Hemingway Hoax [Paperback]

Joe Haldeman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Devotees of SF and literary mystery will enjoy this fast-paced, well-thought-out adventure that takes a college professor and Hemingway scholar on an eerie journey to coexisting universes. Nebula and Hugo Award-winner Haldeman ( The Forever War ) has written a tale that twists upon itself like a Moebius strip, with characters reenacting their lives in each slightly different, slightly worse universe. In a Key West bar, Baird is conned into writing a story in Hemingway's 1920s style, which could be passed off as one of the contents of the famous valise left on a train by Hemingway's then-wife Hadley. Returning to Key West from the Hemingway collection at the Kennedy Library, Baird suddenly finds Ernest Hemingway sitting opposite him in the train compartment. This is, however, a nonhuman who can take on any form, and who has come to warn Baird not to finish the Hemingway pastiche. In a lively, philosophical conversation, the temporal policeman explains that if Baird continues in his plan he will be killed. As each attempt to murder him fails, Baird finds himself in a slightly altered universe--and in one of these supernatural worlds, Baird evolves into Hemingway himself. Haldeman has injected humor and philosophy into what turns out to be an intriguingly existential drama.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The plot of this mixed-up little novel revolves around the scheme of Hemingway scholar David Baird, his two-timing wife, and a con man to forge one of Ernesto's famous "lost manuscripts" stolen in a Parisian train station in 1921. After things get rolling, Baird is terrorized by a "being" who can travel through time and between alternate universes, and who, in the guise of Hemingway in various stages of his life from infancy through headless corpse, tells Baird he must stop the forgery because it will cause nuclear Armageddon sometime in the future. Sound stupid? For the most part, it is. In addition to the far-fetched plot, the characters show more grace under pressure than is believable. While Haldeman's respect and affection for Hemingway are sincere enough, those who are not aficionados will miss a lot of the subtle references and generally won't care about the whole. This could have worked as either a hardcore sf piece or a neat caper story, but combined, the two elements clash and end up a mess.
- Michael Rogers, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380708000
• ISBN-13: 978-0380708000
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,395,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like alternate Time-lines..., June 15, 1998

By 

Max Robitzsch (Erzhausen, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hemingway Hoax (Paperback)

... You should read this book. John Baird, a Hemmingway scholar in something of a bind, agrees to produce a forgery of a "lost" work of the great master. Since this would radically change his earth's future, a sort of inter-dimensional hitman is dispatched to kill him. Which he does. Sort of. Instead Baird finds himself in another, just so SLIGHTLY different alternate universe, where everything takes a somewhat different turn - Until everything ends in a rather grim, if not unsatisfying ending. You should do yourself the favor of reading it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but worth a read, January 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hemingway Hoax (Paperback)

While _Hoax_ doesn't have the bite and originality that _Forever_War_ does, it is an interesting premise. Haldeman definitely has a way with characters who are hard to love, and there are several in _Hoax_. If you like his other works, particularly his short stories, you will probably find _The_Hemingway_Hoax_ well worth your time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating beginning, weak middle, pitiful ending, May 30, 2008

By 

Dave Deubler (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hemingway Hoax (Paperback)

A genre-bending fantasy about a plan to forge some lost stories by Ernest Hemingway. This book starts off realistically enough, and stays interesting even after it becomes clear that the plan has attracted the attention of some non-human entities. But then Haldeman digresses into some tawdry sexual maneuvers that seem to be leading the plot in another direction entirely. Then after the protagonist is killed, all focus is lost and the plot just rambles down one incomprehensible blind alley after another. The novel is mercifully brief, but there're no real explanations of any of the major plot points, characters change radically with each new venue, we never do find out exactly who the "Others" are, or what's so special about our protagonist, or even how and why the hoax is so critical in human history. Changing the rules in mid-stride is just weak storytelling, and failing to tie up the ending is like telling a joke and leaving off the punch line. This may be a common enough trend in contemporary fiction-writing (see the work of Haruki Murakami, for example) but this old-school reader doesn't care for it one bit.