313. The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway
1926
Around 215 pages

Ernest Hemingway was a dick and is the perfect representation of men I can't stand. He feels like one of those guys whose masculinity is too fragile to buy tampons for his wife.  I also like his novels, even if he never learned to write women well. That's okay, Ernest, we don't understand you either. 

Sexy divorcee Lady Brett Ashley really should be the protagonist of this story, but it has to be about the boring men again. Jake Barnes has a war injury that has left him unable to fully express himself in the bedroom. He falls for Brett, who isn't like other girls (she has short hair, after all). Brett has other suitors, include Jake's college friend Robert Cohn, and matador Romero. 

What's up with all the bullfighting in books lately? Was this the era of white men finding out about bullfights for the first time? In any case, I really enjoy Hemingway's iceberg method of writing, where so much is unsaid yet understood. It's not an easy thing to do as a writer, where the tendency is overdo it to make sure the reader is on the same page with you. 

The quintessential Hemingway, and a necessary addition to the List. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Hemingway's marriage was falling apart due to his affair with Pauline Pfeiffer while he was writing and revising this book.

When Hemingway saw the film for the first time, he walked out after twenty minutes.

UP NEXT: Amerika by Franz Kafka. More unfinished business to attend to.

312. Blindness

Blindness
Henry Green
1926
Around 215 pages

I've read quite a few Henry Green novels. I think he is talented, but he has never left too strong of an impression. I do think I was a flouncy Oxford boy in another life, and he certainly captures that culture well. Also, reading something so well-written from somebody so young is always impressive (on a personal level, it's actually devastating).

John Haye is a student of Noat, which I guess is like an anagram of Eton...kinda (see this is the kind of wit they miss out on by not admitting women). We get to read his diary, and he's a pretty typical student. We have the same literary tastes at least. He's blinded in a freak train accident and his life takes a bit of a left turn.

Having a character lose a sense really gives a writer a chance to flex those creative fingeys. Green did a wonderful job of communicating the all the internal and external shifts in this character's life. This also had an original plot that didn't go in the usual direction that can take stories like this to a sappy place.

I also appreciate his brevity. I think he'll grow on me.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Published when Green was an undergrad at Oxford.

UP NEXT: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Welcome to the blog, Papa. 

311. The Castle

The Castle
Franz Kafka
1926
Around 315 pages

Another unfinished manuscript, which is much harder to judge than the completed projects. And you know how naturally judging comes to me. This is nothing against Kafka, he died before he could complete them. But I think the true magic of storytelling comes from realizing a story's full potential. So, tragically, for me, this can never be a five star read.

A character only identified as K. arrives in a village and is summoned to a nearby castle by mysterious authorities. He spends the remainder of the novel trying to access to the castle and the bizarre government of the town.

Kafka's themes are timeless, but it's interesting to examine this through the lens of Kafka's world, and the Anti Semitism he faced at the time. I wish Kafka had lived long enough to finish what he started. He seems weird and I think we would have got along.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Kafka's friend Max Brod heavily edited the manuscript.

Kafka wanted all his manuscripts destroyed, but Brod published them anyway.

UP NEXT: Blindness by Henry Green. I feel like he's a little meh.

310. The Good Soldier Svejk

The Good Soldier Svejk
Jaroslav Hašek
1921
Around 230 pages

I recently read this on a flight to Iceland, which attracted the ire of the person behind me ("Are you really going to have that light on the entire time?"). Indeed, sir. It was of tantamount importance that I finish my picture book.

The novel begins with news of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Svejk is so anxious to join the Austrian army that he freaks everybody out, and gets arrested. I almost feel like I was reading the Czech version of Forrest Gump. 

There was a bit of a cultural disconnect here for me. I didn't get all the allusions, and the novel didn't really hold your hand through them. The story went all over the place with ultimately irrelevant plot lines. I didn't really enjoy the ride. 

One of the major themes seemed to be that there is no such thing as the "perfect soldier" because if that person existed, they would be sent to a mental institution. I get that, and it's nice that we are introducing a wave of anti-war novels. But not a particularly enjoyable novel for me.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Translated in over 50 languages, and remains the most translated work of Czech literature.

Joseph Keller said he wouldn't have written Catch-22 if he hadn't read this book. Now I can get on board.

UP NEXT: The Castle by Franz Kafka. I must deal with my Kafka guilt of reading books he never wanted read.

309. The Plumed Serpent

The Plumed Serpent
D.H. Lawrence
1926
Around 460 pages

I was white knuckling it when I opened this book. I didn't expect a 1926 novel about Mexico written by a closeted white guy to be particularly commendable. D.H. Lawrence is a really talented writer, but it's not a perspective that's welcome in a story like this. 

Kate Leslie is an Irish tourist in Mexico, visiting after the Mexican Revolution. She is reasonably revolted by a bull fight. As she leaves, she meets Don Cipriano, a Mexican general. Through Don Cipriano, she gets involved in a religious movement to drive out Christianity and replace it with the worship of Quetzalcoatl. Don Cipriano urges Kate to marry him and become a goddess. If I've learned anything from literature and movies, it's that white visitors will always be crowned royalty by natives. 

Overall, this is just a messy story. Perhaps it was well-meaning, but it was also decidedly arrogant, as these white savior novels typically are. Kate was a pretty annoying character to follow, she was so indecisive and blah. Once again, I get the impression he doesn't like or understand women.

Because it's Lawrence, the writing is good, but definitely not one of his must reads.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Lawrence wanted the book to be called Quetzalcoatl but the publisher insisted on the name The Plumed Serpent. Lawrence hated it.

Received mostly negative reviews upon its release.

UP NEXT: The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek.