Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve temporarily set aside my ever-stack of beloved non-fiction books and decided to delve deep into the world of literary fiction. The classics, to be more precise. I’m afraid the likes of Magellan, Feynman, Catherine the Great, and Thoreau will just have to wait in lieu of a more fictitious coterie. My new companions, Caulfield, Gatsby, Eyre, Karenina, and the rest of their imaginary ilk, will lead me down a different academic path.

My plan is simple; I will pick one author at a time and read their work. Most likely not all of their work (at least not this time around), but definitely their most influential works, perhaps with a few obscure titles thrown in for good measure. The first author on my long and illustrious list, if you haven’t guessed it already, is (was) Ernest Hemingway. Here’s how it went:

The Old Man and The Sea – My first real venture into the mind of the man who is Hemingway. There’s a good chance I read this little novella in high school, but there’s an equally good chance that I didn’t. What I am sure of, however, is that I really enjoyed the salty tale this time through, and Hemingway’s fantastic portrayal of his protagonist, Santiago. Living in the Northeast, with the Atlantic Ocean at my door step, I could almost taste the salty air on my lips as I read this. A must read –even if you think you read it in high school, but can’t quite remember…

A Farewell To Arms – This was my second adventure down Hemingway Lane. Alas, it was my least favorite. I’m no literary critic and I don’t play one on my blog, but honestly, I never connected fully with this work. With that said, I still enjoyed it for the most part, and I think it was a good introduction to the simplistic and straight forward prose that Hemingway is so famous for.

The Sun Also Rises – This book grabbed me right from the beginning and never let go. This was Hemingway’s first novel that he ever wrote and, from what I understand, it’s considered to be one of the best “first novels” of all time. I can’t speak to that, but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hemingway’s portrayal of Paris nightlife is fantastic, as well as the festival in Pamplona, but the characters and their wandering lifestyle are what kept me coming back for more. Hemingway’s novels are said to be the voice of the Lost Generation; this may be why I can relate. I truly think that Generation X may be a lost generation itself. Maybe I should go to Pamplona.

For Whom the Bell Tolls – All of Hemingway’s books that I’ve read thus far pale in comparison to this one. Admittedly, it took me a little while to get into the groove of it, but once I did I was absolutely mesmerized. There were a few scenes between Robert and Maria that actually gave me goosebumps. And of course, El Sordo’s last stand was riveting and emotional. Pablo, Pilar, Robert(o), Maria, and the rest of the band were some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway – I picked up this book when I was on vacation in Maine, near Belfast, in a great little book store called Left Bank Books. I only read three of the short stories in this book, including one of Hemingway’s most famous, The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Although I really enjoyed reading them, I decided to put the book down for the time being and focus solely on novels and novellas. For one of my upcoming author selections, I plan on cheating a bit and I will read short stories from a handful of authors, such as Hemingway, Salinger, Chekhov, Wolff, Munro, Asimov, etc…

So as I said, Hemingway, check. Vonnegut on deck. I’ve already started reading Cat’s Cradle. From there I will move to The Siren’s of Titan, Mother Night, Breakfast of Champions, and finally Slaughterhouse 5. If I am missing any “must reads” by either of these two authors, by all means chime in. Until then, happy reading.