In Our Time

... before Hemingway nobody wrote in this lean, tough manner. Hemingway, who worked as a journalist and war correspondent, completely changed the landscape of American fiction, and In Our Time is a good introduction to his works-a way of finding out whether his style is for you. In Our Time contains the thoroughly enjoyable Nick Adams stories-'Indian Camp,' 'The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife,' 'The Three Day Blow', and 'The Battler'-amongst other classic Hemingway tales such as the wonderful 'Cat in the Rain'-a carefully constructed narrative in which not a single word is wasted. However, for me the real gems of this collection are the vignettes interspersed between the stories-short, violent paragraphs of war and death. This is Hemingway's writing at its finest. ... Benji at goodreads.com This is the 1958 edition including "On the Quai at Smyrna".