FrizzLit's
Ernest Hemingway Book Club
"A Farewell to Arms" and a selection of short stories
Saturdays, 10 am to noon Pacific, April 26-June 14
After FrizzLit clubs reading Dorothy Parker and F. Scott Fitzgerald, it's time to turn our attention to Ernest Hemingway, their friend and rival, and the most celebrated novelist of his generation.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Noble Prize in Literature, Hemingway is a major figure in American history, but his best-known works (The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea) don't necessarily show him at his best.
His most accomplished work of art is arguably his second novel, A Farewell to Arms, published in 1927. Inspired by Hemingway's experience as an ambulance driver in World War I, it tells the story of a serviceman who's wounded (much like Hemingway was) and the nurse he falls in love with.
Hemingway infamously wrote and rewrote the last sentence before he got it right, leaving 47 alternate endings on the cutting-room floor. This recent edition of A Farewell to Arms includes all those discarded endings in the back of the book, and that's the edition we recommend getting for this club. Not only can we talk about the ending he chose, but we can also talk about the ideas he crossed out!
In addition to spending five weeks on the novel, we're also going to spend three weeks talking about a few of our favorite short stories:
- "Hills Like White Elephants"
- "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
- "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"
- "Big Two-Hearted River"
Christopher Frizzelle and Rebecca Brown are going to focus on character and setting, writing and craft, as we analyze these works of art together. We'll also talk about the influence Hemingway has had on other artists.
Meet your teachers
Christopher Frizzelle is the founder of FrizzLit, the former editor-in-chief of The Stranger, and the inventor and host of the Silent Reading Party. He used to want to be Ernest Hemingway when he grew up.
Rebecca Brown is the author of 14 books, including The Gifts of the Body and You Tell the Stories You Need to Believe. Her writing style is directly influenced by Ernest Hemingway.
What to read before the first meeting
Read two short stories — "Hills Like White Elephants" and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" — before our first meeting.
All meetings are recorded
They will be sent to your email address within 48 hours of each meeting.
Recommended editions
Art
Ernest Hemingway splendidly illustrated by Kathryn Rathke
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