in which nature (a bull) overtakes man (Manuel a young matador). The short story reads like a tug-a-war game all the way through.
Manuel's persistent claim, "I was doing good" as he lays on the operating slowly fades away as the doctor puts him under saying "You were doing great."
The second story "Natural History of the Dead" mocks people's attempts to romanticize the carnage of war.
In a sarcastic request for a sequel to the ever popular "Familiar History of Birds" Hemingway writes, "Can we not hope to furnish the reader with a few rational and interesting facts about the dead? I hope so." You can practically see him smirk in between the lines.
Although the entire essay was meant to shock with graphic descriptions thrown cheerfully into a "naturalist article" Hemingway can still deliver amazing literary punches.
Take this epic line explaining how the smell of a battlefield can never be restored,
"...the other thing is gone as completely as when you have been in love; you remember things that happened, but the sensation cannot be recalled"
If you are a fan of sarcasm and all things Hemingway-esque I definitely urge you to spend a little time with Ernest.
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