The Fifth Column: And Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War

As expected very good. interesting to see how Hemimgway's play compares with his stories. It's of its time as are the stories. His laconic detached non involved style a bit bloodless.

I wasn't sure about a Hemingway play. Sure, Papa is one of my favorite fiction writers, but could he write for the stage as well as he wrote stories? The Fifth Column proved to be every bit as good as Hemingway's best fiction. The deep characters and fascinating, realistic sequence of events are brilliantly written. The reader can picture the drama as if it was being acted out before him. I've recommended this book to several people; some are hesitant to read it because the story's setting (the Spanish Civil War) doesn't interest them. But in Hemingway's fiction, the setting is not as important as how people and the things that happen to them are communicated on the page. He was a truly master writer, able to make characters and situations fascinating regardless of what the reader thought of the story's setting. One suggestion: I read the four short stories before I read the play, and I strongly recommend that sequence. Reading the stories first enables you to see transition of the events from real life to Hemingway's mind, then to the page, and finally to the stage. Seeing this transition will give the reader an appreciation for Hemingway's ability to so brilliantly put into words his own observations and experiences. If you are a Hemingway fan, or if you just like good fiction, it doesn't get much better than this.

The Fifth Column part of the book is very entertaining. I enjoyed it more than the four stories. Give this book a chance if you have any interest in either the Spanish Civil War or Ernest Hemingway. Also try A SUN ALSO RISES. That book is good as well.