Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Movie, Book, and Music Review True at First Light- Ernest Hemingway

True at First Light is a posthumous release, a first draft by Hemingway and edited and condensed by his son Patrick. Naturally there is the "should that have been done?" controversy and critics have complained of a "lack of plot" but I thought this work may appeal to some here (hunters) so thought I'd review it.

"A fictional memoir" of his time in Africa between 1953-54, six months in real life I believe accompanied by his 4th wife and widow Mary Welsh. This is a blend of fact and fiction and the heart of the story revolves around Mary killing an old, wise black-maned lion that was marked for killing cattle. The significance of this of course is that Mary, a woman, wants to kill this old wise and wild lion in the traditional and prestigious manner that has all but fallen out of style/opportunity; a clean kill by way of spot and stalk in the lion's habitat, playing his game without the aid of baiting and cheating etc.

If you are a fan of Hemingway AND a hunter this is a no-brainer, you need to read this. If you are just a hunter then this book is still worth your time. Critics and lay-critics alike have complained about this lacking a plot to which I would argue if you aren't a hunter then you may well not relate at all to the hunting. To a hunter, there is absolutely a plot and it is compelling. Secondly, this is part memoir and it's a first draft. The plot in a memoir is life, this is written somewhat on actual events and therefore the actual events have bearing on where the plot goes. The lack of twists and turns and such is not surprising, this is not wholly a novel. Who knows what it would have become after editing and polishing and finishing etc?

Classic Hemingway themes throughout including the hunt (and its importance to the hunter, the ritual and celebration, and respect), men and women and their similarities/differences, marriage and that whole dance, age and youth, masculinity, and patriarchy and matriarchy. Small commentaries as usual on war and fighting. Also white and black culture.

This book particularly resonated with me being a hunter, married for almost 10 years, and I've hunted with my wife. So much truth in Hemingway's writing and he captures so much of everyday life and relationships. Hemingway's prose is fantastic, my favorite writing style hands down and therefor to me his stuff is never boring and most of it is fairly profound. He's never writing just to write, there's always something you are supposed to feel and if you are bored then you're not paying attention.

Another thing I thought was fascinating was the fact that this was a first draft so it offers a glimpse into his process and his life. His thoughts. It's all over the place at times, lot's of fragments and such that are normally edited out but here you get to see them. It's a rough work and that has been criticized unfairly in my opinion.

Bottom line: there's some great hunting scenes and he captures all the reasons why hunting is fun and wholesome and a part of life. If there's nothing else in it for you, there is that.

Thanks for the review.

Local library has a copy but someone else already checked it out. So I put it on hold
and when it comes back in they will Email me. Thanks for pointing it out.

In Africa, a thing is true at first light and a lie by noon and you have no more respect for it than the lovely, perfect weed-fringed lake you see across the sun baked salt plain. You have walked across that plain in the morning and you know that no such lake is there. But now it is there absolutely true, beautiful, and believeable.

The story begins with those words and most people can immediately identify Hemingway as the aurthor of them. But in today's air conditioned, insured, lawyer protected, blow dried and hair sprayed world, he is not appreciated and that is just one more thing that has gone wrong with our culture.

Very true!

There are those of us who still read Papa on a regular basis.

He's the best. If you can't relate to a Hemingway then I don't know what to say. He captures human interaction like nobody else. From my childhood in podunk AZ spent fishing and shooting birds to my adult life and marriage to my career where I interact with Millennials (the new generation) daily, I can find parallels in Hemingway's writing. The human aspect of it is exactly the same 50-75 years later.


"If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them." -Hemingway

He does it better than anyone.