Papa Hemingway

By: A. E. Hotchner

Narrated by: Robert Stack

Between 1948 and 1961, Ernest Hemingway and A. E. Hotchner traveled together, fished the waters off Cuba, hunted in Idaho, and ran with the bulls in Pamplona. And everywhere they went, they talked.

For 14 years, Hotchner and Hemingway shared their thoughts and as Hemingway reminisced about his childhood, recalled the Paris literary scene of the 20s, and recounted the real events that lay behind his fiction, Hotchner took it all down.

His notes provide the material for this utterly profound and truthfully compassionate best-selling memoir about Ernest Hemingway.

©1983 A. E. Hotchner (P)2009 Audio Holdings, LLC

Critic reviews

"Brilliant.... Hotchner deserves to be compared not only to Capote, but to Boswell." ( The New York Times)
"Remarkable...makes Hemingway live for us as nothing else has done." ( The Wall Street Journal)

A good listen.

I enjoyed this narrative of E H life. He seemed very human an I feel like I got to know EH a bit.
The only con of this book was that the reader spoke so fast that it took me a while to get in sync. A good, informative, human story.

Drastically abridged

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Ironically, no--and I love the book. I've read "Papa Hemingway" at least twice over the years and loved it. But it begs to be read in its entirety, and not in this drastically pared edition.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

It's a great story--truly one of the best of its kind (personal memoir) of that generation. However, so much of the richness of Hemingway's extraordinary life is lost in this slashed telling.

How could the performance have been better?

Robert Stack did lots of good work in his day--in movies, TV, and radio. But that's the problem, his performance sounds dated and staccato.

Could you see Papa Hemingway being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, George Clooney as Hemingway--but wait a few years. Aaron Paul as Hotchner--he's ready now.

Any additional comments?

Dear Audible,
Please redo this one.
Sincerely,
A big fan of "Papa Hemingway."

Great stories, but a little bit of s letdown.

I read Hemingway in love first. I felt a lot of repetition because of that.

Also I admire Robert Stack very much but it was difficult to hear some of the story because of the unique quality of his voice.

Rich literary history, narration

amazing insight into Hemingway's late life, but narration wasn't optimal. Stack's voice was superb, production was just ok

Abridged or Snippet

I loved the subject matter and the narration; however, it seemed like a very slim rendition of the unabridged version - a snippet. I now have a hard copy of the complete book and will more fully enjoy it. I must pay greater attention to whether I’m buying abridged or unabridged versions of books. With Hemingway I don’t think you want to miss anything!