Ernest Hemingway -- The Sun Also Rises: Book Review

[ToxicMayo9]

By this guy I mean Jake from the book. Not Dean

[ToxicMayo9]

Doesn't this guy have no dick?

[BloodyRose3000]

He's probably most known for Go Tell It On The Mountain (I haven't read it, but it's essentially about the experience of growing up black in the 1930's-40's) and Another Country, which I would recommend, which is about the dynamics of interracial couples and friendships (it's not a "black or white" book in any sense of the word though, it's actually extraordinarily complex and portrays people as more than just their ethnicity/orientation)

[BloodyRose3000]

I read most of On The Road last year in between class breaks, and the only way I could get through it was by gulping down as much coffee as I could LOL. WELL worth it tho; it's one of my all time favorite books. Baldwin wasn't a beat, but he started writing in the 50's, and he was both African American and gay, and so there's a strong emphasis on the questioning of morality and norms. Also, his prose is massively beautiful and passionate.

[chunkymilk]

Man, I really need to get into Hemingway. I'll probably read The Old Man and the Sea over Christmas break after seeing your review of it. Great Cowboy Bebop reference, by the way. Not sure if anyone else caught that.

[gnites88]

@chunkymilk haha glad you did ;)

[BloodyRose3000]

I need to read this. Have you read anything by Kerouac or James Baldwin? Those are two of my favorite writers.

[gnites88]

@BloodyRose3000 Ha found one of my oldies...I've read some Kerouac poetry, that's about it. I know I'm far behind having never even read On the Road. What's Baldwin like? Was he a beat too?

[BloodyRose3000]

@gnites88 You know I have to say, I severely dislike Kerouac's poetry LOL! It's imitation art if you ask me. Especially compared to great poets like Ginsberg. The writing in his novels is fantastic, however. If reading Naked Lunch is like taking Heroin mixed w/ a bunch of stuff, reading Kerouac is like going through the depressive and manic staes of bipolar disorder. I mean, it's the opposite of Hemingway - he goes on for pages and times without using a period once.

[TronTron41]

Haha, love the hangover comment!!

This is a great idea for a channel, I'm going to subscribe. If you can, review the Old Man and the Sea--it's a much more accessible intro to what Hemingway was all about.

[TronTron41]

@gnites88

Scratch that! Just watched your old man and the sea review....good job!

[gnites88]

@TronTron41 haha thanks a lot!

[stiras1]

Haha... it's funny how you said you wanted more when you were done reading it. I read it on my Kindle too, and I was counting down to being finished. I liked getting to know the characters, but the story itself sucked big time in my opinion, and I must say that of all the characters I liked Cohn the best, because all the other characters were so mean all the time. I feel he was the only one that wasn't twofaced. But that is my take on the book. ;D

[gnites88]

@stiras1 true enough on the story. But you know, Hemingway didn't seem to care too much about the story. He wanted to make really interesting, real characters. The fact that he could write a book that I kept coming back to because I wanted to know more about the characters, not because I wanted to know what happened next, is kind of what I think makes it so awesome. That's me anyway.

[devvin]

Good review. I just finished reading this for the first time and I really enjoyed it. There is a ton of symbolism in this book that speaks to male insecurity in terms of where they fit in in the post-war world (hence all the drinking) and it also shows Hemingway's struggle with the beginning of traditional gender role-reversal. Such a good book.

[theoseans]

what song is that? I know I know I know but doesn't help me remember....

[gnites88]

@theoseans haha the intro song? I made it myself!