The Old Man and the Manuscript

Lengthy review of Hemingway’s latest posthumously published book True at First Light by the editor of The Garden of Eden (1986), another of Hemingway’s posthumously published works. Characterizing True at First Light as a failed effort by a failing writer, Jenks outlines the events inspiring the book’s conception along with Patrick Hemingway’s difficulties in editing. Despite criticizing the book as “unformed, fragmentary, digressive, and anecdotal,” Jenks doubts its appearance will diminish Hemingway’s reputation or stem the flow of future posthumous works making their way into the marketplace