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Title: Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 0-684-80071-3 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 01 March, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.99 (348 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Classic Hemingway
Comment: There is a certain purity of language, a freshness of style present in The Sun Also Rises that is noticeably lacking in Hemingway's later works. As pointed out very capably by Mr. Mitchell in his earlier review, the plot of the novel itself is not likely to draw many readers, as the drunken revelry of the characters does tend to get a little old. Plus, I have my doubts that anyone can consistently consume as much booze as Jake Barnes, Lady Brett, and especially the "hangers on" did in this novel. Jake's fishing buddy Bill and Brett's fiance were in a state of inebriation virtually throughout the novel.Here the audio format works well, because listening to a good actor speak the words of a drunken character might be easier to endure than trying to read drunken dialogue.
For me, the novel works in a number of ways. Hemingway clearly loved the subject matter, and I thought the beginning of the book, as did his later masterpiece A Moveable Feast, provided a fascinating glimpse of post-WWI Paris. Then, when Hemingway and his friend catch the train for Pamplona to go fly fishing and catch the bullfights, the book really takes off. Hem loved to fish and he loved bullfighting, and his enthusiasm for these sports clearly shines through. Every year someone gets gored in Pamplona during the running of the bulls, and until reading this book I could never discern why anyone would put themselves in that position. Jake Barnes is clearly a true fan and "aficianado" of bullfighting, and his narration points out the many subtle ways to distinguish between a true master, and an overrated matador trying to make it look dangerous while he remains out of harms way.
All the while, Hemingway portrays a doomed romance between Jake and Brett, all the more painful for him since he has to watch one man after another follow her around and get caught in her web. The pathetic Robert Cohn is the most striking example, since the married Cohn sent his wife to England to visit "friends", so that he could follow Brett around Paris and Spain like a wounded puppy after she makes the mistake of sleeping with him. Cohn is clearly an unwanted companion, and the blowups between him and Brett's fiance were memorable. I also loved the scene at a Paris cafe where Cohn's wife bitterly denounces Cohn for sending her off.
In summary, this novel affords a real opportunity to see a good writer perfecting his craft. Hemingway hated phoniness in all things, bullfighting and writing among them, and for any serious student of twentieth century literature much time should be spent with this book. It is a pleasure to read (or listen to), and reveals more secrets each time you pick it up.
Rating: 4
Summary: The "lost generation" goes to the bullfights
Comment: This is first of Hemingway's most famous novels (i.e. A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea), published when he was twenty-seven years old and marked by his plain, direct diction and an overshadowing cynicism.
At the simplest level, this is a story of twenty- and thirty-something Brits and Americans existing in post-WWI Europe; it's told through the eyes of Jake Barnes, a newspaperman left impotent by a war wound. Barnes and his comrades, including the "damned good looking" Lady Brett Ashley, make their way from Paris to Pamplona and partake of the week-long bullfighting fiesta. Hemingway reveals his own passion for bullfighting in his smooth description of the matadors' artistry and in the distinguishing of those whose work is mere illusion from those who work with true grace and courage.
Throughout the story, moments of violence burst through the affected nonchalance of Jake's circle. Emotions run high as the men strive for Brett's affections, win them . . . lose them just as quickly. One of the most enticing anti-heroines in literature, Brett is an alcoholic and (possible) nymphomaniac, as much at the mercy of her whims as those around her. She is described as "Circe" because she turns the men around her to pigs; a group of Spanish dancers form a circle around her but prevent her from dancing--she must be still, worshipped as an idol. She is a remarkable character, adored and yet worthy of our pity: only an impotent man is safe with her; only a healthy man can satisfy her cravings.
A fascinating achievement in twentieth century writing, TSAR has aged in places, where much of the characters' slang is unfamiliar. Nonetheless, it reads quickly and often easily, providing a good introduction to Hemingway's work and a disturbingly vivid picture of the lost generation.
Rating: 5
Summary: Apt Diagnosis
Comment: In high school, I went through a stage where I read a lot of Hemingway, and I really didn't like any of it. I kept reading it, though I don't think I ever understood that little masochistic streak. Now, after returning to Hemingway with this novel, I think I see a little more clearly. Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" is such an accomplished look at the lost generation, and I think the experience of those lost searchers really parallels in so many ways the experience of my generation (and probably that of every subsequent generation). This novel really resonated with me.
It's the story of Jake and several other moneyed expatriates who wander through Europe trying to forget their despair and trying to hide from their unhappiness. They wander through meaningless episode after meaningless episode, though at times, there are luminous moments where the characters truly connect with one another (during the fishing trip and when Jake and Brett are together), and you see what might have been or what could be if they could only break out of their current empty existences. The Sun Also Rises is a poignant, heart-breaking work with an abundance of meaning for today.
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Title: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 0684803356 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 0684801469 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ISBN: 0684801523 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 01 June, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 0684801221 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 05 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway ISBN: 068482499X Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 29 May, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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