Literary Gem

The Sun Also Rises is an outstanding novel about the post-WWI "Lost Generation." The plot follows a group of American and British acquaintances from Paris to Pamplona and part way back. I think some readers will absolutely love this book, while others will not. Without giving away much of the plot, here's why.

People who will love this book are those who are willing to really critically think and analyze during and after reading the book and who enjoy understatement, symbolism and metaphors. The novel is full of subtle themes, character development through words and actions (rather than description) and slowly unfurling conflict in 1920s society, between the multiple characters and within the individual characters. It is the kind of book where you read a passage and you sit and think about what Hemingway was expressing through that passage, a passage that may have consisted of just a few lines of simple dialogue. It is a story of romance, both fulfilled and unfulfilled; of frustration; of waste; of hope and of hopelessness; of false and true friendship; of many other issues.

Those who will not like this book are those who are looking for a superficial read just to pass the time -- like a Grisham novel, a Danielle Steele novel (though I've never read one) or some other "action" books.

If you do not care about literary techniques and really thinking about a work as you're reading it, don't buy this one. But if you do, this book is outstanding and will likely entertain and educate the reader through more than one reading.