topic Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY in Community Chat

NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Oznell — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:20:39 GMT

On this day in 1954, American author Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.

Whatever he was, as a blustery character and depressed, tormented (and sometimes, tormenting) soul, few would dispute that he richly deserved his professional accolades. His terse, deceptively simple, eloquent prose, revolutionized the American novel.

Whenever I see pictures of him in his youth like the one above, he looks so familiar-- a vaguely handsome American boy. He could be the guy who bags your groceries and offers to take them to your car...

My favorites of his-- "The Sun Also Rises", and also his nostalgic memoir, "A Moveable Feast". Both give an unforgettable portrait of American expatriates in Paris in the madcap Twenties. It was a jubilant time, after the horrors of World War I for these men who fought, and had seen so many die.

He himself would die a suicide in 1961. His father before him also committed suicide, as did his sister, Ursula, and his brother, Leicester. What a family legacy. Wiki had some fascinating theories about the suicides, including a hereditary medical condition that may have been implicated.

Wiki also had this incredible photo, depicting Ernest, Lady Duff Twysden, his wife Hadley Hemingway, and assorted friends on a riotous trip to Spain, seemingly much like the fictionalized one that the Paris characters take in "The Sun Also Rises". Lady Duff Twysden was the real life model for the glamorous, disaffected character, "Lady Brett Ashley", in that novel.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Caligurll — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:45:07 GMT

I loved A Farewell to Arms, both book and film.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

LoveMeSomeQVC — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:58:42 GMT

Very interesting post @Oznell . Thanks for sharing!

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Ruby Laine — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 01:01:53 GMT

@Oznell, I love to read. My favorite authors have nothing in common and use completely different styles. Solzhenitsyn, Mignon Eberhart, Robert Van Gulik, and Sarah Orne Jewett are a few of my favorite fiction writers.

I have tried to like Ernest Hemingway, but I just can't. I have no idea why. I haven't read any of his books all the way through. I just skip to the last few pages to read the endings. I will say I like his writing style, but reading him seems so laborious and it wears me out! However, he deserved the Nobel Prize, and I enjoyed your post on him.

If you don't write, you should! Your movie reviews make movies that I know I don't like sound like something I'd love to see. I always enjoy your posts.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

daisyk — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 02:05:05 GMT

I agree with @Ruby Laine about your writing @Oznell , If you don't-you should. I'm always entertained by your posts.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Oznell — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 11:38:22 GMT

Thank you, @Ruby Laine and @daisyk .

You have eclectic tastes for sure, @Ruby Laine ! I'm sympathetic to your critique of Hemingway-- apart from extravagantly admiring his technique and literary aims, it's mostly only the two books I mentioned that I really like. It was hard to engage with the others, for whatever reason.

If you haven't tried it, you might like "A Moveable Feast". As a memoir, it has a different feeling to the novels, and it's fascinating to know how Hemingway and his literary and artistic pals lived in Paris....

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

furbabylover — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 13:35:22 GMT

@Oznell My favorite writer was Colette, whose depictions of nature and animals were superb. Interestingly, she had an affair with Bertrand de Jouvenel, the son of her husband (!), who went on to marry Martha Gellhorn, one of Hemingway's wives.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

depglass — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:42:17 GMT

Haemochromatosis, I've not heard of it, but I will research it. As I read the Wiki entry, I kept thinking "Yep, classic depression." I've been there, also having had ECT three times in the 80's. In my case I think it worked. I still get depressed in the winter (SAD) but never to the point of contemplating suicide. I notice they classified the death accidental so he could be buried in the church. I would hope the church has become more enlightened by now. On the lighter side, I think he became more handsome as he aged.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

seaBreeze — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:54:39 GMT

The yearly ceremony is something to behold on December 10 (the date of Nobel's passing). The Nobel Prize is awarded in Stockholm, Sweden (the "peace prize" is in Oslo). If you ever watch the movie "The Wife," this is very close to the actual event.

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel-prize-award-ceremonies/

(last year's ceremony can be viewed on this website)

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Peaches McPhee — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 15:31:09 GMT

Never cared for his books, but I sure did love his home in KeyWest!

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

bluetail fly — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 15:56:38 GMT

I love The Sun Also Rises and even better To Have and Have Not. The man was a master of prose and of making his characters multi-dimensional.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

teganslaw — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:41:14 GMT

I've tried several times, but I just can't get into Hemingway's writing. His books are classics and loved by many, just not me.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

liliblu — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:57:05 GMT

@Ruby Laine wrote:
@Oznell, I love to read. My favorite authors have nothing in common and use completely different styles. Solzhenitsyn, Mignon Eberhart, Robert Van Gulik, and Sarah Orne Jewett are a few of my favorite fiction writers.

I have tried to like Ernest Hemingway, but I just can't. I have no idea why. I haven't read any of his books all the way through. I just skip to the last few pages to read the endings. I will say I like his writing style, but reading him seems so laborious and it wears me out! However, he deserved the Nobel Prize, and I enjoyed your post on him.

If you don't write, you should! Your movie reviews make movies that I know I don't like sound like something I'd love to see. I always enjoy your posts.

His novels are depressing to me. I've read The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea. He was a good writer but the characters in his books were the most depressing figures.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Oznell — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:23:45 GMT

@furbabylover , Colette led a fascinating life, didn't she? With zest!

Edited to add: and I wasn't even thinking of some of her wilder personal escapades. More like what you mention, her simple joy in nature, gardens, the country, animals. That just just pours out of her work...

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

furbabylover — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 20:27:23 GMT

@Oznell Yes, Her life was one of radical individuality for her time. I visited her grave at Pere Lechais cemetery in Paris and was struck by how beautiful it was. Her grave was a large, carved piece of pink granite and black marble, very modern looking. I will always be thankful for her exquisite descriptions of the relationships she had with her animals.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Ruby Laine — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 21:23:27 GMT

@Oznell wrote:
Thank you, @Ruby Laine and @daisyk .

You have eclectic tastes for sure, @Ruby Laine ! I'm sympathetic to your critique of Hemingway-- apart from extravagantly admiring his technique and literary aims, it's mostly only the two books I mentioned that I really like. It was hard to engage with the others, for whatever reason.

If you haven't tried it, you might like "A Moveable Feast". As a memoir, it has a different feeling to the novels, and it's fascinating to know how Hemingway and his literary and artistic pals lived in Paris....

@Oznell, I'll try it! Thanks for the recommendation.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Desert Lily — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:58 GMT

Hi @Oznell . I've read Hemingway's books, but they don't speak to me. As I read his narration, in my mind I hear ramblings of someone with an alcohol dependency. Like Hemingway, George Orwell was also influenced by the Spanish Civil War. Idk, maybe I just don't connect to the era, the tone, the subject matter, or something else. I appreciate the writing, but it's not a favorite.

Re: NOBEL PRIZE AWARDED ON THIS DAY

Oznell — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 02:46:48 GMT

That's an interesting take, too, @Desert Lily , the alcoholism in the background. Of course the depression was there too, increasing over the years. The family history, both preceding him and after him, so tragic and over-riding in some cases....