So the school season started again and since I’m a creative writing major with a minor in English, it’s not really surprising that more classic literature slides my way. For the subject of this review I will critically analyze the effect of point of view through a lengthy and descriptive essay that will… nah, I’m just kidding. My review of Hemingway will be just as shallow as all of my reviews.

            The Sun Also Rises, labeled as one of the modernist novels, tells the rather uneventful story of a group of friends who essentially drink their way through Paris and Spain. The story is depicted through Jake, a war veteran, but focuses more so on his colorful companions: a skanky footloose woman named Brett, a lush named Mike and a romantic boxer named Robert. Even though the story is loaded down with partying and bullfights and interesting locations, it doesn’t really have a straight narrative. Meaning, you won’t find the traditional sense of rising action, climax and resolution. However, this book’s disregard for those rules ends up giving it longevity that keeps it relevant long after it was written. Even though the book was written some time ago, its messages remain in tact. I can easily picture a skanky footloose woman, a lush and a romantic boxer in this day and age just as easily. Not to mention there is no shortage of wars to be a veteran of.

            Having said all that, the book doesn’t quite read as easily as the more popular literature today. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to read, but it can often become frustrating. Hemingway’s repetition can help hammer the story’s point home, but if you aren’t paying close enough attention, on the surface it can seem like lazy storytelling. Similarly, since the story doesn’t contain the familiar arch, it is likely to leave you without any definite resolution or sense of closure. What I mean by all this is that you shouldn’t read this book for the same reason you would read Harry Potter or the Da Vinci Code. It’s just not that kind of book. You read this book because it paints an image of the past with themes that can be applied to the present. This lends itself well to a classroom setting, but not so much to an afternoon read on the couch.