To be published on the centenary of Hemingway's birth, this is the fictionalized account of Hemingway's time living and hunting in Kenya. The single draft made was discovered and edited by his son Patrick.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Ernest Hemingway's final posthumous work bears the rather awkward designation "a fictional memoir" and arrives under a cloud of controversial editing and patching--but all of that ends up being beside the point. Though this account of a 1953 safari in Kenya lacks the resolution and clarity of the best Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms) it is "real" Hemingway nonetheless. Let scholars work out where memoir leaves off and fiction begins: for the common reader, the prose alone casts an irresistible spell.
In True at First Light the glory days of the "great white hunters" are over and the Mau Mau rebellion is violently dislodging European farmers from Kenya's arable lands. But to the African gun bearers, drivers, and game scouts who run his safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Hemingway remains a lordly figure--almost a god. Two parallel quests propel the narrative: Mary, Hemingway's fourth and last wife, doggedly stalks an enormous black-maned lion that she is determined to kill by Christmas, while Hemingway becomes increasingly obsessed with Debba, a beautiful young African woman. What makes the novel especially strange and compelling is that Mary knows all about Debba and accepts her as a "supplementary wife," even as she loses no opportunity to rake her husband over the coals for his drinking, lack of discipline in camp, and condescending protectiveness.
As usual with Hemingway, atmosphere and attitude are far more important than plot. Mary at one point berates her husband as a "conscience-ridden murderer", but this is precisely the moral stance that gives the hunting scenes their tension and beauty. "I was happy that before he died he had lain on the high yellow rounded mound with his tail down", Hemingway writes of "Mary's lion", "and his great paws comfortable before him and looked off across his country to the blue forest and the high white snows of the big Mountain."
Passages like these--and there are many of them-- redeem the book's rambling structure and occasional lapses into self- indulgent posturing. Joan Didion dismissed True at First Light in The New Yorker as "words set down but not yet written", but this fails to acknowledge the power of these words. The value of True at First Light lies in its candour, its nakedness: it provides a rare opportunity to watch a master working his way toward art. --David Laskin
"Captures the beauty of the African landscape and the thrill of the hunt, in true Hemingway style" (Red)
"This is writing of a high order; sympathetic, luminous, hypnotic, humane" (Caledonia)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
US$ 7.52 shipping from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speedsUS$ 20.94 shipping from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speedsSeller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Hardback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR004869879
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780434008322
Quantity: 4 available
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. To be published on the centenary of Hemingway's birth, this is the fictionalized account of Hemingway's time living and hunting in Kenya. The single draft made was discovered and edited by his son Patrick. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR003032763
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780434008322
Quantity: 4 available
Seller: Goldstone Books, Llandybie, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. All orders are dispatched within one working day from our UK warehouse. We've been selling books online since 2004! We have over 750,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0004628985
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # GRP69559852
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Black Box Books, ASHFORD, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. His last book, edited with an introduction by Patrick Hemingway Seemingly unread Fine copy. Head page edges a little darkened. Seller Inventory # 003637
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: AMADEUSBOOKS, DIBDEN PURLIEU, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. AIR MAIL POSTAGE TO THE USA UNAVAILABLE ON THIS BOOK. Seller Inventory # 000386
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Marlowes Books and Music, Ferny Grove, QLD, Australia
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 319 pages. Book and Jacket are both in Very good condition throughout. Seller Inventory # 221720
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: The Blue Penguin, FRODSHAM, United Kingdom
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Dustwrapper, pp.320. Introduction and edited by Patrick Hemingway. The last novel, written when he returned from a 1953 safari in Africa but only edited by his son and released some 46 years later. A little but very minor bumping to cover leading edge. Small split to rear lower corner of dustwrapper. Text a little browned. Overall VG in wrapper. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 005044
Quantity: 1 available