[.ca] The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories (ISBN 0684862212)

From Amazon.com:
Returning from a Kenyan safari in 1932, Ernest Hemingway quickly devised a literary trophy to add to his stash of buffalo hides and rhino horns. To this day, Green Hills of Africa seems an almost perverse paean to the thrills of bloodshed, in which the author cuts one notch after another in his gun barrel and declares, "I did not mind killing anything." Four years later, however, Hemingway came up with a more accomplished spin on his African experiences--a pair of them, in fact, which he collected with eight other tales in The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The title story is a meditation on corruption and mortality, two subjects that were already beginning to preoccupy the 37-year-old author. As the protagonist perishes of gangrene out in the bush, he recognizes his own failure of nerve as a writer: Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well. Well, he would not have to fail at trying to write them either. Maybe you could never write them, and that was why you put them off and delayed the starting. Well he would never know, now. In the story, at least, the hero gets some points for stoic acceptance, as well as an epiphanic vision of Kilimanjaro's summit, "wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun." (The movie version is another matter: Gregory Peck makes it back to the hospital, loses a leg, and is a better person for it.) But Hemingway's other great white hunter, in "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," is granted a less dignified exit. This time the issue is cowardice, another of Papa's bugaboos: poor Francis is too wimpy to face down a wounded lion, let alone satisfy his treacherous wife in bed. Yet he does manage a last-minute triumph before dying--an absolute assertion of courage--which makes the title a hair less ironic than it initially seems. No wonder these are two of the highest-caliber (so to speak) tales in the Hemingway canon. --Bob Brandeis

the hyena was slipping right along the edge of it:
although i have not read any other short story in this collection except the title story, i still gave it 5 stars just because that story alone would give me the reason to buy this book (because i don't own it yet). i don't think i would be interested in any of hemingway's novels; i doubt if i could get any sort of satisfaction reading about his hunting expeditions and stuff like that. even "the old man and the sea" bored the hell out of me. i just seem to lack the patience with this writer. for the most part, i just can't read him. but "the snows of kilimanjaro" i read, and it is one of the greatest short stories there is. it is the best story about death, in my opinion. and i knew that hemingway had BEEN there, and had brought this story back to us. (and this was before i knew anything about his travels to africa, or any details about his personal life in general). i read this story, and i am very impressed by hemingway's ability to write simply, yet deeply. it is a very admirable trait for any writer to have - to be able to evoke images and express oneself using as few words as possible... that takes talent. william burroughs has said that "the snows of kilimanjaro" is hemingway's best, if not only, true writing.

Misleading:
Yes of course, Hemingway is a good writer and some of the stories in the book are excellent. However, as a collection, the book is uninspiring and a bit depressing. Choose a different Hemingway book if you need something to read on safari.

Death and Drink, War and lllness:
The editors at Scribners have chosen ten of Hemingway's short stories for this Paperback edition. Set both in America and abroad, the subjects of these tales deal with some of his favorite--albeit morbid--literary interests: death, drink, war and illness. Possibly influenced by Anderson's anthology, WINESBURG OHIO, the author actually chooses one character, Nick Adams, to appear in several unrelated stories. Ranging in length from 3 - 33 pages these stories are the offspring of the imagination and morality of a Man's author. His protagonists include a solider, boxer, gambler, game hunters--even simple waiters. Set in Africa, Italy, France and the Chicago environs, this collection will transport readers back to the era of the Lost Generation, when personal choices were often painfully wrong, resulting in social and moral disaster. Vintage Heminway, with subtle hints of his interest in suicide.

Beautiful, riveting short fiction from Mr. Hemingway!:
This collection of short fiction is a reminder of Ernest Hemingway's place as one of the best authors of all time. The Snows of Kilimanjaro is full of Hemingway's wonderful, clear and timeless language and prose. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," "A Day's Wait," and "The Killers" possess profound sadness and sentimentality. My favorite story is the semiautobiographical "Fathers and Sons." Hemingway illustrates his feelings about his father's suicide with rich, albeit sharp, prose. The subject title is also a wonderful story. This isn't Hemingway's best work, not as powerful as The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, but it's a memorable book nevertheless. His short stories have always touched me, and these aren't the exception.

"His Genius Most Truly And Surely Showed Itself":
Lionel Trilling once said of Ernest Hemingway: "it is in his short stories rather than in his novels that his genius most truly and surely showed itself." I agree entirely with Mr. Trilling. One of Hemingway's most powerful and moving short stories is "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." Harry had come to Africa with the hopes of rekindling his talents. Africa was where he was the happiest and therefore the ideal setting for writing. However, Harry's talent for writing was slipping before he came to Africa and with his leg becoming infected and the gangrene setting in, his fate as a failed writer seemed sealed. Would Harry have been able to regain the stature he desired as a writer even if he was not being confronted by death? This is one of the questions Hemingway wants us to ponder. The dream Harry has of flying towards the top of Kilimanjaro is another sequence in which to ponder. We do, for a moment, get the sense that Harry is at peace in the presence of the majestic Kilimanjaro. But the story ends not with Harry's dream of ascending mount Kilimanjaro, but with the crying of the hyena. This brings us back to the reality of Harry's death and reminds us of his failed ambitions. Kilimanjaro represents the sovereign height to which every writer wishes to rise. With death breathing down his neck (literally), Harry can now only dream of reaching such a height.