I bought this book two months ago in Chiang Mai, Thailand, because I thought it was a biography of Ernest Hemingway... Well, it's not, but that's ok. It's still an enjoyable read.
Hunting with Hemingway is a strange little memoir by Hilary Hemingway, daughter of Papa's brother, Leicester. It begins with the passing of the author's mother, who left Hilary a cassette tape recorded by an unnamed professor, on which her father, Les, tells various hard-to-believe stories about hunting with his older brother, Ernest.
The book weaves an odd narrative, telling the story supposedly as it was stated on tape, while detailing Hilary's reaction to the deaths of her mother and father and, to a lesser extent, her uncle. At times the personal element is somewhat mishandled, I felt, as in the final chapters of the book, which seem unnecessary.
The book's value comes from the fascinating stories told by the crotchety old man on the tape. These are pure old fashioned boys stories of adventures across the globe - hunting lions, fighting ostriches, chasing Nazi U-boats...
Are they real? Did these things ever happen as stated? Maybe, and maybe not. That's dealt with throughout the book in conversations between the author and her family. At times it is stated, perhaps rightly, that it is unimportant. A story is a story. Leicester Hemingway, paraphrasing his brother, said:
A good story is at its best when the line between truth and fiction remains ambiguous.
What bothered me was not the element of truth. I don't care if a story is embellished a little here or there. What bothered me was the hunting. It was hard to read these stories about the murder of innocent animals - tigers, lions,
komodo dragons, marlin, etc. Leicester and Ernest go on about respecting the animals, yet it never enters their heads that perhaps the animals didn't want to die in the first place, and didn't need to.
I get that hunting has its place. It is not as black and white as right and wrong... But hunting for sport, for fun, is just monstrous and anyone who does it should be castrated, skinned alive, and fed to the buzzards. Of course, this was long ago in a different time, but still... It's hard to read these stories.
I've had the privilege in my life of
coming up close to most of the animals they killed and I disagree with Les about them being monsters. The stories about these animals being man-eaters and posing threats are certainly wrong, and their deaths always unnecessary. This book doesn't really glorify the hunting element because it is commented negatively upon by those listening to the tape, but it is still hard to stomach.
