Hilda C. Landers Library, Archives & Media Center

  • About
    • Hours
    • Directions and Maps
    • People
    • Policies
  • Research
    • Research Tools
    • Research Guides
    • Get Endnote
    • Cite your Sources
    • Subject Librarians
  • Services
    • Print, Scan, Copy
    • Computers
    • Group Study Rooms
    • Accessibility
    • St. Mary’s Project Resources
    • Services for Faculty
    • Borrow, Renew, Request
  • Media Center
  • Archives
Library, Archives & Media Center > Summer Reading > The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman

The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman

August 16, 2011 by Melissa Rushing

The Hemingway HoaxThis is the best novella I have read in recent memory. Haldeman’s The Hemingway Hoax won a Hugo and Nebula in the nineties. The tale concerns an English Professor named John Baird who meets a conman named Sylvester Castlemaine. Castlemaine, with a bit of help from Baird’s wife Lena, convinces Baird to help him fabricate Hemingway’s first novel, and several short stories stolen from Hadley Hemingway on a train ride to Lausanne in 1921. Baird soon discovers that his con will have a dramatic effect upon the future of humanity.

The Hemingway Hoax was a very good read; Haldeman excels at creating humor through incongruity. Haldeman borrows chapter titles from Hemingway’s novels and short stories then connects the content of his chapters with the content of Hemingway’s works in clever ways. For example, a chapter entitled Sun Also Rises deals with maiming and war injuries. The Hemingway Hoax also reveals several interesting facts about the life of Ernst Hemingway; namely that he rewrote his life story at least once and that he wasn’t always a rugged individualist. I highly recommend The Hemingway Hoax.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Kevin Oldfield
Rating: Highly Recommended

Filed Under: Summer Reading

Recent Posts

  • Information for Spring 2021 January 14, 2021
  • We’re Hiring for Spring 2021! January 13, 2021
  • Library & Media Center Hours: November 20 through January 18 November 18, 2020
  • Black Lives Matter Book Display October 14, 2020
  • Labor Day Hours 10am-8pm August 27, 2020

Categories

  • Archives (11)
  • Database Trial (8)
  • Events (43)
  • Exhibits (6)
  • Faculty and Staff Profiles (4)
  • Library Building (20)
  • Library Collection (59)
  • Library Ethnography Project (2)
  • Library Hours (41)
  • Library People (25)
  • Musings (35)
  • Services (31)
  • Student Employees (20)
  • Summer Reading (283)
  • Teaching & Education (3)
  • Web Resources (10)

Archives

Contact Us:

(240) 895-4264

ask@smcm.libanswers.com

47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001

Follow Us:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow Library News

  • Directions
  • Feedback
  • Archives
  • Media Center
  • Directory
Support the Library
St. Mary's College of Maryland, the Public Honors College
St. Mary's College of Maryland
47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001
(240) 895-2000

Next Steps

  • Request Information
  • Visit Campus
  • How to Apply
  • Discover Our Value
  • Virtual Tour

Just For You

  • Current Students
  • New Students
  • Parents
  • Faculty | Staff
  • Employment

Resources

  • InsideSMCM
  • Directory
  • Events | Newsroom
  • Hilda C. Landers Library
  • College Rankings
© 2021 St. Mary's College of Maryland Consumer Information Copyright Privacy Policy Campus Rights & Responsibilities Help Desk Website Feedback
National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888 BeFree Textline Text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE) More resources on human trafficking in Maryland