TLS, one page, 8.5 x 11, Finca Vigia San Francisco de Paula Cuba letterhead, December 10, 1955. Letter to Silvano Suarez, in full: "I am very sorry that the confusion of your change of address and my work and working from 0515 until dark on the fishing photography of The Old Man and The Sea and the four hurricanes that have passed close enough to disturb things and the death of Mrs. Hemingway's father and many other things have prevented me from thanking you for your gift of the book you wrote with such keen critical thinking and such loving care.
I am not indifferent, kid, am only over-run with work and having a rough year. I appreciate deeply your writing the book and my trouble is that I am shy and embarrassed when people talk about my books or my life. I should write to Carlos Baker too and if I stop my own writing today maybe I will. Mostly I only write to my children who are widely dispersed and to my lawyer and to my publishers. That is not really accurate as I write to about four other people. But it is always after I have written or on a Sunday.
When you get back to Cuba come out sometime and we will have a drink and talk things over. I hope you are having a good stay in New York and will look forward to see-ing you when you come back. Have a first edition copy of The Old Man and The Sea that I would like to write in for you as a small token of my appreciation for the interest you took in my work.
Some one promptly stole my copy of your book. That is an excellent sign that it is a good book as here they steal only the best. Am working very hard and am on page 626 of the new book." In very good condition, with many professional repairs, including Japanese paper backing, de-acidification, and re-inking to the letterhead and possibly parts of the signature. In 1955, Cuban critic Silvano Suarez earned the admiration of Hemingway with his book El Esqueleto del Leopardo: Notas sobre la obra de Ernest Hemingway [The Skeleton of the Leopard: Notes on the Work of Ernest Hemingway], one of the very first publications to offer a serious in-depth critique of the author's writings. Despite Hemingway's rapidly failing health, the author continued to work intensely on a variety of projects during this time period, with the mention of a "new book" likely referring to one of his many posthumous releases. A gracious letter from "a rough year" in Hemingway's life, written while the scribe struggled through a myriad of drink-related health issues.
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