An Unknown Side of Hemingway is Unveiled
Many readers young and old are familiar with Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, A Farewell to Arms. Few, however, may be completely aware of the painstaking revision Hemingway underwent in writing the ending to his famed novel, reworking its final lines at least 37 times before deciding on the final version. Now, 83 years the publication of his classic war time novel, a new side of Hemingway is being unveiled. As Julie Bosman of the New York Times reports, “A new edition of A Farewell to Arms…will be released next week, including all the alternate endings, along with early drafts of other passages in the book.” Bosman goes on to write that “the new edition is the result of an agreement between Hemingway’s estate and Scribner, now an imprint of Simon & Schuster,” and is “also an attempt to redirect some of the attention paid in recent years to Hemingway’s swashbuckling, hard-drinking image — through fictional depictions in the best-selling novel “The Paris Wife” and the Woody Allen film “Midnight in Paris,” for instance — back to his sizable body of work.” The new edition will include additional artwork and rough drafts of the novel, none of which have been previously published. While the novel’s original ending will always endure, the new edition of A Farewell to Arms will provide an interesting perspective for those looking to learn more about Hemingway’s writing process.
