Episode 144: Hills Like White Elephants

This week's episode: "Hills Like White Elephants." This classic short story by Earnest Hemingway is widely considered most striking for everything that is revealed in the things are left unsaid. A man and a woman are waiting for the train to Barcelona. It is a hot afternoon. They are drinking beer at a bar and talking about the landscape, the weather, and whether or not the woman should have an abortion. Nothing is actually said about this last detail, but Hemingway’s inference is as heavy as the still, hot afternoon air of the café, and his spare style allows the reader (or listener) to fill in the gaps, leaving to our imagination to resolve the deliberately open ending. This may be a short short story, but it is complex, as well as exquisitely crafted. Tune in and be transported!

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