- Edmund Wilson. " is Hemingway's first and best novel." - Robert McCrum, The Guardian. "The delightful entertainment of ... is full-blooded comedy, with a sting of satire." - The New York Times. "Hemingway remodelled American short fiction." - Michael Reynolds (Hemingway biographer) is a brilliantly varied collection. was Hemingway's first book; critic Edmund Wilson describes the writing as of "the first distinction;" biographer James Mellow considers it one of Hemingway's early masterpieces. Hemingway remodelled American short fiction; is one of the most important twentieth-century collections of short stories. , perhaps Hemingway's best novel, perfectly captures the period between World War I and the Great Depression. It made Hemingway a celebrity. Young women began to emulate Brett, the heroine, while male students at Ivy League universities wanted to become "Hemingway heroes." , a comedy, sets out to amuse, and this it does. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 - July 2, 1961) was an American journalist, novelist, short-story writer, and hunter. He was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his mastery of the art of narrative ... and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style." His economical and understated style-using what he termed "the iceberg theory" or "the theory of omission"-has had a strong influence on twentieth-century fiction. Many of his novels are considered classics of American literature. Writer Richard Ford calls Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Faulkner "the Three Kings who set the measure for every writer since."