"The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation" could not have been more fitting as a description of Hemingway's first book 'The Sun Also Rises; a navigation between the lines of morality and love in the 1920s. Hemingway has risen to the list of classical authors through his distinct style of writing; objective, terse, emotively flat, and most of all, the deliberate 'coming-together' of the plot towards the end. A reflection of this writing style, this novel follows the story of Jake Barnes as an expatriate in Paris and Pamplona, remaining one of my top favorite books despite its evident flaws.

This novel was the first ever Hemingway I've read–and to be completely honest I expected another boring, forcefully 'deep' writing–and to some extent, it was. The novel started off as a mere repetition of drinking, conversing, and arguing with the author introducing a never-ending list of complicated characters. It's basically a cycle of socially unavailing expats roaming around places to talk about cynical, hedonistic views while drinking. It was strictly uneventful with indiscernible human relationships; the first 30 pages being almost unbearable to read. Nevertheless, throughout the progression of the book the plot was subtly established as Jake tries to win Brett's interest in a way unprecedented in other protagonists. It was the acceptance that interrelation with Brett would lead to doom, the serpentine characterization of Brett, and probably the most memorable 'romantic' ending I'll ever witness in my lifetime that stunned me for a month after finishing this novel.

I loved the intricate, deliberative details, I liked the graphic, emotive expression of Spanish bullfighting, and I enjoyed an unusual shift in Jake's characterization, which I won't say for the sake of not spoiling. Most of all, it caught my attention that it introduced a new perspective of history–an objective background of the 1920s, a rare copy of a non-glorified observation. It may be 'pessimistic' but in itself it holds the truth of distress people felt after World War I. . It historically reveals the start of an immeasurable capacity of human destruction, an agonizing memory of seemingly never ending tragedies; accentuated by Barnes' background as a WWI veteran.

Subsequently, there are many observations stating Jake Barnes as an 'alter ego' of the author Hemingway. Barnes is an intellectual journalist portraying the infamous ideas of Hemingway. It shows how people lost purpose, meaning, and significance of life post-WWI. Lady Brett Ashley must be one of my favorite characterizations so far, a conventional femme fatale in the 1920s. Indubitably glamorized being written by a man, but coming with the realization of her own flaws, the character was gorgeously constructed–an ahead-of-his-time portrayal of somewhat realistic hyper-feminine characters.

Upsettingly, I cannot gloss over the saturation of anti-semitic, homophobic, racist and misogynistic basis in the novel. In Jake's point of view; Jews are unbearably violent, women should fit into an unreachable standard, domestic abuse isn't even a big deal, and only people who risk their lives are making the 'best' of their lives. Barnes notably reflecting the views of the author himself, it is safe to say Hemingway's world view is undeniably limited and ignorant. He gives a role to every identity and sticks to it–a man is a man, a woman is a woman, a Jew is a Jew. Such wrongly biased ideas are so entrenched within the author that their connotations are hard to ignore throughout the book.

This novel confuses me. The experimental, intelligent writing amazes me, but the ideas the author expresses is horrifying. Surprisingly, I would rate it a 10/10.