As far as the Iceberg Theory goes, I was wondering how it applies to Good Night, Hem.
Would the book's final panel be a best example? Is there a better one that I'm not seeing? I don't know Hemingway's life and career particularly well—just bits and pieces, which the book helps prompt to memory—so I'm sometimes uncertain as to what I might be missing in the meaning or payoff of certain events.
(Sorry this is completely off-topic. I just picked up a used copy of the book unexpectedly and have been rereading it.)
I'm also curious why Athos was brought into the book. My guess is that his presence helps to delineate it as fiction, since the first story in particular feels more steeped in historical nods and less overtly absurd than its predecessor, The Left Bank Gang. I'm kind of wondering about Athos as both a foil and an ideal; he's less a character and more an embodiment of a code. And maybe that's appropriate in a Hemingway context?
As far as Lee Van Cleef goes, I wouldn't mind seeing your version of Escape From New York.
I had mixed feelings about Left Bank Gang and wanted to tell the story of them going to Pamplona. And I thought it would be fun for Hemingway to meet Athos. Since they look the same, what could happen? Well, they could switch places! Complications ensue, events that would turn into And The Sun Also Rises.
I've read some reviews of my book saying the third chapter is just a repetition of what happened in the first chapter. Well, NO! There's an important difference.
I started an After The Catastrophe type story once, but it was never finished. Maybe one day.
Interesting! I noticed the middle story was completed first, in 2019, while the others were finished in 2020. This had me wondering if it was the impetus for the book, with the others crafted around it. It stands apart in not including Athos (though it does reference F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Left Bank Gang!).
As for the third story, it's the only one that doesn't stand on its own. It rests upon the first story and seems fairly subtle in what it's trying to accomplish. It's adding another phase to Hemingway's life story, bringing back Athos and the previous events, presumably to help bookend the work while commenting on Hemingway's storytelling or personality, as well as ideas about immortality, end of life, etc. It's kind of a haiku ending.
I still puzzle a bit over the title. It immediately made sense to me as a humorous riff on Good Night, Moon, but I haven't actually read that story. (And I just realized that Loeb says the line to Hemingway after walking out on their Iceberg conversation.) I see the bullfighter on the cover as death, which an aging Hemingway is contemplating as a sort of challenge to masculinity. In that sense, the cover is like a fourth story, or a missing piece of the third. It bugged me massively that the previews for the Fantagraphics edition had a red spine—the color of death's toreador outfit, which I thought was perfect—but then they switched it to the mustard color of Hemingway's shirt, a completely meaningless and random choice. The design seemed to get weaker, not stronger, in the final version.
Looking at the Wikipedia entry for Ernest Hemingway is kind of intimidating, in what a storied life he lead.
I worked on the two first stories at the same time. They were finished at different times. Ha, I didn't even think about Good Night, Moon! I think I chose the title because I liked the sound of it. And because the book ends with the old Hemingway, maybe.
As far as the Iceberg Theory goes, I was wondering how it applies to Good Night, Hem.
ReplyDeleteWould the book's final panel be a best example? Is there a better one that I'm not seeing? I don't know Hemingway's life and career particularly well—just bits and pieces, which the book helps prompt to memory—so I'm sometimes uncertain as to what I might be missing in the meaning or payoff of certain events.
(Sorry this is completely off-topic. I just picked up a used copy of the book unexpectedly and have been rereading it.)
I'm also curious why Athos was brought into the book. My guess is that his presence helps to delineate it as fiction, since the first story in particular feels more steeped in historical nods and less overtly absurd than its predecessor, The Left Bank Gang. I'm kind of wondering about Athos as both a foil and an ideal; he's less a character and more an embodiment of a code. And maybe that's appropriate in a Hemingway context?
As far as Lee Van Cleef goes, I wouldn't mind seeing your version of Escape From New York.
I had mixed feelings about Left Bank Gang and wanted to tell the story of them going to Pamplona. And I thought it would be fun for Hemingway to meet Athos. Since they look the same, what could happen? Well, they could switch places! Complications ensue, events that would turn into And The Sun Also Rises.
DeleteI've read some reviews of my book saying the third chapter is just a repetition of what happened in the first chapter. Well, NO! There's an important difference.
I started an After The Catastrophe type story once, but it was never finished. Maybe one day.
Interesting! I noticed the middle story was completed first, in 2019, while the others were finished in 2020. This had me wondering if it was the impetus for the book, with the others crafted around it. It stands apart in not including Athos (though it does reference F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Left Bank Gang!).
DeleteAs for the third story, it's the only one that doesn't stand on its own. It rests upon the first story and seems fairly subtle in what it's trying to accomplish. It's adding another phase to Hemingway's life story, bringing back Athos and the previous events, presumably to help bookend the work while commenting on Hemingway's storytelling or personality, as well as ideas about immortality, end of life, etc. It's kind of a haiku ending.
I still puzzle a bit over the title. It immediately made sense to me as a humorous riff on Good Night, Moon, but I haven't actually read that story. (And I just realized that Loeb says the line to Hemingway after walking out on their Iceberg conversation.) I see the bullfighter on the cover as death, which an aging Hemingway is contemplating as a sort of challenge to masculinity. In that sense, the cover is like a fourth story, or a missing piece of the third. It bugged me massively that the previews for the Fantagraphics edition had a red spine—the color of death's toreador outfit, which I thought was perfect—but then they switched it to the mustard color of Hemingway's shirt, a completely meaningless and random choice. The design seemed to get weaker, not stronger, in the final version.
Looking at the Wikipedia entry for Ernest Hemingway is kind of intimidating, in what a storied life he lead.
I worked on the two first stories at the same time. They were finished at different times. Ha, I didn't even think about Good Night, Moon! I think I chose the title because I liked the sound of it. And because the book ends with the old Hemingway, maybe.
Delete