I read Hemingway in my late teens and liked his writing, but I never really appreciated his writing. I’m sure at that time I read A Farewell to Arms, along with Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. At twenty in a college course I was challenged to write in Hemingway’s style in an advanced writing course. The writing came off stupid, child-like, written by a robot.

For years I put Hemingway aside, thinking his writing “just wasn’t my thing”. Instead, I enjoyed Joyce, Faulkner, and Tom Robbins — all the great 20th century artists.

A week ago I decided to give Ernie another try by reading A Farewell to Arms, his 1929 novel. How could I have missed the flat ironic tone? a tale of the walking dead? the angst of an entire generation? At this point, all I can ask is, what’s next? (Suggestion: The Sun Also Rises)