Why The Torrents of Spring Will Drown You in Boredom
One of the first novels written by Ernest Hemingway, The Torrents of Spring, originally published in 1926 begins with a man named Scripps O’Neill, who returns to his home and finds that his wife and daughter have left him. In a state of frustration, O’Neill leaves his home for the town Petoskey, where he seeks a new partner. Upon entering a beanery in Petoskey, he encounters Diana, a British waitress, who he marries immediately. Diana is worried that O’Neill will leave her, so she tries to impress him by reading the literature that he likes. However, O’Neill leaves her regardless for another waitress named Mandy, who entices him with multiple anecdotes, although they may not be true.
The focus then primarily shifted to Yogi Johnson, who is a World War I veteran who works at a pump factory. Johnson is worried that he is not in love as spring is approaching. After wandering around with some American Indian veterans, they all eventually enter the same beanery as O’Neill. Suddenly, an American Indian woman, who is the wife of one of Johnson’s friends, enters the beanery wearing nothing but moccasins. After seeing the woman, Johnson’s desire for love is rejuvenated, and he heads out into the night with her.
Although it may seem as though I have spoiled the book, there wasn’t anything meaningful from it that I spoiled in the summary. When I first read The Torrents of Spring, I didn’t see any significance behind the story. It didn’t evoke any feelings for me as I was reading it. By reading the summary above, there’s probably nothing else you could get out of the book by reading it. It’s just a series of events, and reading a summary of it is essentially the same level of enjoyment as reading the actual book itself.
This summary may be all there is regarding the written story. However, there is much more to it than just a disappointing read (especially when compared to The Sun Also Rises, which was also published in 1926). The Torrents of Spring is actually a parody of Dark Laughter by Sherwood Anderson, who was Hemingway’s mentor. The Torrents of Spring contained multiple references to Dark Laughter, constantly poking fun at it from the very start of the novel. Having not read Dark Laughter myself, I didn’t notice the connections while I was reading the book, so there was definitely a satirical value lost without having that background knowledge, and the book is basically pointless without it.
Further context about this novel includes that Hemingway supposedly didn’t even want the book to succeed, and wrote it in a short ten days. He had made a publishing contract with Boni & Liveright in 1925, which he was content with until F. Scott Fitzgerald informed him that he would make more money with Charles Scribner’s Sons, a different publishing company. Hemingway then made a parody of one of Sherwood’s works, who was also under Boni & Liveright at the time. After they refused to accept Hemingway’s mockery of one of their most successful writers, he stated that they had broken their contract and left them for Charles Scribner’s Sons. Hemingway, of course, denied this accusation.
I think Hemingway’s desire to leave Boni & Liveright was clear, and there was no point in denying his intention behind writing The Torrents of Spring. While The Torrents of Spring was certainly not his greatest literary achievement, it could be said that it marked the beginning of Hemingway’s independence as a writer. By leaving Boni & Liveright and his former mentor, he went on to become a successful writer almost immediately, as he published The Sun Also Rises with Charles Scribner’s Sons the same year. As for The Torrents of Spring, I would recommend it to someone who has already read one of Hemingway’s more notable books and then compare the two to firsthand witness the difference in quality. You could also try reading Dark Laughter first, and see if The Torrents of Spring truly is an entertaining satire.
The focus then primarily shifted to Yogi Johnson, who is a World War I veteran who works at a pump factory. Johnson is worried that he is not in love as spring is approaching. After wandering around with some American Indian veterans, they all eventually enter the same beanery as O’Neill. Suddenly, an American Indian woman, who is the wife of one of Johnson’s friends, enters the beanery wearing nothing but moccasins. After seeing the woman, Johnson’s desire for love is rejuvenated, and he heads out into the night with her.
Although it may seem as though I have spoiled the book, there wasn’t anything meaningful from it that I spoiled in the summary. When I first read The Torrents of Spring, I didn’t see any significance behind the story. It didn’t evoke any feelings for me as I was reading it. By reading the summary above, there’s probably nothing else you could get out of the book by reading it. It’s just a series of events, and reading a summary of it is essentially the same level of enjoyment as reading the actual book itself.
This summary may be all there is regarding the written story. However, there is much more to it than just a disappointing read (especially when compared to The Sun Also Rises, which was also published in 1926). The Torrents of Spring is actually a parody of Dark Laughter by Sherwood Anderson, who was Hemingway’s mentor. The Torrents of Spring contained multiple references to Dark Laughter, constantly poking fun at it from the very start of the novel. Having not read Dark Laughter myself, I didn’t notice the connections while I was reading the book, so there was definitely a satirical value lost without having that background knowledge, and the book is basically pointless without it.
Further context about this novel includes that Hemingway supposedly didn’t even want the book to succeed, and wrote it in a short ten days. He had made a publishing contract with Boni & Liveright in 1925, which he was content with until F. Scott Fitzgerald informed him that he would make more money with Charles Scribner’s Sons, a different publishing company. Hemingway then made a parody of one of Sherwood’s works, who was also under Boni & Liveright at the time. After they refused to accept Hemingway’s mockery of one of their most successful writers, he stated that they had broken their contract and left them for Charles Scribner’s Sons. Hemingway, of course, denied this accusation.
I think Hemingway’s desire to leave Boni & Liveright was clear, and there was no point in denying his intention behind writing The Torrents of Spring. While The Torrents of Spring was certainly not his greatest literary achievement, it could be said that it marked the beginning of Hemingway’s independence as a writer. By leaving Boni & Liveright and his former mentor, he went on to become a successful writer almost immediately, as he published The Sun Also Rises with Charles Scribner’s Sons the same year. As for The Torrents of Spring, I would recommend it to someone who has already read one of Hemingway’s more notable books and then compare the two to firsthand witness the difference in quality. You could also try reading Dark Laughter first, and see if The Torrents of Spring truly is an entertaining satire.
Enjoyed your title pun very much, LOL! On the actual review content, I'm glad that I have read this. I was actually considering reading The Torrents of Spring, and now that I know that it is best read in companion to Dark Laughter, I'll make sure to read the latter first. I definitely enjoyed the structure of your review, which is (as evident to me), the plot of the story, then a quick paragraph on your disappointment in its read, then some background history on Hemingway and his situation at the time of this writing. A very well written review, I'll be looking forward to reading more from you!
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed your title pun! I like your unique style in which you purposely 'spoiled' the book to show that it's not worth reading anyway. I also enjoyed the historical context that you provided since it gave valuable insight to why The Torrents of Spring might not be Hemmingway's best work. I will definitely make sure to take your advice and read Dark Laughter first if I ever read The Torrents of Spring. Great review!
ReplyDeleteGiven your opinions, your review may be more interesting than the actual book. This is the first review that I've read that gives information outside of the book itself. The backstory with the publishers and how this book pokes fun at another book was a refreshing departure from the typical summary and opinion reviews. I also like how you don’t just say the book is bad and not to read it, but you point out the reasons someone might still want to read this book. Your ability to turn an uninteresting book into an interesting post made for a very good review.
ReplyDeleteI can tell that you really enjoyed reading this book, huh. In all seriousness, this is a great review! You could have simply discussed why you disliked this book, but instead you gave a very detailed background of the author and the events leading up to the writing of it that really solidified your stance on the title. I find this to be a great review mainly because you were able to turn an apparently boring book and topic, and turn it into an interesting analysis of the book and its history. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteNice review. I liked that you dug deep into the book's meaning in Hemmingway's career as a writer rather than just talking about the story in a vacuum (from what you conveyed, there isn't much to talk about without the context that the book was written in). I also appreciate that, while you very obviously did not enjoy the book, you understood its value in establishing the author's independence. Good job.
ReplyDelete