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I picked this up purely on instinct from the newly refurbished 'Classics' section of my local library. I have only dabbled lightly in Hemingway's work, and I thought this collection of short stories was an ideal place to start.

This collection revolves around men, the atrocities of war, being a Father and the wounded, and for the most part, I found these stories to be complex, but interesting, and I can see why he is such a popular writer. However, I cannot say I loved his characters, but maybe that was the point.

'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' was the only story I had heard of, and I also just discovered that this was made into a film adaptation. This was my favourite of the collection, being about a man dying of gangrene of the leg, musing to himself about his life, his accomplishments and his failings. Did he do enough? Were there various missed opportunities? I suppose this enters all of our minds at some point or another. The dying man treats his wife fairly inhumanely towards the end, speaking to her badly, but all the while knowing he was set to pass from this world alone. I thought the themes here were important, and definitely thought-provoking.

The rest of the stories were compelling, and admittedly, a couple went completely over my head, but what stood out the most is how deep and complex his stories travel. On the surface they feel rather thin and watery, but actually, the subject matter here is gritty, uncomfortable and truthful, and Hemingway tackled it head-on.