Book Review – The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is a semi-autobiographical account of a group of friends that go to see a bull fight.

Yup.

That’s it.

That’s about as exciting as it gets.

Oh, and they spend all their time drinking and eating at restaurants, pubs, cafes, and bars.

As you may have already sensed, I did not find the novel very entertaining. This was mainly because nothing really happens to any of the characters. They drink. They hang out. They go fishing. They drink. They talk. They watch a bull fight. They talk. They drink. In a somewhat pathetic display, all the male characters fawn over one tramp that they allow to tag along on all their adventures mostly because she flirts with all the men, and sleeps with half of them. The main characters are mostly young writers, but they all have enough money in the post-WWI era to travel around Europe drinking all along the way.
I can appreciate the story as an autobiographical re-telling of the group’s trip. However, it lacked excitement as a novel. Critical writings on this novel claim it was an account of the “lost generation” -- the post WWI, pre-WWII generation. However, if this represents this generation, it’s no wonder they were considered lost. The characters more closely resemble a group of hobos rather than the educated, enlightened group of young writers some have tried to make them represent.

Read The Sun Also Rises if you want a good description of a bullfight. Be sure to have a strong cup of coffee nearby to get you through. One saving grace is the novel is short at just over 200 pages. Otherwise, skip it, and look for something else if you want to experience Hemingway.