Hemingway: The 1930s by Michael Reynolds (review)

Abstract

TES, 31, 200 TES, 31, 200 line. But the poem will not fit this reading or, probably, any other which does not face up to its ideological inconsistencies. To her credit, Joyce acknowledges her difficulties,for example with the final lines of the poem in which the body of the animal is compared to a Chippendale chair leg, but she states, ratherweakly, that Moore 'feels compelled to withdraw from her furious critique' (p. IO7).One is tempted to followT. S. Eliot'sremarkin his introductionto the Selected Poems ( 935), 'It would be very difficult to say exactly what is the "subject matter" of "The Jerboa" ', ifonlybecause thisdoes recognizetheideologicalslipperinessof thepoem. Hannah Hoch had an agenda, but it is more difficultto argue the case for Moore. She does seem to have had an animal alertnessto technique, squirrellingit into her own aestheticstoreswith considerableagility.This storewas then frugallydeployed in the serviceof a moral sensibilitywhich requiredan excess of formalvirtuosityfor thefullrangeofitsexpression.IfJoyce's bookfailsto accountforMoore'seclecticism, it raisesissuesofideology and formthatareof continuinginterest. UNIVERSITY OF READING PAT RIGHELATO Hemingway. The I93os. By MICHAELREYNOLDS.New York and London: Norton. 1988. xx + 360 pp. fI9.95 (paperbound ?9.95). Hemingway: TheIg30s is the fourth volume of a five-volume biographical series on this most influentialand infamous of American writers.The previousvolumes: The Young Hemingway, Hemingway: TheParisYears, and Hemingway: TheAmerican Homecoming may initially seem to cover the most interesting territory in that they deal with Hemingway's relationshipswith hisparents,his firstmarriage,and his earlyliterary achievements. However, Michael Reynolds manages to convince the reader that the I930S was a crucial decade in the author's life; one in which Hemingway established the mythic persona of 'Papa' Hemingway through a series of intrepid adventuresin Africa,Cuba, and Civil-war-tornSpain. Beginning in Parisin I929, Reynolds picks up Hemingway's life as the writer is finishingA Farewell toArms.But Pariswas a city Hemingway had grown tired of; he had fallen out with many of the ex-patriateAmericanshe previouslyassociatedwith such as GertrudeStein and Scott Fitzgerald.In the thirties,the Hemingways spent much of their time in Key West, Floridaand Wyoming and had numerousvisitors to staywhom Hemingway entertainedin his own inimitablefashion. However, this circle of friendsbecame smalleras the decade progressed.Hemingway managed to offend and alienate those who were closest to him until he had even destroyed his friendship with his wife. Reynolds paints a portrait of a man who is profoundly insecurein many ways;one who continuallyteststhe loyaltyof those aroundhim to the point where they understandably become tired of his bullying and his competitivenessand abandon him. Several telling anecdotes reveal Hemingway to be a fiercely competitive man who not only mocked and scorned those who could not or would not compete but who cruelly taunted any 'losers'even when they were his close friends.Particularly fascinatingis the account of the Hemingways'safariin Africa.Although the tripwas supposed to be an all male affair,Hemingway could persuade only one of his male friends to come along, despite the fact that it would be an all-expenses-paid adventure. Thus it was only a party of three, Hemingway, his wife Pauline, and their neighbour from Key West, Charles Thompson, who set off for Nairobi in 1933. However, ratherthan pitting himself againstnature, Hemingway predictably encouraged a fierce competition with Charles Thompson, as his biographerpoints out: 'Unfortunately,the safarihasbecome a matterof measurements:Ernest'srhino line. But the poem will not fit this reading or, probably, any other which does not face up to its ideological inconsistencies. To her credit, Joyce acknowledges her difficulties,for example with the final lines of the poem in which the body of the animal is compared to a Chippendale chair leg, but she states, ratherweakly, that Moore 'feels compelled to withdraw from her furious critique' (p. IO7).One is tempted to followT. S. Eliot'sremarkin his introductionto the Selected Poems ( 935), 'It would be very difficult to say exactly what is the "subject matter" of "The Jerboa" ', ifonlybecause thisdoes recognizetheideologicalslipperinessof thepoem. Hannah Hoch had an agenda, but it is more difficultto argue the case for Moore. She does seem to have had an animal alertnessto technique, squirrellingit into her own aestheticstoreswith considerableagility.This storewas then frugallydeployed in the serviceof a moral sensibilitywhich requiredan excess of...