Gertrude Stein's quote, "You are all a lost generation," reflects the depressive postwar mood of the twenties. Against this backdrop, Jake Barnes, the protagonist, tries to cope with a war injury that makes lovemaking impossible, and gives to his life a bland futility, against which he struggles. The book describes Jake's observations of a consort of characters, and their joyless wanderings through varied adventures, trips, and couplings, including a trip to Spain, where Hemingway's delight with bullfighting takes center stage.
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The review of this Book prepared by Damon LaBarbera
The title is taken from the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, Hemingway's favourite book of the Old Testament, and the tone of this novel also expresses the searching, questioning tone of world-weary king of Ecclesiastes. They all want to know if there is 'something new under the sun' that they have yet to experience. Set in the 1920's, a relatively well-off group of expatriate Americans enjoy life in Paris but need new thrills. Brett, the aristocratic femme fatale, and Jake, a man of the world, travel to Spain for the fiesta and the bull fighting (the book is also published under the title 'Fiesta'). Other men are inevitably attracted to Brett, and although she is aware that men will still fight over her, at thirty-four she does not have very much longer to settle down with just one man - if only she could bring herself to even contemplate it. She seems paralysed by fear of commitment, children, settling down and being left on the shelf.
The descriptive scenes are classical Hemingway, vivid and hard-edged. The concrete nouns, avoidance of the abstract, the clipped and pared-down English vocabulary and sentence structure, all are reminiscent of the classical Hebrew style of Ecclesiastes in the translation of the KJV. The dialogue expresses the angst of the characters with great brevity and accuracy. ("Don't you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it?"..."Enjoying living was learning to get your money's worth and knowing when you had it."..."That was morality; things that made you disgusted afterwards. No, that was immorality.") The style is infectious and has been widely imitated, as in Ian Fleming's Bond stories.
The review of this Book prepared by Michael JR Jose
Jake Barnes is a castrated casualty of the first world war and an American expatriate in Paris, circa. 1925. Robert Cohn, his tennis partner, lives vicariously through adventure novels and falls, along with most of western europe, for Lady Brett Ashley, who happens to be the love of Jake's life.
The review of this Book prepared by Ernesto Guitarra
Story of several months of expatriate Jake Barnes's life, from the streets of Paris to the Spanish countryside and the running of the bulls. The story centers around Jake's impressions of his life, his friends, and his fickle love, Lady Brett Ashley.
The review of this Book prepared by Sarrah
Jacob Barnes battles with inner problems, struggling to come to grips with his lost love, Lady Brett Ashley. Hemingway will lead you on a captivating tale of heartbreak, alienation, and love lost forever, through the eyes of Jacob Barnes in "The Sun Also Rises".
The review of this Book prepared by Anthony Selbe
