Tehran – A Persian translation of the book “Crossing the River to the Tree” by American novelist Ernest Hemingway has been published in Tehran.
This book is translated into Persian by Ahmad Kasaipour. Hermes is a book publisher.
“Crossing the River and the Trees” was first published in 1950 by the sons of Charles Scribner after a serialization in the “Cosmopolitan” magazine. The title is inspired by the final words of Confederate Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson before his death.
The story centers on Colonel Richard Cantwell, a 50-year-old US military officer hunting ducks in the Marano Lagoon near Venice, Italy, towards the end of World War II. Troubled by his terminal heart condition, Cantwell recalls his past, mainly reflecting his experiences during World War I and his turbulent romance with Renata, an 18-year-old Venetian woman who is his junior for over three years. Hemingway drew Renata’s inspiration from his own enthusiasm with a young woman named Adriana Ivansic when he visited Italy before writing the novel.
At the heart of this, we explore “crossing the river and towards the trees” and how we can confront mortality and death. Critics often draw similarities between Hemingway’s work and Thomas Mann’s “Death of Venice.” Hemingway expressed his intention to create emotional strength, gradually escalating tension before reaching an emotional conclusion.
The novel received a distributing of negative criticism, but many reviewers label it as a sad commentary that once great talent reached a creative dead end, it still became a bestseller in the US, breaking past the New York Times bestseller list for seven weeks.
The story culminates with Cantwell experiencing a heart attack after a duck hunt and repeating the opening scene. As he succumbs to his state, he recalls Jackson’s final words: “No, no, we cross the river and rest under the shade of a tree.” The story ends with his driver reading a note from the colonel, indicating that his possessions should be handed over to Renata, encapsulating the themes of love and loss that permeate the novel.
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was an influential American novelist, short story writer and journalist known for his economic and modest prose style. His adventurous persona and dull public images contributed to his literary legacy, including seven novels, six short stories collections and two non-fiction works. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
Between 1942 and 1945, Hemingway claimed he was “out of business as a writer.” He faced personal tragedy, including a series of accidents and health issues that affected his family, particularly after a prominent car and ski accident.
During this turbulent period he wrote, “crossing the river to the trees.” The novel received negative reviews, but he later achieved praise in 1952’s “The Old Man and the Sea.”
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