Ernest Hemingway

A Biography

By: Mary V. Dearborn

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

A revelatory look into the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, considered in his time to be the greatest living American novelist and short story writer, winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Mary Dearborn's new biography gives the richest and most nuanced portrait to date of this complex, enigmatically unique American artist, whose same uncontrollable demons that inspired and drove him throughout his life undid him at the end and whose seven novels and six short story collections informed - and are still informing - fiction writing generations after his death.

©2017 Mary V. Dearborn (P)2017 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

A fine book undermined by performance

Would you consider the audio edition of Ernest Hemingway to be better than the print version?

In no way. The audio does the printed book a disservice.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tanya Eby’s performances?

Dearborn's work is very fine, as is her work on Mailer, Miller, etc. but unfortunately the spoken performance of this book has an almost patronizing tone: every aside or clause is overemphasized, and in several cases the inflection is just 'off' and doesn't sit well with the text. It sounds a little like Siri, or the flattened but forced affect of a computer reading. It's prim. Listening to Dearborn herself talk is lively, incisive. Not so with this performance, which I started to think was done by a 'bot'.

Deeply involved, An affront to privacy

With Hemingway’s life already full of adventure and interesting stories, a considerable section of this book is wasted on excessive detail of side characters and tabloid-esque narratives. While I appreciate the author’s commitment to presenting a full image of Ernest Hemingway, it frequently felt like I was hearing things that should not be shared, like his medications or the mental troubles of his son. Now, knowing more about the man, it feels as though the author meant to tell Hemingway’s tale as a series of pitfalls and shortcomings.

Very interesting biography and great narration

The narrator does a excellent job, one of the best I have listened to. The biography is very interesting but has a few holes and places that I wish she would have explained better.

The last of a man's man.

Would you listen to Ernest Hemingway again? Why?
Yes. He interests me as a writer and a person and this book does present a fair amount of information.

What did you like best about this story?
Learning more about the man, the myth and the legend. Shows warts as well as praises.

What does Tanya Eby bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Emotion.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Laughed at the funny parts and felt sad as his depression started taking over his life.

Any additional comments?
I am not sure if Mary Dearborn is showing a feminine bias or a historical bias but there are several points in the book I felt that she did not understand the behavior of the American male in that time period when viewing him with her present day eyes. By today's standards Hemingway was a bully and a bore, but in the context of the age he lived in - he was not. His treatment of his wives came off one sided. She comes off as confused as Earnest may have been about his sexuality. His mother was in any age a whack job and would have confused anybody. But Mary Dearborn shows great understanding and empathy concerning the battle he had with depression. All in all she has written a good book on the greatest of American writers in the 20th. century.

Too long; narration unclear

The story was just too long. Also, the narrator seemed to slur words. Definitely, the narration would benefit from clearer diction.

Too bad the writer mocks the man

Sadly it’s harsh, critical and missed the point. It focuses on trivial things. It’s clear that the writer looks down on Hemingway and focuses on gossip.

Real Story.

Very interesting. thought I knew Hemmingway pretty well. was very well done. a good listen.

The book is great, performance is monotone.

I was looking forward to listening to this book on my commute to work, but the monotone narrator made me want to take a nap. I even checked back on Audible to see if the narration was done via a computer. The hard copy book is great, but the audio book was disappointing.

Excellent Read

I always wanted to know more about Hemingway and this book, the narration, research and detail were fantastic. I got a glimpse into the life of the author of some of my favorite books.

Earnest

While this book was an extremely long listen, I enjoyed learning about the legendary Hemingway. It seems to be well researched, the reader was pleasant to listen to, and I like how it revealed how his stories were his life adventures.