Another attempt at productivity foiled. Actually, managed a couple of decent edits before the little man arrived, so the day wasn’t a complete wash, literarily speaking.
Long afternoon, but snuck in a trip to the gym and, while I didn’t have much energy to spare after a sleepless night, put in a decent showing.
S passed along the famous letter from Hemingway to Fitzgerald regarding Tender Is the Night. The one that says “we’re all bitched from the start.” Hadn’t read the piece in many years and found it curious on a number of different levels. Hemingway criticizes Fitzgerald’s depictions of Gerald and Sara Murphy as untrue, and suggested it weakened the book. I told S it’s held up well over the years, despite Hem’s dislike of the material and that many a critic believe it’s still Fitzgerald’s best novel. Not knowing a great deal about the Murphys—at least on a personal level— I don’t understand what Hemingway found lacking in the characters of Dick and Nicole Diver. I’d sure like to explore the subject. Maybe it’s just a personal thing. Hemingway was notorious for co-opting real people (himself included) into his work, so maybe he held others who did it to a different standard. Anyway, not sure what makes his “art” and Fitzgerald’s only “marvelously faked case histories.”
Was going to write more, but a bit of dark news just came my way.
Calling it a night.