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thehannahwilkinson 's review for:
The Torrents of Spring: A Romantic Novel in Honor of the Passing of a Great Race
by Ernest Hemingway
Now y’all know I love me a grumpy old white man author, you could say I’m somewhat of a ho for Hemingway, but I had not read this dinky little novella before and, I wasn’t disappointed... but I certainly did not recognise this immediately as him. Don’t get me wrong, the prose is as sharp as ever, his mastery over language is just as tight and precise here as it is in The Old Man and the Sea or A Farewell to Arms. But this is written in such a different style, a little more cynical, a little less intense, a little less Hem!
The plot (seemingly) focuses on two young men Scripps O’Neill and Yogi Johnson, who are both searching for the perfect woman but the REAL point of the story is to throw shade at the literary scene of the 1920s.
It’s a parody of the whole idea of being a writer, and in a way, it feels like Hemingway trying to break free from all that and set out on his own. It almost feels like it’s making fun of itself, but somehow, it still comes together in a satisfying little read. There’s a plot. Characters do stuff. Things happen in places. You know, the usual story stuff.
The characters did seem a little one-dimensional, partly due to it’s (lack of) length, and I wasn’t emotionally invested in the romantic element of the story either, but I don’t think I was meant to be. The satire is the point and I really DID appreciate the satire. Hemingway takes jabs at the literary world, especially with his mockery of the whole “American expat” vibe that was super trendy at the time. He’s cheeky and biting and I could fully imagine him chuckling to himself as he trolled in the most perfectly 1920’s way.
Hemingway certainly writes characters to be unlikeable on purpose, he wants to make us think about the dark parts of a person, he wants to make us feel SOMETHING for them, even if that feeling is annoyance! But he also has a magical ability to make me love the most unlikeable characters dearly! 😂
If you like this grumpy old white man as much as me then you’ll really enjoy this offbeat little read, if you’re new to him then you’ll probably enjoy it too, just remember that this isn’t indicative of his usual style.
The plot (seemingly) focuses on two young men Scripps O’Neill and Yogi Johnson, who are both searching for the perfect woman but the REAL point of the story is to throw shade at the literary scene of the 1920s.
It’s a parody of the whole idea of being a writer, and in a way, it feels like Hemingway trying to break free from all that and set out on his own. It almost feels like it’s making fun of itself, but somehow, it still comes together in a satisfying little read. There’s a plot. Characters do stuff. Things happen in places. You know, the usual story stuff.
The characters did seem a little one-dimensional, partly due to it’s (lack of) length, and I wasn’t emotionally invested in the romantic element of the story either, but I don’t think I was meant to be. The satire is the point and I really DID appreciate the satire. Hemingway takes jabs at the literary world, especially with his mockery of the whole “American expat” vibe that was super trendy at the time. He’s cheeky and biting and I could fully imagine him chuckling to himself as he trolled in the most perfectly 1920’s way.
Hemingway certainly writes characters to be unlikeable on purpose, he wants to make us think about the dark parts of a person, he wants to make us feel SOMETHING for them, even if that feeling is annoyance! But he also has a magical ability to make me love the most unlikeable characters dearly! 😂
If you like this grumpy old white man as much as me then you’ll really enjoy this offbeat little read, if you’re new to him then you’ll probably enjoy it too, just remember that this isn’t indicative of his usual style.