This week I finished the biography Hemingway’s Boat. This was officially, my 18th biography that I had read about the author. Because of this I wasn't surprised to see that there were several biographies referenced that I had already read, including ones by his oldest sister and youngest brother. Those excerpts made all of the new information that I gained from this particular biography even more interesting.
Hemingway's Boat focused mainly on his relationship with the Pilar, the famed yacht that he bought while living in Key West. I loved learning about the history of his beloved boat and the countless trips he took on it during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He not only went fishing on it but used it as a research vessel for the science museum in New York, hosted parties on it with a multitude of celebrities, moved it with him to Cuba when he divorced from his second wife and even used it to help the US government look for Nazi submarine ships during World War II.
Like all Hemingway biographies there was a dark undertone to it. Besides the Pilar, this boat also featured everything else that he loved and lost from 1934 to 1961 including his own suicide. The last twenty-five percent of the book focused mostly on his son Gigi, who became a woman named Gloria later in life. That part was a lot harder to read as Gigi's life was an even more sad and tragic story than Hemingway's. I was glad, however, to have read the biography. It reminded me of why I found Hemingway‘s life so incredibly fascinating. I don’t know if this will be my last biography on Hemingway, but I will take a break for a while. Either way, I am super proud of myself for finishing this long, detailed book and was glad that my family at least pretended to be interested in it when I talked non-stop about it.
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