In our time by Ernest Hemingway

(12 User reviews)   5623
By Ava Marino Posted on Jan 2, 2026
In Category - Historical Travel
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961 Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961
English
Ever feel like everyone around you is putting on a brave face, but underneath they're just... hollow? That's the world of Ernest Hemingway's 'In Our Time'. It's not one story, but a collection of sharp, quiet moments—soldiers trying to sleep after a battle, a boy watching his father's hands shake, a couple not talking about the thing that's breaking them. There's no big villain or mystery to solve. The conflict is just living in a world that's been cracked open by war and loss, and trying to figure out how to be a person in the pieces left behind. It reads like someone showing you a photo album where half the pictures are missing, and the feeling you're left with sticks with you for days.
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Minarets stuck up in the rain out of Adrianople across the mud flats. The carts were jammed for thirty miles along the Karagatch road. Water buffalo and cattle were hauling carts through the mud. No end and no beginning. Just carts loaded with everything they owned. The old men and women, soaked through, walked along keeping the cattle moving. The Maritza was running yellow almost up to the bridge. Carts were jammed solid on the bridge with camels bobbing along through them. Greek cavalry herded along the procession. Women and kids were in the carts crouched with mattresses, mirrors, sewing machines, bundles. There was a woman having a kid with a young girl holding a blanket over her and crying. Scared sick looking at it. It rained all through the evacuation. chapter 4 We were in a garden at Mons. Young Buckley came in with his patrol from across the river. The first German I saw climbed up over the garden wall. We waited till he got one leg over and then potted him. He had so much equipment on and looked awfully surprised and fell down into the garden. Then three more came over further down the wall. We shot them. They all came just like that. chapter 5 It was a frightfully hot day. We’d jammed an absolutely perfect barricade across the bridge. It was simply priceless. A big old wrought iron grating from the front of a house. Too heavy to lift and you could shoot through it and they would have to climb over it. It was absolutely topping. They tried to get over it, and we potted them from forty yards. They rushed it, and officers came out alone and worked on it. It was an absolutely perfect obstacle. Their officers were very fine. We were frightfully put out when we heard the flank had gone, and we had to fall back. chapter 6 They shot the six cabinet ministers at half-past six in the morning against the wall of a hospital. There were pools of water in the courtyard. There were wet dead leaves on the paving of the courtyard. It rained hard. All the shutters of the hospital were nailed shut. One of the ministers was sick with typhoid. Two soldiers carried him downstairs and out into the rain. They tried to hold him up against the wall but he sat down in a puddle of water. The other five stood very quietly against the wall. Finally the officer told the soldiers it was no good trying to make him stand up. When they fired the first volley he was sitting down in the water with his head on his knees. chapter 7 Nick sat against the wall of the church where they had dragged him to be clear of machine gun fire in the street. Both legs stuck out awkwardly. He had been hit in the spine. His face was sweaty and dirty. The sun shone on his face. The day was very hot. Rinaldi, big backed, his equipment sprawling, lay face downward against the wall. Nick looked straight ahead brilliantly. The pink wall of the house opposite had fallen out from the roof, and an iron bedstead hung twisted toward the street. Two Austrian dead lay in the rubble in the shade of the house. Up the street were other dead. Things were getting forward in the town. It was going well. Stretcher bearers would be along any time now. Nick turned his head carefully and looked down at Rinaldi. “Senta Rinaldi. Senta. You and me we’ve made a separate peace.”...

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The Story

In Our Time is a bit of a puzzle box. It's a collection of short stories and even shorter vignettes—little snapshots of war and violence—sandwiched between them. We follow Nick Adams, a stand-in for Hemingway himself, from his childhood in the Michigan woods to his return home after World War I. The stories aren't connected by a single plot, but by a mood. We see Nick go fishing, get hurt, fall in love, and try to make sense of things. The war chapters in between are brutal and immediate, showing you the chaos that haunts the quiet moments in the main stories.

Why You Should Read It

This book taught me how much you can say by not saying it. Hemingway's famous 'iceberg theory' is on full display here. The characters talk about the weather or fishing, but what they're really dealing with is trauma, fear, and a deep disconnect from the world. You have to read between the lines. It's not always easy, but when you catch what's not being said—the grief in a simple gesture, the panic behind a calm face—it hits you twice as hard. This is where modern storytelling really began.

Final Verdict

Perfect for anyone who prefers show-don't-tell storytelling and doesn't need a neat, bow-tied ending. If you like quiet, character-driven movies or have ever felt a bit lost and out of step with the world, you'll find a friend in these pages. It's not a light, breezy read, but it's a profoundly human one. Give it your attention, and it will reward you with a clarity about life's messy, unspoken truths.



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Donna Ramirez
2 months ago

If you enjoy this genre, the depth of research presented here is truly commendable. I learned so much from this.

Joseph Nguyen
1 year ago

Surprisingly enough, the narrative structure is incredibly compelling. Thanks for sharing this review.

Liam Williams
1 year ago

Amazing book.

Donald Martinez
1 year ago

I stumbled upon this title and the emotional weight of the story is balanced perfectly. One of the best books I've read this year.

Emily Smith
1 year ago

Solid story.

5
5 out of 5 (12 User reviews )

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