Hemingway

Whenever I go to book stores, I always look for Hemingway. I look for copies from different publishers of titles that I already have and titles that I don't recognize. The Garden of Eden (TGoE) was an example of the latter. The cover intrigued me, the size of the book was on the bigger end, but it felt sturdy in my hands. I read the inside sleeve and I was hooked: "A story of love and obsession, TGoE is about a young American writer and his wife on an extended honeymoon [...] and about the woman to whom they are both attracted." Whaaat? Hemingway NOT talking about war AND a love triangle? Sign. me. up. On the back side of the book sleeve Hemingway describes the book's theme as "the happiness of the Garden that a man must lose." I didn't understand it then, and I, truthfully, don't understand it now after reading the book but reading that snippet feels poetic. It strikes a chord that I don't even understand.

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I looked up the quotation, and I understand it a little more now. The Garden represents peace, serenity, and innocence.

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Iceberg

That feeling reminds me of the Iceberg Theory, a writing style coined by Hemingway. To explain it briefly, the author only describes events at the surface level. However, like the rest of the iceberg underwater, there's much more subtext and meaning beyond the surface-level descriptions.

I often question if there's much alignment between my interpretations of details and what the author intended. Does the rain really represent death or was it used to describe a general gloom? Is my interpretation what the author intended, or am I reading into things too much? Are we giving more credit to the author than they deserve? In pondering these questions, I realized that it doesn't really matter to have them answered. When done properly, an author would provide enough space open for interpretation--space to empathize with the characters, theorize about character relationships, and feel what's implied between scenes. In addition, a single scene can have multiple impacts when observed with different lenses--impacts that couldn't exist without the proper space.

With different authors, I think there's a range of the Iceberg Theory. Some authors reveal more and don't spare the details like a large ice cube in a glass of whisky. Hemingway works on the other end of the spectrum, where I can feel the presence of an iceberg hiding its depth. Sometimes, it doesn't go beyond that; I can't see what Hemingway wants me to interpret and I can't help but move on, yet there's still power behind knowing that something's simply there. The power of the unspoken can travel great lengths in the contexts of literature.

The jump cuts, especially in TGoE, are obvious in what's implied between scenes, but somehow make those implied actions more poetic and beautiful. The passion springs off of the page. There's something to be said about the unsaid. (But like, don't say it.) Hemingway's Iceberg Theory is the same as Amanda Seyfried yelling out "dot dot dot!" in Mamma Mia! when she reads her mom's diary entries.

Back to me in the bookstore

Anyways, I bought the book not knowing anything about it beyond the book sleeve, never hearing about the book before--solely relying on Hemingway.

Relying on Hemingway

Part of me questions why I like Hemingway so much. I describe his writing as blunt, concise, the opposite of flowery, while his scenic descriptions speak to me and hone into different senses. Maybe I like him because it sounds sophisticated for him to be my favorite author.

I'm not sure if I've ever recommended Hemingway, because what he writes about is sometimes, most times, boring. There's little to no plot. The story isn't always relatable. Yet he encapsulates the human condition. This book, The Garden of Eden, made me feel intrigued, hooked, and shocked--all while at peace from the writing style. What can I say? The straightforward but beautifully descriptive writing gives me comfort. I still don't feel inclined to recommend Hemingway to other people, but I hope that people are able to find an author what Hemingway is for me.

I explained in my annotating system that I usually only annotate a book on the second read, but there are exceptions--Hemingway being one of them. Understanding a writer--their general intentions with their work--gives me some idea of what feelings to expect when reading something new. If I'm reading something from Emily Henry, I'm expecting wit. If I'm reading James Baldwin, I know there will be some form of sadness. With Hemingway, I just know that I'll feel. It sounds corny, I know, but there's no other way to describe it. I already know that I'll want to annotate what I'm reading even on a first read. When I read A Moveable Feast, I had my annotation system up and running--knowing that I'd pull a lot of raw quotations. I had all of the categories set. I had the loose idea that he'd talk about his time in Paris interacting with other writers, so I thought my annotation system would cover all of the bases. I was wrong. While reading it at work (thankfully everyone had left already), a chord was struck. An inaudible, guttural reaction pitted in my stomach while being washed by deep empathy. In that moment, I felt I had no other choice but to create a new annotating category to capture the section: "something else." Hemingway works on a different dimensional plane for me.

Iceberg to Life

So what if we allowed ourselves to apply the Iceberg Theory? This question doesn't condone less communication. Rather, it encourages greater awareness and the abilities to fully listen, see, and hear--to be more of a bystander of myself. When I interact with a person, there's some level of awareness that I'll never fully understand how they think or feel. There are years of personal experiences that have built them to react certain ways. Navigating interpersonal interactions with this type of mentality raises my fundamental awareness of what I don't and may never know.

There's also charm in withholding information. There's a negative connotation to the word "withhold," but I mean not sharing everything in order to keep something for myself. I've found myself walking away from conversations feeling like I didn't need to share as much information. I see this idea of withholding information more as a chance for me to be intentional with who I share moments with. I don't have to repeat myself and tell the same story to seven different people. As said earlier, there's some charm in the unspoken.

The Garden of Eden

As I said before, I don't usually recommend Hemingway to people. But, if you're at all intrigued, here's my quick synopsis of TGoE:

One-sentence premise: A Hemingway book not about war with an actual love triangle and stunning descriptions of passion.

Genre: Romance novel

Number of pages in my review journal: 5

Rating: 4 stars