Local Author Explores Hemingway’s Mysterious Visit to Hawai‘i

“Hemingway in Hawai‘i” book cover. Courtesy of author Ray Pace.

A new biographical book authored by Waikoloa author Ray Pace examines some of the mysteries behind legendary author Earnest Hemingway’s visit to Hawai‘i Island preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hemingway in Hawai‘i: War Would Come, Death Would Follow examines the potential outcomes of his visit and some mysterious questions that arise amid the turbulent pre-war era.

Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, an American novelist and famed war correspondent, visited Hawai‘i on their way to China in early 1941. Pace explores what Hemingway did during his visit to the island, and whether his experiences—catching a prize marlin and hunting for Bighorn sheep—led to a literary classic and a Nobel Prize.

Pace also explores the complicated relationship between the Hemingway brothers and the possibility of a letter written by Earnest to his brother Leicester that told of “creation and ultimate destruction.” The story also poses the question of whether Hemingway foresaw the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pace is a longtime print and broadcast writer. He is the president of the Hawai‘i Writers Guild, a member of the Waimea Writers Group and North Kohala Writers. Pace has authored several books, including Bearstone Blackie, Detective; Captain Mike’s Honolulu Fright Night Tour; and Hemingway, Memories of Les.

Hemingway in Hawaii is available in independent bookstores and on Amazon.com.

Pace will present copies of the book at the Waimea Thelma Parker Memorial Library on Wednesday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The books will be priced at $10 each ($2 off the retail price).