“Do you own this one? ”
“I have finished The Sun Also Rises. Good book? Yes and no. From a literary point of view, I loved it. Hemingway’s style and craft and command of the language humble me as I seek to become a better writer. He can do things with words and dialogue that most can’t. He can speed and slow the pace at will, and he tells a great story of a man alone among the crowd. He brings out Jake’s character well. I feel like I knew what he would do on more than one occasion. I don’t think this was because the writing was predictable, but it was because the reader knew Jake well after a time. Now, the book was depressing. I have heard it said that it glorifies drinking and sex. I am not sure “glorify” is the word I would use. I think it clearly shows the ugly side of heavy drinking and the loneliness that comes from a promiscuous lifestyle. In that sense, it might be a corrective to how drink and sex are often portrayed in today’s media. But it is a depressing read. Will I read it again? Probably, but maybe just bits and pieces to see how Hemingway does what he does. Would I recommend it? Depends upon what you are looking for. If you love good literature, and by that I mean good craft, then yes, by all means. If you are looking to be uplifted or encouraged, skip it and hug your kid instead.”
“Excellent book by Hemingway, I love his style!”
“I loved this book. I love Hemingways prose, the brief but eloquent sentences. His observations”
“I enjoyed this book, even though I missed ****spoiler***** the part when it said that he was impotent, which probably would have explained a lot to me. At least, I have been told that it clearly says he was impotent, maybe it wasn't so clear to me! Still, I enjoyed it because it was easy to picture to characters, their conversations were lively, and they were realistic in their partying (harder drinkers than me--there's no way I could hang with those people!!). I thought it was interesting how the beginning talks about his friend, (I read this book last year and am forgetting the name), the one that no one seems to like that much and who is in love with Brett (Rhett?), because the book isn't really about him. I sure felt bad for that guy, but I could see where the people were coming from in their dislike of him. He was certainly annoying. ”
“well wonderful book but you got to read carefully to understand”
“This was the first Hemingway novel I ever read. I have to say, I don't see why he is considered such a great author. His prose is a little to sparse for me. Most of the sentences were subject-predicate and there was a lot or repetition. It was hard for me to see what all those men saw in Brett. She wasn't much of a conversationalist, rather self-absorbed and half in the bag all the time. In fact, I found it difficult to like any of the characters. Their lives were so banal (I know that's the point, but still....)”
“i remember getting an A for this...tsk tsk. it was my first book report, i think.. =)”
