The secret of Hemingway's endurance as a storyteller is that he invites the active participation of the reader in the creation of the story. The short story In Another Country was first published in 1927. Many of the characters grapple with a loss of function, a loss of purpose, and a loss of faith. This story is about an ambulance corps member in Milan during World War I. Although unnamed, he is assumed to be "Nick Adams", a character Hemingway made to represent himself. He has an injured knee and visits a hospital daily for rehabilitation. The narrator walks through the streets with fellow soldiers, the townspeople hate them openly because they are officers. Their oasis from this treatment is Cafe Cova, where the waitresses are very patriotic. When the fellow soldiers admire the protagonist's medal, they learn that he is American, ipso facto not having to face the same struggles in order to achieve the medal, and no longer view him as an equal, but still recognize him as a friend against the outsiders. The five men, brought together by necessity, walk together through the town, and feel a certain friendship born of their status as wounded veterans. Even in this distinguished company, however, Nick is not fully accepted. He feels inferior to the three other officers with medals as they proved their bravery in battle and he received his medal merely for being an American. Listen online to free English audiobook "In Another Country” on our website to experience the short story by Ernest Hemingway.
