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.