"She was built with curves like the hull of a racing yacht...."

[Monty J]

"...in the end all the characters are exactly at where they began."

I think that's the point, that some people never learn from their mistakes.

It is said that there are only two general types of ending: resolution and logical exhaustion. TSAR is an example of the latter.

One character does change though, or says he does-- Jake, when he says, "Isn't it pretty to think so." after Brett remarks about what a good time they could have had together. His comment can be taken two ways, but I take it to mean that he's wised up to her philandering narcissism.

[Monty J]

Peepee/Kaka wrote: "It's "Isn't it pretty to think so."
And it's Jake; Nick is from the Great Gatsby."

Thanks. I corrected my post accordingly.

[Asmaa]

i'm confused do you like it or not? because you rated it five stars.

[Monty J]

Asmaa wrote: "i'm confused do you like it or not? because you rated it five stars."

It is arguably Hemingway's best novel. I liked it immensely.

[Alana]

It may appear that if an individual whose never heard of Hemingway read the book because they liked the cover, would think, "meh the story was okay", and then learn later that Hemingway is labeled as an astonishing author who says more with less, I really believe that reader would exclaim, SERIOUSLY?

Hemingway may be the greatest trickster this side of the Cuba! I bet even HE couldn't understand what all the hype was about, but didn't say a word, and kept playing the game. Kind of like a literary Emperor and his Clothes...

I've read almost everything written by Hemingway, and really? I prefer John Steinbeck; so much more interesting and feeling.

[Holly]

Alana wrote: "It may appear that if an individual whose never heard of Hemingway read the book because they liked the cover, would think, "meh the story was okay", and then learn later that Hemingway is labeled ..."

Agree 100%

[Monty J]

Alana wrote: "I bet even HE couldn't understand what all the hype was about, but didn't say a word, and kept playing the game. Kind of like a literary Emperor and his Clothes..."

To understand the "hype" you have to look at Hemingway's work in a historical context. He helped create a major shift in literature away from a florid form of prose originally intended for the educated upper class of the 19th century and prior. Most of the working class then didn't buy books because they couldn't read. As compulsory public education expanded, the literary norm was slow to adjust. Hemingway's "newspaper prose" simply gave literature a kick in the ass. Then everyone followed suit.

Today, practically everyone writes with the simplicity and economy that Hemingway (and others) introduced; so it doesn't stand out. It's like looking for a shaft of wheat in a wheat field.

To get a truer sense of his impact, compare him to Hawthorne, Melville, Dickens. He even had some influence on Fitzgerald, starting with The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald had read his short stories and discussed writing with him in Paris before Gatsby was completed.

I much prefer Steinbeck as well. Head and shoulders above Hemingway. Hem covered love, war and fishing. Steinbeck covered humanity. But then, he wasn't burdened with PTSD, hemochromatosis and a destructive mother who dressed him as a girl until he started school.

[Holly]

Monty J wrote: "Alana wrote: "I bet even HE couldn't understand what all the hype was about, but didn't say a word, and kept playing the game. Kind of like a literary Emperor and his Clothes..."

To understand the..."

Steinbeck was also much more secure with his masculinity. Hemingway tried way too hard. All that super-macho posturing can really make a female turn away from his writing, shaking her head in dismay and distaste.

[Nėra]

I like Hemingway's style. His subject, like most modern novels, doesn't interest me for the most part. But I do like his actual writing technique. Very brief, evocative.

[Marrick]

I enjoy reading Hemingway for the same reason I enjoyed watching Mad Men. Namely, his writing channels an era of masculinity (whether real or feigned in its outward manifestation) that to a large extent no longer exists. It is a look back to a way of behaving, speaking, dressing, that males will probably never return to, for better or worse.

The first time I read The Sun Also Rises was on my way to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls. So probably some of what I feel for the book is based in nostalgia.

[Paula]

While I hate the destructive macho posturing in Hemingway's tales, and the oppressive patriarchic views of the first 2/3 of the 20th century, I do respect Hemingway's writing skill. And of his novels, it is The Sun Also Rises that stands out.

[Georgina]

I read this book for my Nobel Prize Authors lit class, along with The Old Man and the Sea.

The other authors we covered were: Faulkner, Buck, Kipling, Steinbeck, Yeats, Lewis, Bellow, Singer and others.

Hemingway was the only author I disliked, and I detested his books. Thankfully I have not been forced to read his work since. Life is good.