Reviews

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

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laurenmichellebrock's review against another edition

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."

iambriam's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

3.0

akirkwithteeth's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

A good book, but not my favourite Hemingway work. I liked the start of the book in Paris, Lady Ashley and the love triangle with Jake and Cohn. I didn't like the Spanish trip so much, but parts of it were beautiful, like the fishing and the lazy afternoon naps. The ending was bittersweet.

But, it's Hemingway, so the writing is of course, exceptional, and well worth a read.

jl27's review against another edition

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I'm breaking my own DNF rule here and this one is going away after 130 pages. I realized that I don't give a flying flip what happens to the people in this story, and especially not enough to deal with their awful banter any longer.
"Hmmm. Yes. Quite. Very. Indeed."
Nope.
I alternately called this book "Terrible People Saying Horrible Things To and About Each Other."