Virile Voice Adds Punch to Dull Pace of Hemingway Prose

I have always considered Ernest Hemingway to be the most overrated writer of the 20th century. Nothing about his recently discovered manuscript, “True at First Light,” changes my mind. (Simon & Schuster Audio; unabridged fiction; eight cassettes; 11 hours; $45; read by Brian Dennehy.)

Before it was published, this “fictional memoir” was cut in half by Hemingway’s son, Patrick, who had accompanied Papa on safari in the winter of 1953. Be grateful for the truncation, as “True at First Light” is more like rambling journal entries than a novel with a plot.

There are glimpses of the spark that garnered Hemingway the highest awards in literature. For instance, when he writes that “in Africa a thing is true at first light and a lie by noon,” the listener is reminded of Hemingway in his prime. But despite such passages, this tale of a drinking man who represents the last of the great white hunters is mostly dull going.

Though Hemingway’s prose may be blase, there is nothing lackluster about Dennehy’s ability as a narrator. With his deep, masculine voice, he sounds appropriately virile. His pronunciation of African dialect is flawless, and his smooth acting skills help capture the dry humor underscoring many passages.

An introduction by editor Patrick is printed on the tape box but unfortunately is not read on the tape. Because this intro helps put the first five chapters of the book into context, it was unwise to omit it from the spoken narrative.

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In this centennial year of Hemingway’s birth, Books on Tape has released four of his titles, unabridged and read by Alexander Adams. This company does a superior job with unabridged material, providing the listener with exactly the same information a reader gets, from the dedication to the number of pages.

Adams doesn’t have a memorable voice but is nevertheless a favorite narrator, managing to create various characterizations that sound realistic. He does not take on as many personalities as he has in the past, concentrating more on feeling than on variations of pitch. For instance, he does not change his voice for women’s roles, but he does use different accents as needed, convincing us with Spanish and French dialects.

Anyone new to Hemingway may want to start with his first successful novel, “The Sun Also Rises” (seven cassettes; seven hours; $29.95). Published in 1926, this is his look at the Lost Generation of American expatriates in Europe. It’s one of his most exciting and accessible works, and it explains the mystique surrounding bullfighting in Pamplona. “A Farewell to Arms” (six cassettes; nine hours; $29.95) was published in 1929, when Papa was 30. Long considered an essential novel of World War I, it depicts the romance between an American ambulance driver and a British nurse on the Italian front. For more politics and romance, tune into “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (11 cassettes; 16 hours; $34.95), which Hemingway based on his experiences as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War. Not just a tale of bloody battles, this centers on an American volunteer and the Spanish partisan he loves.

Though most of us barely tolerated “The Old Man and the Sea” when it was forced upon us in high school, even I must admit that it deserves a second listen as an adult. Published in 1952 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1953, it was Hemingway’s last major work of fiction and one of the reasons he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1954. This yarn of a Cuban fisherman in his last great battle with a giant marlin (two cassettes; three hours; $17.95) springs to life when heard aloud and is short enough to listen to straight through.

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Those who can’t get enough of Hemingway may be tempted by Caedmon Audio’s “Ernest Hemingway Reads” (original material; one cassette; 45 minutes; $12). Don’t be. The quality is very poor, scratchy and sometimes difficult to hear. Hemingway rambles self-indulgently. And none of the pieces, including his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, is introduced on the tape (though everything is listed on the box). Occasionally you can hear indications of the writer’s mind at work, but for the most part, this is a waste of time.

Rochelle O’Gorman reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Dick Lochte on mystery books.