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Summary: The Sun Also Rises
Review: The Sun Also Rises is an okay book. At some points it was very interesting and at other times somewhat boring. The book also had its points where it was a little difficult to understand. If I had the choice to read the book again I doubt I would unless I was forced to. Even though the book wasn't terrible its not something that I would just pick up and read in my spare time.
The book had its good points. The book had a lot to do with stuff that is going on today. That is one reason that I continued reading the book. If it wasn't for the many problems in the book I doubt I would have finished it. I also think it had I little too much going on because it reminded me of a soap opera.
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Summary: Ok Book
Review: I say that this novel was very boring.. A large Group of people used to gather almost everyday to sit around and just drink. People in the story were always concerned about their self. All they thought about was sex and how they needed it all of the time. I thought Jake, the main character and the narrator, shouldn't have had to go through what he went through; .He didn't deserve all that. Jake was an innocent man who just wanted on thing, and that was Brett.
This novel is very similar to modern day times. Sometimes people engage in drinking just to get away from their everyday struggles.. The time in which this novel took place and now times are similar in ways. In both the characters in the novel and people now-a-days, turn to alcohol for relief and have tendencies to party all night long. Yet, there are parts in the book I cannot believe can occur, but this may be a good part of the novel; A place where dreams may happen.
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Summary: The Key To Understanding This Book
Review: About the fifth time I read this book, I realized there was sometime special about the title. Let me explain the title. And in the explanation, I will give you the key to understanding this book.The title is from Ecclesiastes, the words of the Preacher, in the King James version of the Old Testament. "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever. "The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." Jake cannot fulfill his destiny of fathering the next generation. The war took that away from him. His destiny is personified in the woman of his dreams. Four simple words speak loudly of his desire: "And there was Brett." He sends her away with her different lovers and then meets her when she comes back to him. She goes away. She comes back. They cannot stay away from each other. That is the whole story. Jakes buries himself in work. He works hard. Much of the book is about his work. And about his meals. Hemingway likes to write about food and drink. He describes all the food they eat. You can taste it. And about sleep. The people are always going to sleep. What marvelous focus. The Preacher said: "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour, This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God." Jake does exactly that. But he cannot reproduce. He can never father children. He can never live with a woman. The Preacher said: "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the day's of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun." The key to understanding what this book is all about is in the Book Of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Hemingway's novel is a very religious work of art. Too few critics and scholars note that. They are foused on other themes. To really understand The Sun Also Rises, read the words of the Preacher before you read the book and after you read the book. To those of you who have never read Ecclesiastes, prepare yourself for a major shock of recognition. You will know what I mean when you came across thos very familiar words you will recognize at once. Those words make this novel more profound that you can ever imagine.
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Summary: Um...
Review: I think that this book was okay. It sounded like a modern day soap opra off of the television. However, I do find it to be a rather delightful book. I apreciate the title. It's a nice title. And the cover, talk about nice colors.
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Summary: Lost and found in Europe
Review: The term "expatriate" seems, at least to the twentieth century American mindset, to be defined by Hemingway. His writing is practically a celebration of how well Americans can live in Europe, how enticing are the cultures, and how exciting and liberating are the experiences. "The Sun Also Rises" indicates that, after the horror and confusion of World War I, the "Lost" Generation seem to have found themselves quite at home outside of America living life to the fullest. If F. Scott Fitzgerald's fiction suggests that only the wealthy can afford to be irresponsible, Hemingway suggests that anybody can afford to be irresponsible outside his or her own country. The narrator, Jake Barnes, is a newspaper writer living in Paris in the 1920's. His circle of friends consists almost exclusively of other writers and artists and their admirers, all of whom hang out in the cafes, indulge in the night life, and drink freely, heavily, and lavishly -- no pesky Prohibition on this side of the Atlantic. Two of Jake's friends are Robert Cohn, a Jewish boxer-turned-novelist whose love affairs with women always seem to end messily, and the beautiful, desirable Lady Brett Ashley, who is about to divorce her husband and marry an obnoxious boor named Mike Campbell.
Jake takes a fishing trip to Spain with Cohn and his buddy Bill Gorton, after which they stay over in Pamplona to take in the San Fermin fiesta and watch the bullfights with Brett and Campbell. Jake is not just a casual spectator, but a seasoned "aficionado" who is intimately familiar with the bullfighting scene. As the partying continues, passions heat up, a drunken Campbell constantly picks on Cohn, who, like Jake, is infatuated with Brett, and Brett sets her sights on a hot new young matador named Pedro Romero. Although these plot points seem like they're leading up to some big, explosive climax, Hemingway, who values realism over contrivances, chooses the high road and allows the characters to resolve their conflicts naturally, like human beings, not like Hollywood caricatures. Hemingway's prose in this early novel of his is usually minimalistic but, with something like boyish enthusiasm, becomes more detailed and energetic when describing the things that really interest its author, like trout fishing and bullfighting. That he manages to capture the intoxicating freedom of these expatriates so directly and concisely is what has made him one of America's greatest literary icons.
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Summary: Captivating lyrical prose...
Review: While I must admit, it was difficult to grasp at first, once the prose captured my attention, there was no putting this book down. One understands Hemingway's gift when reading this book. It is filled with such beautiful language, and lyrical descriptions that sweep you from the heart of Paris to the mountains of Spain. Hemingway's first published work describes the ex-pat lifestyle in Paris exceedingly well. Having lived very near to where Jake, the main character lived, I could identify with his vivid descriptions he paints very well. His foray into Spain with his fellow ex-pats is also very vivid. Hemingway's descriptions are unmatched. While some may not particularly like his writing style, if you do, you are in for a treat. I feared that I would loathe this book as I had onced loathed another Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea. However, that was not the case. The Sun Also Rises is a much more involved story, not quite as steeped in symbolism and weighted by lengthy descriptions. The Sun Also Rises is a fair balance of prose and description, settings and characters. If you've read other Hemingway and were not certain whether or not you liked it, try The Sun Also Rises. If you enjoy Hemingway, don't avoid this because it is his first novel, savor it. 5/20/02
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Summary: "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecc. 1:2
Review: Ernest Hemingway took the title for his classic "The Sun Also Rises" from Ecclesiastes. The characters and themes of this book make Ecclesiastes the perfect pretext for anyone about to read "The Sun Also Rises." Hemingway's novel is a simple novel featuring several acquaintances and a few weeks of their lives spent mostly in Spain watching bullfights and Pamplona's now-famous Running of the Bulls. The characters are very human and in their conversations Hemingway shows the reader their numerous faults. They are lazy, selfish, untrusting, often drunk, and very shallow. Through each other they distract themselves from finding any deeper meaning in their existences. So they drink, admire the beautiful scenery in Spain, and watch bullfights. Like the repetition of life and death in the bullfights they frequent, the characters half-heartedly attempt to solve their problems and only find subsequent troubles replacing those they do manage to slay. "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun." -- Ecc. 2:11 Hemingway has created these characters to be endlessly frustrating and seemingly beyond hope, but in doing so he makes them approachable, captivating, and people that every human being can relate to. "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." -- Ecc. 7:20 "The Sun Also Rises" is probably Hemingway's greatest work, and it's main theme is even sadder when viewed in relation to his suicide. With this book, Hemingway left humanity a beautiful work of art, truly worthy of its classic status... but in taking his life, he showed us a very logical end result of characters such as these. Bright, lovable, passionate, and utterly hopeless. "...for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" -- Ecc. 2:25
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Summary: Read the Sun Also Rises
Review: "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever...The sun alos ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose...The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits...All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again."
-Ecclesiastes Hemingway's theme is that of immediacy. As he draws readers into the scenes and dialogue, they are easily tricked into becoming characters of the story. There is a simple, active writing style that's easy to understand. Figuring out the underlying meanings that fall in between Hemingway's words is a more difficult task. It's a great book with many implications that deal with human nature. Read it for fun and read it to realize how easily people go through life without actually living it.
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Summary: Among the best of the Lost Generation
Review: This is probably the best out of all of Hemingway's novels, A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls included. The "ol' gang" format would be used to great effect in many films afterwards, especially in the Breakfast Club, as that generation was seen as "lost" just as Hemingway's was. Jake's hopeless, tortured longing for Brett shows the trademark passionate Hemingway style, and it makes you think about what actually happens. The smart reader understands this book better.
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Summary: Exceptionally Well Written!!!
Review: The only other Hemingway book I have ever read was "For Whom the Bell Tolls" but this was far better. Hemingway worked hard to write his stories. And the result shows in this one. Not much plot except the constant running around France and Spain drinking all the time. Probably a lot like Hemingway's life was. His descriptions of the countryside are amazing and you can almost visualize the landscape. The British fellow Michael was by far the funniest character and he reminded me of Cary Grant. Overall I thought I wouldn't like the book because I'm not an "affecion" or however you spell it about Bull Fights. (In fact I detest them.) The story wasn't about bull fights. It was a love story that could never happen. I found myself coming in from work and grabbing right for the book. I'm young and I don't usually read but this book was captivating to me. I really enjoy reading books set in this era and have yet to see a modern day author put together a book as good as Hemingway or Steinbeck. Until then I will stick with the classics!
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