The torrents of spring

Subtitled 'A Romantic Novel in Honour of the Passing of a Great Race', The Torrents of Spring - Hemingway's second published work - wonderfully parodies the themes and styles of the 'great race' of writers of his generation. Spring is coming to the small towns of Michigan, but the snow still covers the land when Scripps O'Neil sets of for Chicago, decides to stop a while in Petoskey, and meets up with Yogi Johnson. Their bizarre stories are a brilliant satire on conventional fiction. The characters they meet are absurd and yet strangely familiar. Short, fast-paced, funny, The Torrents of Spring throws light on Hemingway's later work - and is a delight to read. Here we can see the developing talent of one of the great novelists of the twentieth century.