I mostly like to post about the bright and happy, but I did promise to review this book and I did finish this morning on schedule. The book was published posthumously in 1999 and
edited by Patrick Hemingway, the second son born to Mr. Hemingway. I felt that the afterword included by Patrick was the only part of the book with any emotional value.
It was soon after Hemingway wrote what is included in this book that he ended his life by suicide in Ketchum, Idaho on July 2, of 1961. Last time I was in Ketchum, I visited the lovely memorial that was erected in 1966 to his memory.
His family has quite a terrible history of mental illness something that his own behavior must have exacerbated greatly. If you take his view of himself at face value from this book, he was a faithless, debauching, alcoholic who was emotionally stunted and selfish. He reminded me so much of Bill Clinton, it was difficult not to compare them.
Bill Clinton claimed to be part of and spoke the language of what I like to think of as The Great Liberal Ideal. Equal treatment under the law for every human being, respect for all people and cultures, you know THOSE great liberal ideals. These are the people who came up with and passed sexual harrassment laws that are meant to protect women in the work place. But, no spoken ideal can speak louder than the way a man treats his own wife.
Hemingway had been married four times. In the book, he talks about what makes a really loving wife... one that will hunt lions with you.. great. Also on his list is one that will allow, even encourage you to keep a concubine. His mention of women in the book makes them more like a consumable product, to be used up and thrown out.
Bill Clinton liked to support those tired and old social programs that originated with Johnson's Great Society and now have shown to be a recipe for keeping the poor in their tenaments for how many generations and those who promise to keep them on the dole in power.
Ernest Hemingway mentioned the poor treatment of Native Americans in the book and yet his own behavior and example toward the East Africans would make them tribes of syphilitic alcoholics.
Why is his writing so famous? It is difficult not to admire his clear prose and unmistakable style, yet, his content fails to inspire me. In college I read a paper written by Marilyn Arnold called Art and The Noble Idea. The article argues that it is not good enough to have great truth or great style. Great writing must have both. I really don't find any truth in True At First Light.
Do you have a different opinion? I would love to hear why.
This is one of my 5-6 quick dinner recipes. It's amazing that people around here will still eat it. But since it takes about 10 min. to make the whole dinner, I thought I would share. You can brush the fish with a little egg white or milk, then you combine a bit of flour (I bet it would work with rice flour for gluten-free... what do you think Michelle?) ... so a bit of flour and a bit of corn meal and a bit of Cholula Chili Lime spice. I bake it for awhile at 350 and then broil it for a few minutes to make a crust on the top.
I garnish it with limes so that everyone will have a lime to squeeze on their bit. I think it makes a fairly healthy dinner with a fresh green salad.
