"Big Two-Hearted River" Parts 1&2 by Ernest Hemingway

This week we bring you “Big Two-Hearted River” Parts I & II by Ernest Hemingway. The story explores the healing and regenerative powers of nature. In this past year, more people went camping, or hiking, than any other year. We all have been seeking the healing powers of nature during this trying time. When this story was published, critics praised Hemingway's sparse writing. He used his Iceberg Theory of writing; a modernist approach to prose in which the underlying meaning is hinted at, rather than explicitly stated. "Big Two-Hearted River" is almost exclusively descriptive and intentionally devoid of plot. Enjoy!

[@ayzworld]

This is the best version I’ve heard of this Hemingway story. Do more please. 👌🏽

[@jamesskibinski2948]

My son, having a major life crisis, took a long outdoors trip in nature to find healing. His trip did not provide healing and he passed away by his own hand in June 2023. This story has resonated with me and I suspect my son’s sadness and desire to be healed. I’ve read this story before and after his death.. it reminds me of him. I’ve listened to this reading multiple times and I sincerely appreciate your telling of it.

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

I'm so sorry. It's the hardest thing ever to lose a child. I'm glad you find comfort in the story. Stories really are a wonderful thing, in so many ways. Take care.

[@rosiegreer2317]

I'm very much enjoying your channel! I love how well you narrate these short stories. I plan on listening to them with my teen as part as his homeschool. I plan on having him create a comic strip of the story as he listens. I hope you continue adding more stories, we are looking forward to them.

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

I love this! I'm so glad to help young people understand and appreciate the classics.

[@cosmos9688]

This is some quality narration. Love it!

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

Thank you!

[@ryankiel4895]

Very well done. Thank you!

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@sudesar2238]

need to analyze this for school and used this video to read with it, my adhd thanks you!!!!!!

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

I'm so glad it was helpful. It's a great story!

[@noahmiller985]

the same exact situation for me. I have ADHD, and this video made analyzing it so much easier. a good reminder there are always ways to effectively work with your ADHD

[@olivewrites5672]

same bro. saw the reading. went "i will absolutely not be able to do this without audio" and found this. so happy it's really well done. saved my life (and grade) lol

[@ava3801]

Part two starts at 22:57

[@rhiannonhartman4583]

This was so helpful for my class!

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

I'm happy to be of help!

[@MrGuitarguitarguitar]

This is requiered reading for a uni course I am taking. While the performance of the reader was very good, I can't shake the urge to cry "Emperors new clothes!" on Hemingway!

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

Me too. I fish and camp, and I like Hemingway because he wrote about things I do. But this story is what we used to call a "process paper" which describes how to do something. How to bake a flap jack, how to fish. I have heard "experts" say the "burnt forest" in the story is a reference to Hemingway's experiences in WWI. I doubt that. There are a lot of forest fires in northern Michigan and it is often "burnt"...I have seen it first hand. He was just describing what he saw and the pseudo intellectuals read more into it to. I think Flannery O'Connor was a better author.

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

Interesting. I thought perhaps he was someone trying to avoid his own thoughts by focusing on the tasks. His own thoughts being about the war and the devastation he witnessed. Occasionally, throughout the stories, those thoughts start to creep in but he deflects them with "staying in the moment" - i.e. fishing, cooking, eating. But I can also see myself as a pseudo intellectual... :)

[@lesterstone8595]

@@DetroitHomeInspector I agree.

[@silversnail1413]

The story is not really about fishing or camping. It's about an emotionally scarred young man escaping from the pain of war and modern civilization by reconnecting with nature. The meanings in a lot of Hemingway's stories are often obscured. He was more about instilling a sense of realism and immediacy to his characters. I can see why he wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea but as a writer he's a tremendous influence on me personally. His finely honed minimalism, never using more words than necessary, and his ability to find profundity in the mundane. This story in particular was important to me because it taught me that you could write a narrative with almost no dialogue or character interaction at all and instead focus entirely on a singular character's mindset and experience.

[@vincentturner2979]

If you think about the larger context of the book this chapter is from "In Our Time" (which is, in itself a reference to 'In Our Time of Peace Oh Lord), where this character has lost relationships and experienced war before this chapter, it's pretty clear that this is about a person reconnecting with nature after experiencing tragedy and trying to come back to peace in his familiar natural environment

[@richardharding7842]

There is a larger context and background to this story that some commentors are missing. Please read "The Nick Adams Stories" by Hemmingway and that context will be revealed. Hemingway spent a bit of time as a young man with his Dad, as I did with mine, in the UP so the connection to the pine plaine and the "mending line that is trout fishing" are crucial the story. I lost my Dad last October and have personally walked that RR bridge in Seney, Michigan. And it wasn't until "today" listing to this wonderful performance that very last sentence hit me like a thunder bolt...my Dad would always say at the end of a day trout fishing "Well we have all summer! Pleanty of time to fish the river", but we don't. That all ended on Oct. 12th, 2023 when he died. So to me this story is so, so much more. It's a reflection of love for your father, a special place, and time that is gone.."BUT" still can be found. The river flowing through Seney, by the way, is not the Big Two Hearted. Thank you.

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

Thank you so much! I will definitely look at The Nick Adams stories. I love getting suggestions from my listeners.

[@richardharding7842]

You are welcome! There is something about the UP that is hard to put into words. It's a massive place that lets you know that you're not in Kansas anymore. Watch the opening scene of "Anatomy of a Murder' with Jimmy Stewart. That is about the closest thing on film captures the feeling I am try to paint. True story that opens with Jimmy Stewart, wearing a trout fishing vest and hat, driving along Lake Superior at dusk...with a Duke Ellington music 🎵 score playing in the background. Please watch it if you have never seen it. One of my all time favorite movies! But you will know the feeling immediately. Ominous...but spirited...

[@melik1763]

Don get me wrong, but this must be narrated by the male actor.

[@notyourmothersstorytime]

Since it is written in third person omniscient, I think it's ok. I'm just the storyteller. If it was in first person, then I might agree with you. I hope you can find a male voice to your liking. In any case, thank you for visiting my channel!