Reviews

The only Hemingway novel I can say I wholeheartedly enjoyed. It’s always said that authors should write what they know and he certainly did that. Hemingway, being part of the lost generation following World War I, did an excellent job of depicting the listless and hopelessness of it, mixed with the frenetic energy of reaching out for something, anything, to fill the void. It was an excellent novel I can read again and again and never get tired of. The novel is chocked full of regret, longing, and a deep pervasive sense of resignation that always haunts me long after I close the book.

maikelmaikel's review against another edition

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read for uni lost energy after final was done

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sanjana_sub's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

laurenmichellebrock's review against another edition

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4.0

I first read this book in 2015 and LOVED it. Has since been one of my favorites. Though I have to admit it was a harder read for me the second time. My God, the run-on sentences. And the characters are much less likable to me in my 30s than they were in my 20s. BUT. They are so well written. And he does have a way of putting you in the scene as though you’re a part of the writing. Definitely the best, and most emotionally tragic, last line of a book I’ve ever read. Will read again in another 9-10 years, I guess.

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

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3.0

Have you ever come across a picture of painting sold for millions and be like a five year old could have made it because it was all a bunch of random circles and squares? Now you go to an art critic and he will tell you about the underlying themes and ideas which is supposed to be understood from painting. The thing is the argument would still stand - a five year old could draw something like that and, if painter desired to say something very eloquent, it is not very visible in the painting itself. If the painting could give that message out by itself (independent of critical commentary, a piece of art should not be needing help of outside elements to be understood); then your five year old's painting should be saying same. And if it is critical commentary that makes painting amazing, then your child is not lacking in painting but in a critic.

Let us forget everything else, what can't be denied in the end is that the painter did nothing more than simply paint a rectangle or circle, nothing more - or strapped a banana on a wall. This is my problem with this whole iceberg theory. It seems to me our conception of human existence is like seeing tip of iceberg, it is the duty of art to show the hidden part. Hemmingway just seems to be sticking to showing the tip and leave the reader to guess the rest and I find the tip by itself to be extremely boring. I am sure that the wine or the bull stand for something higher but I am unable to discover anything to suggest such links within the book. All Hemingway did write about was a bull fight. All I see is a bull fight and some uninteresting characters which didn't inspire much. It is only the hidden part of iceberg of human psyche I read for. That and for feels which I where Hemmingway score. There is a mix of melancholy and seize-the-day feels in the book and it is those feels that got the book three stars. It might have been 4 stars but I don't like Hemmingway's having strong notions of conventional sexuality and anti-Semite tendencies.

eamcmahon3's review against another edition

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4.0

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was a recommendation from a co-worker. I thought the themes of sex and aimlessness/pointlessness were powerful. The last lines of the book were beautiful.

"Isn't it pretty to think so."

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