I read a lot of Hemingway in high school, probaly at least 3 books, plus dozens of short stories, and I don't mind them. However, I've always held the opinion that you really just have to be a man to find him absolutely brilliant. His stuff has never seemed to me "universal" or androgynous, but exactly the sort of thing most men like and admire.
When I was 11, my fifth grade "language arts" teacher read "The Old Man and the Sea" aloud to us, complete with voices. He did the Old Man with this deep Cuban accent and The Boy with this high voice. I will forever associate Hemingway with Mr. Skladany.