Review: Hemingway's The Garden of Eden - A Summer of '24 Read
Reviewed by: Anthony Acker
I just finished reading Hemingway's The Garden of Eden. This was my first novel-length reading of Hemingway, and I absolutely loved it. This novel was his second book released posthumously and came out in 1986 to mixed reviews due to the editing of Hemingway's writing and how much was removed from the original manuscript. He began writing The Garden of Eden in 1946, and over the span of 15 years, he wrote 48 chapters, though it was left incomplete. The final release we have is 30 chapters, with 200,000 words cut down to 70,000. Despite this, I truly loved this novel.
In the book, we follow David and Catherine Bourne, newlyweds traveling through Spain as David writes his stories and book. Catherine, who comes from a wealthy, high-status family, has helped contribute financially to their trips and his writing, despite David bringing in decent money by his label. Catherine is a wild creature who likes to play with gender roles and is also quite moody and controlling, while David is laidback and tries to keep the peace within the story, doing his best to keep Catherine happy. They enjoy each other's sexuality and bodies more so than their personalities, constantly drinking and having verbal squabbles in between trips to the beach and meals at local cafes.
Catherine explores her sexuality and identity by role-playing as a boy, initially in the privacy of their relationship, but soon wanting to live publicly as a boy. She continually cuts her hair shorter, begins to tan darker, dresses more masculine in tailored slacks, and goes about the towns on her own. David enjoys this aspect of her at first, but she continually breaks her promises and begins to demand that David mimic her style. She has him bleach his hair the same shade as hers, get the same cuts, dress similarly, and even asks David to be her girl in the bedroom. Catherine continually moves the goalposts, and David sees no end to her desires to change.
At one point, in one of the little cafes they frequent, they meet another woman, Marita, whom Catherine insists they bring into their relationship. Catherine wants to explore her sexuality with Marita and desires David to explore Marita as well. They both spend private time with her and begin to love her. Marita is far more balanced than Catherine, and David begins to enjoy spending his time with her more than with Catherine, who is quite unstable and can change her dynamics and mood on a dime. Marita is fair and respectful to David, while Catherine begins to jeer and tease him. When Marita begins to read and love David's writing, Catherine becomes jealous and starts to act mean and despicable towards David, going as far as tearing up one of his notebooks and burning his writings. She begins to call Marita “his whore” and David “illiterate.” David, at this point, usually refers to Catherine as “Devil” and is completely exasperated by her. When she burns his writings and clippings, Catherine justifies it by saying now he can focus on the narrative of his book about Catherine and their trips and that she will reimburse him double.
I can relate my own relationship with a narcissistic ex-girlfriend to the dynamic that David and Catherine share. We were openly dating, and she enjoyed triangulating me with her boyfriends and vice versa. When my camera and photography somehow made her jealous, she began to tell me, “your camera is creating distance,” and that she couldn’t tell me how or why, and that other boyfriends were jealous of how I could capture her joy and smile. She enjoyed exploring her own sexuality and gender role, enjoyed shaving parts of her hair, and like Catherine, wanted me to feel and caress her shortened hair in its masculine cut. She created a different identity for me to role-play as, Bob, who was callous and didn’t show as much emotion or care for her behaviors and decisions. In the last few months of our relationship, she began to tease me and make awful jokes about how she wouldn’t need me if I didn’t exist anymore or if I vanished and that I no longer made her happy.
Reading this story has been cathartic and has helped continue teaching me about narcissism and relationship dynamics in which I was naïve and inexperienced. I am grateful for having been recommended the novel by my college English teacher, and it was one of the most enjoyable reads I have had this year.
Review: Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life
Reviewed by: Anthony Adrian Acker for The Advocate NEwspaper
"Be useful" is Arnold Schwarzenegger's motto in his recently released new book Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life which brings us into the life of one of the most interesting men in Hollywood, and one of my heroes. And yeah, it’s kind of a self-help book too.
Be Useful takes us from Arny’s humble upbringing in post-World War 2 Austria to dreams of success and a meaningful purpose-driven life in America. He became the biggest bodybuilder and action star on the planet, a husband, father, and a man who made and owned his choices. Arnold has dedicated his life not only to his health but also to shaping his life in a way that allows him to share his devotion with others around the world. He dreamed of making bodybuilding and weightlifting serious sports, strived to spread the Special Olympics and athletic programs for disabled and neurodivergent children across the nation, and during the Covid-19 Pandemic, his connections were vital to handling the crisis and gathering the needed supplies for the people of California. His efforts in ecological conservation and perseverance toward renewable resources for energy consumption set him apart from his political peers, but he doesn’t care; he always wants what is best for the people.
Arnold's vision is for us to learn from his life experience, see ourselves in a new light of confidence, and take the knowledge bestowed upon us into our own lives as tools. His seven tools to incorporate into our lives are: Have a Clear Vision, Never Think Small, Work Your Ass Off, Sell – Sell – Sell, Shift Gears, Shut Your Mouth – Open Your Mind, and Break Your Mirrors. Each chapter introduces a new tool and details the circumstances that forged and tempered these tools, enabling us to build the life we envision. From his teenage years, building a vision and dream of becoming the premier bodybuilder in America, to later rising in stardom to become the biggest and highest-paid action star and a compassionate politician, these tools have laid a structural foundation to realize the life he aspired to live. I can already see these tools improving how I navigate my own life.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed reading Arnold's book. It was both easy to read and concise, making it appealing to casual readers. Arnold's non-polarizing persona, both as a politician and person, also adds to its universal appeal. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Arnold's films or bodybuilding career, for anyone grappling with finding the purpose and meaning of their own work, and it serves as an inspiring read for those in search of a role model or mentor to look up to.