I just finished reading The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a sad, even pitiful, story about a group of expatriate Americans in Europe. One of the strongest themes in the book is that men search in vain for happiness, because they pursue the things that they know can never be fulfilling while pushing away what they know will truly bring them joy.
Hemingway has deep, albeit often depressing insight into the human soul, and I am very glad I decided to give him another chance. We had a few run-ins when I was very young that left a sour taste in my mouth for his style of writing. But oh how I have grown, and learned to appreciate things that in my youth I cast as naught.
My favorite thing about reading this book was the opportunity I had every day to discuss it with my dad and my sister Lanee. Discussion makes a book much more interesting and allows me to cement themes, characters and ideas in my mind. I am so grateful that my family instilled a love of literature in me from a very young age, and I hope to pass that along to my own children as they grow.
5 comments:
Bravo old chap, the writing was impeccable. And yes, without me you may have never understood that . . . organ situation.
I agree. I love reading a book and then being able to discuss it with someone. Too bad you and I have different tastes in reading :) Glad you guys guys are back in AZ, although I feel your pain. The heat is killing me!
Thoreau said: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Virtually all of Hemingway's characters would be included.
It was fun talking about the book. I was rather amazed that so much of it I remembered--not many of the scenes, but the feelings and the messages. I don't recall when I read it--at least 25 years ago. Maybe 30.
I had a similar reaction to reading Hemingway as a kid. I remember reading The Sun Also Rises as part of Dad's summer school program when I was about 12. I didn't care for it a bit (though I did enjoy The Old Man and the Sea quite a bit). I haven't revisited Hemingway, aside from one attempt I made with Zach to listen to For Whom the Bell Tolls on a road trip. We didn't make it more than a few chapters. But then, the problem may have been the narration and not the book.
At some point I'll give Hemingway another chance, but not this day. I've done so with several other authors that I initially despised simply because reading them the first time was per force and not per interest.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that when I read The Sun Also Rises I too failed to understand, at least initially, "that organ situation."
To my own credit, I actually enlightened Lanee as to the "organ situation" although we did have to confirm it on sparknotes.com.
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