Ernest Hemingway: True At First Light
When "True At First Light" came out, people were not sure exactly what it was. The publisher claimed that it was fiction, that it was a novel Hemingway had written that centered around his time in Africa. Reading it, however, felt a bit like reading a very in-depth diary that Hemingway wrote while he was there. There was then some contention over what the account really was. With Hemingway's death, it became nearly impossible to know. Personally, I think that it does not matter. Either way, the book is terrific and shows one of the most talented writers who ever lived working at the top of his craft.
There are a lot of reasons why the book feels like it could be a true account and not a fictional account. First off, Hemingway himself stars in the novel. He is in Africa, acting as a game warden and hunting the predators that are killing the local people's livestock. His wife, Mary, is there with him. There are even references to his second wife, Pauline, who the local people remember from Hemingway's last trip to Africa. He talks about how they seem to think that he has many wives and that he just brings whichever one he wants on his trips with him. In order not to upset them -- and to make himself look good in their eyes -- he does not tell them that he has actually divorced Pauline and married Mary.
There are also a lot of correlations that cannot be ignored. For one thing, Hemingway had already written "Green Hills Of Africa," a historical account of his time there with Pauline. He had traveled the country and hunted many times. The fact that the villagers remembered Pauline from his trip before -- something that would be an irrelevant detail if the account were a work of fiction -- leads the reader to believe that this is really what happened.
Some sensational details do exist that I think point to the times when Hemingway stretched the truth -- which is why the book was published as fiction. For instance, he shoots a leopard and then has to chase it into the bush. There is a piece of bone on the ground and he picks it up and puts it in his mouth. There is no reason why a real hunter would do this.
Again, and in conclusion, I do not think it matters if the book is fiction or non-fiction. Most writers draw so much from their own lives that nothing they put on paper could be considered to be entirely fiction. This is not necessarily true with the pulp writers, writing dime-store fiction about vampires and wizards, but serious writers are rarely able to write about things that are entirely untrue. The art is in taking the truth and making it more powerful, more compelling. This is what Hemingway was able to do for the entire course of his life, and "True At First Light" is just one more example.
There are a lot of reasons why the book feels like it could be a true account and not a fictional account. First off, Hemingway himself stars in the novel. He is in Africa, acting as a game warden and hunting the predators that are killing the local people's livestock. His wife, Mary, is there with him. There are even references to his second wife, Pauline, who the local people remember from Hemingway's last trip to Africa. He talks about how they seem to think that he has many wives and that he just brings whichever one he wants on his trips with him. In order not to upset them -- and to make himself look good in their eyes -- he does not tell them that he has actually divorced Pauline and married Mary.
There are also a lot of correlations that cannot be ignored. For one thing, Hemingway had already written "Green Hills Of Africa," a historical account of his time there with Pauline. He had traveled the country and hunted many times. The fact that the villagers remembered Pauline from his trip before -- something that would be an irrelevant detail if the account were a work of fiction -- leads the reader to believe that this is really what happened.
Some sensational details do exist that I think point to the times when Hemingway stretched the truth -- which is why the book was published as fiction. For instance, he shoots a leopard and then has to chase it into the bush. There is a piece of bone on the ground and he picks it up and puts it in his mouth. There is no reason why a real hunter would do this.
Again, and in conclusion, I do not think it matters if the book is fiction or non-fiction. Most writers draw so much from their own lives that nothing they put on paper could be considered to be entirely fiction. This is not necessarily true with the pulp writers, writing dime-store fiction about vampires and wizards, but serious writers are rarely able to write about things that are entirely untrue. The art is in taking the truth and making it more powerful, more compelling. This is what Hemingway was able to do for the entire course of his life, and "True At First Light" is just one more example.
