The Best Hemingway Novels海明威小说排行榜

In her new biography， Influencing Hemingway： The People and Places That Shaped His Life and Work， Nancy W. Sindelar ranks the fiction works of Hemingway. 在她新出版的傳记《改变海明威：影响海明威生活和工作的人物与地点》里，南希·W.辛德拉尔对海明威的小说做了一个排序。

Ernest Hemingway created memorable characters in his short stories and novels by drawing on real people—parents， friends， and fellow writers， among others. He also drew on real places and events to create settings and engaging plots.

Since Hemingway’s works reflect interests and adventures at different stages of his life， creating a ranking for his fiction is difficult. However， the following ranks his most broadly acclaimed works and comments on their contribution to the Hemingway legacy.

1. The Sun Also Rises

Hemingway’s first novel is at the top of my list because it reflects his reliance on his traditional Midwestern values as he encountered new experiences and values in post-World War I Europe. Using friends and acquaintances that populated the cafes along Boulevard Montparnasse in Paris， he reveals his concern about the valueless life of these Lost Generation characters and begins his personal and literary search for meaning in what appears to be a godless world. In the midst of their heavy drinking and meaningless revelry during a fiesta in Spain， Pedro Romero， the matador， becomes a hero. He conducts himself with honor and courage， and it is here we see the beginnings of what will become the Hemingway Code.

The book also tops my list because it reveals Hemingway’s courageous attempt to write in a new and different way by portraying the bad and the ugly as well as the beautiful. Though The Sun Also Rises was well received by the critics， it was not well received by Hemingway’s acquaintances who saw themselves portrayed as self-indulgent， alcoholic and sexually promiscuous in his unflattering， but honest， characterizations. Nor was it well received by his mother， who said he had produced “one of the filthiest books of the year.”

2. A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway’s second novel is a high on my list because it is the fictional account of events that changed and informed his world view. When Hemingway left the security of the Midwest and went to Italy looking for adventure as an ambulance driver in World War I， he got more than he had bargained for. The idealistic Midwesterner joined the war to end all wars1， ready to display honor and courage， but was blown up in a trench. Then he fell in love， contemplated marriage and was rejected by the woman he loved. His confrontation with death， his subsequent wound， and his first experience with love all became catalysts for developing a code of behavior for facing life’s challenges.

A Farewell to Arms was the fictional result of Hemingway’s experiences in Italy and initiates what would become one of the most dominant themes in his novels， the confrontation of death. Though Catherine Barkley’s character seems dated to contemporary female readers， the book still demonstrates that Hemingway used what he learned in Italy to show that war brings out the best and worst in men and women.

3. The Old Man and the Sea

After the unsuccessful reception to Across the River and into the Trees， Hemingway wrote his Pulitzer Prize winning novel to defend his reputation as a writer. Based on his experiences in Cuba， he created a character of an old fisherman. Alone in a skiff， the old man catches a great marlin， only to have it destroyed by sharks. The old man， who had been a champion arm-wrestler and a successful fisherman， was， like Hemingway， trying for a comeback.

The old man embraces the code for living that Hemingway first developed based on his experiences in World War I—the experiences in which a man confronts an unconquerable element. In fighting the sharks， the old man exhibits courage and grace under pressure， believing “a man can be destroyed， but not defeated.”

The reviews and success of the book were nothing less than phenomenal. Appropriately， Hemingway was aboard his boat and out on the Gulf Stream when he heard via the ship’s radio that the book had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

4. To Have and Have Not

Hemingway’s growing awareness of financial and social strata are reflected in To Have and Have Not. The characters are based on people the now famous author met in Key West—the working class he encountered on the docks and at Sloppy Joe’s， the rich who moored their boats in Key West harbor， and the illegal Chinese immigrants who were being smuggled from Cuba to Key West to promote tourism in newly formed Chinatowns.

In this Depression-era novel Hemingway comes close to arguing for social and political changes needed to help the working man. However， Hemingway does not see the New Deal remedies as the solution. As a result， the fate of the novel’s main character， Harry Morgan， outlines the limits of personal freedom， self-reliance and the absence of grace under pressure， and the closest Hemingway comes to a solution is for Harry to say， “No matter how a man alone ain’t got no bloody chance.”

5. The Nick Adams Stories

This collection of short stories is a favorite because it provides insight into the life of the young Hemingway. As a child Ernest would accompany his father， Dr. Clarence Hemingway， as he provided pro bono medical services and attended to injured Indians， women in child-birth， and individuals in a variety of life-threatening situations in the Indian camps of northern Michigan. The memory of one of these trips appears in “Indian Camp.” Young Nick is with his father on a medical mission to deliver a baby. A Native American woman’s been in labor for two days， and Nick observes his father perform a Caesarian with a jackknife sterilized in a basin of boiled water.

Similarly， the reader gains insight into the relationship of Hemingway’s parents in “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” and understands Hemingway’s feelings of separation from his family and life in Oak Park after returning from World War I in “A Soldier’s Home.”

6. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Based on his experiences as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War， this novel contains the classic Hemingway elements—a main character demonstrating grace under pressure and a plot that combines the interest and conflicts associated with love and war. As with his other works， Hemingway uses his friendships and personal experiences. Robert Jordan is modeled after Robert Merriman， an American professor who left his research on collective farming in Russia to become a commander in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was killed during the final assault on Belchite. Maria is based on a young nurse of the same name who was gang raped by Nationalist soldiers early in the war. The novel’s three days of conflict takes place near the El Tajo gorge that cuts through the Andalusian town of Rondo， where a political massacre like the one led by Pablo occurred early in the Spanish Civil War.

Though some readers find the details of the battles tedious， it is one of Hemingway’s most popular novels.

欧内斯特·海明威以真实人物——如父母、朋友、同侪作家等——为原型，创造了他短篇和长篇小说中那些令人难忘的角色。同样，他也选取了真实的地点和事件创造故事背景并构筑引人入胜的情节。

海明威的作品反映了他在不同生活阶段的兴趣和经历，给他的小说排名并不容易。不过，以下还是对他最受赞誉的作品做了排名，并就这些作品在海明威作品中的重要性略作简评。

1. 《太阳照常升起》

海明威的第一部长篇小说位列我的排行榜榜首。这部作品反映出在第一次世界大战后的欧洲，海明威遭遇了前所未有的经历和新价值观的冲击之后，仍然倚重他的美国中西部传统价值观。海明威用聚集在巴黎蒙帕纳斯大街咖啡馆里的朋友和熟人形象，展现他对“迷惘的一代”无意义生活的不安，并开始从个人角度和文学角度探寻这个貌似无神的世界有何意义。在一个西班牙节日上，斗牛士佩德罗·罗梅罗在酣饮烂醉、无意义的狂欢作乐中变成英雄式人物。他的行为体现荣誉和勇气，而就在此处我们窥见日后称为“海明威准则”的源起。

这部作品居于榜首的另一理由是它体现了海明威富有勇气的尝试，即以一种崭新的、迥异的方式同时刻画恶丑和美好。《太阳照常升起》获得文学评论家的广泛赞誉，但是，海明威的熟人看到自己被刻画成放纵、滥饮、性关系混乱的形象可是相当不满，虽然海明威塑造人物的笔法算得上不事取悦、直言不讳。海明威的母亲对此书也不买账，她说海明威写出了“本年度最恶心的作品之一”。

2. 《永别了，武器》

海明威的第二部长篇小说在我的排行榜上位置也很高，因为这部作品对改变又启示了他世界观的系列事件做了虚构叙述。海明威在第一次世界大战时离开安稳的美国中西部，到意大利当了一名救护车司机，意图历险，结果得到的收获比他想要的还多。这个来自中西部的理想主义者参加了一战，准备好展示荣誉和勇气，结果在战壕里被炸飞。后来他陷入恋爱，考虑结婚，但是被他的心上人拒绝了。直面死亡、之后受伤和初恋失败的经历都成为催化剂，促使他养成直面生活挑战的行为准则。

《永别了，武器》把海明威的意大利经历演化为小说，也开启了他小说中最为显著的主題之一：直面死亡。尽管凯瑟琳·巴克莱的形象对现代女性读者来说好像有些过时，这部作品仍然体现了海明威在意大利获得的领悟：战争会发掘男人和女人最美好和最卑劣的一面。

3. 《老人与海》

《过河入林》未获成功，之后，为捍卫作为作家的声誉，海明威写了这部获得普利策文学奖的小说。基于在古巴的经历，他创造了一个老年渔夫的形象。老人独自在一只小船上捕获了一条巨大的马林鱼，结果鱼竟被鲨鱼吃光了。这个老人，曾经是掰腕子比赛的冠军、成功的渔夫，他正像海明威本人一样，试图重振雄风。

老人遵循了海明威在一战经历中初次形成的生活准则，在这些经历里人需要对抗不可战胜的因素。在和鲨鱼对敌的过程中，老人展现出压力之下的勇气和优雅，相信“人可以被毁灭，但不能被击败”。

这部作品获得的评价和成功可谓盛况空前。巧合的是，海明威正是在登船驶出墨西哥湾流时，从船上的收音机里听到小说获得普利策奖的消息。

4. 《有钱人和没钱人》

这部作品反映了海明威对财富和社会等级分化日益强烈的感受。小说里的人物基于此时已然成名的海明威在（佛罗里达）基韦斯特遇到的各色人等：有在碼头和“伤感乔”酒吧结识的工人，有私家船停泊在基韦斯特港口的富人，还有非法华裔移民，他们从古巴偷运至基韦斯特，以促进新形成的唐人街的旅游业。

在这部大萧条年代创作的小说里，海明威可以算作为帮助工人阶级而疾呼社会和政治变革。然而，海明威并未认同罗斯福新政是治病良方。于是乎，小说主要人物哈里·摩根的命运便展现出个人自由、自力更生和压力之下失雅的种种局限，而海明威提供的最可能成功的解决方法不过是让哈里说出：“单打独斗，再怎样也压根儿没有任何机会。”

5. 《尼克·亚当斯故事集》

这部短篇故事集是我的心爱之一，因为可以由其管窥海明威的早年生活。孩提时代的海明威会在父亲克拉伦斯·海明威医生提供公益性医疗服务时陪伴左右，比如照顾受伤的印第安人、临产的妇女，以及北密歇根州印第安人营地里濒危的各种人。这种经历的某次记忆就出现在《印第安人营地》这篇故事里。年轻的尼克跟随父亲参加了一次助产医务行动。一名美国印第安土著妇女临盆两天之后，尼克看到父亲用在一盆开水里消毒过的折叠刀为她做了剖腹产。

与此类似，通过《医生和医生妻子》这篇故事，读者得以一窥海明威父母的关系;而从《士兵之家》这篇，读者可以了解海明威自一战归家之后所体会到的与家庭和故乡橡树园镇生活的隔阂。

6. 《丧钟为谁而鸣》

这部长篇小说基于海明威在西班牙内战期间作为战地记者的经历，包含了经典的海明威式元素：主人公在压力之下展现优雅，情节则结合了与爱情和战争相关的利益和冲突。一如其他作品，海明威同样在这部小说里借用了他的友人关系和个人经历。罗伯特·乔丹源于罗伯特·梅里曼，这个美国教授放弃了对俄罗斯集体农庄的研究，跑到林肯旅当指挥官，结果在对贝尔奇特的终战中阵亡。玛丽亚的原型是一个同名的年轻护士，她在战争初期曾被国民军士兵轮奸。小说所描写的三天之内的冲突发生在埃尔塔霍峡谷附近。埃尔塔霍峡谷贯穿安达卢西亚的龙达市，那里在西班牙内战早期曾发生过类似书中巴勃罗领导的政治屠杀。

尽管有些读者觉得战斗细节的描绘太过冗长乏味，这部作品仍然是海明威最受欢迎的小说之一。