The book reads well, with Hemingway often lulling the reader into a disarming trance before hitting them with some bald observation about the futile character of existence. Hemingway’s prose, as always, is an efficient combination of clear, uncluttered description and the occasional metaphorical flourish. Jake Barnes, the narrator, served and was injured in World War I before moving to Europe. He is a typical Hemingway protagonist: terse, manly, and slightly more likable than his friends (but not by much). They spend money recklessly, drink astonishing amounts of alcohol, indulge in era-representative racism/sexism, and rarely get anything useful done. Set in the 1920s, The Sun Also Rises is about a group of directionless expatriates who peregrinate across Europe in a hopeless search for contentment. This time around, I think I understood enough to recognize the tremendously tragic nature of this book, as well as the greater tragedy of the Lost Generation in which it is situated. I missed one of the key plot points and also failed to connect with the novel in a way that felt moving or meaningful. I read Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Riseswhen I was a teenager, and it went completely over my head.
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