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Summary: A Fresh Look at Hemingway
Review: I must admit that I have in general rejected Hemingway's writing, finding them masculine and dry. Garden of Eden made me reevaluate this assumption. I thoroughly enjoyed the in-depth look we get in this novel into the psychic of the writer as he deals with his crumbling life. I also find the style refreshing and experimental, similar to Hemingway's other works, but positioned in such a way that I suddenly said "Eureka!"
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Summary: Hemingway's Hidden Thoughts
Review: This is the Hemingway he did not want you to know about. This is the Hemingway He prefered unpublished. In "The Garden of Eden" Hemingway takes all his fantasies, including his sexual ones, and writes them on paper. If you are interested in what made Hemingway tick in his relationships read several biographies and then read this book. You will recognise a lot: same hair styles, multiple partners, love triangles, role switching, even love language. This is Hemingway's truest biography, even though he labeled it as fiction.
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Summary: Read it its pretty good
Review: I had to read this book because of a book report, I had NO idea about its content, when I started to read it, I was pretty shocked, what the main lady character( in the beginning) wanted to do at night. This book is kind of confusing, but if you skim over the confusing parts its a VERY good book, and sexual, but to a point, give it a try you might like it.
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Summary: Very Good
Review: At first I was not to thrilled to be reading this book. I figured that it would be boring...but ...I spent my summer vacation getting entangled in the lives of Catherine and David and Marita. It was a well-written, entertaining story that one could very easily get swept up in. The characters and their actions and the descriptions were so vivid and well written. In fact, I have now started on another Hemingway novel because Garden of Eden was so interesting. For anyone who is considering reading this book...definately check it out.
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Summary: "Eden" is Hemingway's Paradise Regained
Review: I bought "Eden" in 1986 but somehow didn't read it. This year, with all the fuss about the "Hemingway Century" I took "Eden" off the shelf, realized it was a valuable first edition and so bought a paperback copy to actually read. All I can say is that "Eden" is a great book, probably his best except for "For Whom the Bell Tolls." And at the end, when David--after being thoroughly bitched by the neurotic and unpredictable Catherine--writes his way back into "The Garden of Eden" I had a big smile on my face. This is a great book and proof of Hemingway's belief that if you keep writing one true sentence after another, they will live forever.
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Summary: Finally! Hemingway for chicks!
Review: Having been an english major in college, I read a lot of Hemingway and have always had a frustrated and angry relationship with him. The writing is the most succinct and beautiful that I have encountered, yet his subjects(or treatment of them) were always so incredibly macho that I was put off. Several years ago I discovered this book at the library and decided to give Papa another try. The evocative prose is still there, but finally a story with the kind of psychological complexity and a subject matter to which I could relate. Easily my favorite book EVER and one which I recommend to everyone, especially those who would love to love Hemingway but have been put off by his stories. Especially impressive is the way that he talks about the sex--what could easily(and had it been written today, probably would) have been somewhat lurid is suggested in a way that is so much more erotic. A must have!!
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Summary: A brillant work that needs to be savored not read
Review: With this work Hemingway created a rich, vivid textual peice. This is a work that does not need to be gulped down all at once. Instead, like a fine wine this is a work that needs to be sipped slowly and sensuously. TO read this book all at once is a disservice to Hemingway and the reader. Read this work and enjoy it slowly
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Summary: the garden of eden indeed
Review: This was the most amazing book I have ever read. even now, more than a year after having first read it I keep thinking of it. It was so beautifully written and completely pulls the reader into the setting, to where you become a part of the story also. Wonderful, beautiful book.
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Summary: A very different book by Hemingway
Review: This a beautiful book, brilliantly told, with sharp, vivid sketches about a man woman relationship, an unusual subject for Hemingway. Catherine's games and provocation pushes the conventions of love sex marriage to the absolute limits. But David learns to stick to his integrity and continue with his writing. In this complex battle of wills, Hemingway elaborates on one of his greatest themes - grace under pressure.
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Summary: beautiful and startlingly modern
Review: the only reason this novel doesn't get 5 stars from me is the abrupt "ending" of the novel in the last few pages. still, i wish there were half stars so i could give it 4 1/2. hemingway tells the story of the subleties and complexities of human sexuality set across a vividly beautiful backdrop of europe. it's surprising that in this so-called "individualist" day and age, we still feel the need to stick labels onto everyone and everything. this novel is not about lesbians, or homosexuality, for neither Catherine nor her husband nor their lover could possibly be described by either of those words. They were human, too complex for the categories we still put people into: not heterosexual, not homosexual. People, with varying degrees of desires and wants. Hemingway did a wonderful job of portraying this and the effects that these desires/wants had on the surrounding people. It is also about a descent into madness, about selfishness vs. self-destruction, about the games people play with their own and each other's emotions. There are no stereotypes or cardboard cutouts here. Perhaps that is why some people find this novel not to their taste. It is not meant to be a comfortable read. The only downside to the story is that the entire novel reads almost languidly along at a pace befitting the slow beautiful surroundings. But the end of the novel accelerates and then stops abruptly, jarring you back into the real world only to leave you asking, "and then what?" then again maybe that's what hemingway intended. i would recommend this book to anyone except those that are so narrow-minded they can't get past the sexuality issue. if anyone wants to discuss this or other hemingway books with me, feel free to send me an e-mail :)
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