TRUE AT FIRST LIGHT begins, "[t]hings were not too simple." Although the line ostensibly refers to the Hemingways' 1953-54 East African safari, it also proves to be the crucial lesson of the novel for both Hemingway and his critics. Hemingway is a peculiar literary figure. He is indisputably one of the most popular American writers of the twentieth century, yet there is far from universal consensus, especially within the academic community, regarding his level of skill or status as an artist. This dissonance between his academic and popular reception may be the result of his attempt to court both audiences. As one of the first authors to actively and purposefully straddle the high/low cultural divide of the twentieth century, Hemingway inspires a certain degree of anxiety in the literary establishment: Recently, however, critics have profitably re-visited this issue. What has emerged is an understanding of Hemingway as a transitional figure--a promising writer caught up in a cycle of fame and popularity (as the twentieth century would (re)invent those concepts) while trying to maintain his ability to write significant prose.)

The blur between the man and his writing began as an orchestrated public relations tactic promoted by Scribner's, and by Hemingway himself, but the tactic was so successful that it became nearly impossible to extricate the man from the Work or, for that matter, the man from the persona. This confusion between the writing, the persona, and the man has resulted in innumerable credibility issues for critics, to the extent that one's critical opinion of Hemingway is often elided with the degree of one's sympathy for his "way of life" and/or for Hemingway himself. For example, at some point in the recent past, Hemingway became what he, at least in part, was--"a white man with a gun"--with all the connotations that image evokes. He has served as one of the most prominent scapegoats of a trend in literary criticism which, for valid reasons of its own, rejects the masculine image and paternalistic style of which Hemingway was one of the prime practitioners. As the things the man did--drinking, hunting, shooting--and stood for--paternalism and bravado--became unfashionable, so did his writing.

True At First Light, however, may inaugurate a shift in Hemingway criticism. Some early reviews, despite their tongue-in-cheek titles (i.e., The New York Times Book Review cover story: "Papa's Got a Brand New Book"), express a surprising degree of...