In Our Time

jacob_longini shared a tip "While this short story collection is my least favourite Hemingway book so far, there are a couple of very good stories and plenty of merits for those who wish to round out their understanding of his works. As it was written earlier than his best books, it is perhaps understandable that this one is far less powerful, although "The Sun Also Rises" is my favourite and it was written only a year later. The collection is a great insight into Hemingway's modernist omission tactic: his heroes are built by absences in others and their flaws are presented without obvious moral judgments. Themes of masculinity, action, courage, disillusionment, and loss of innocence are sometimes wrestled with, but at the very least presented for the reader to engage. Standout stories for me were "The Doctor and The Doctor's Wife", "The End of Something", "Soldier's Home", and "My Old Man". While the collection doesn't achieve the power of "The Sun Also Rises", there are moments in these stories where Hemingway captures poignant moments of life in a way that reflects the mastery of his best works."