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“It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people.”
Well, I didn’t find them nice people at all, but then I didn’t have any of the wine.
And I didn’t like the story either. Jake Barnes and his expatriate friends drink and argue in 1920’s Paris, take a little fishing break, then drink and argue through the fiesta in Pamplona, Spain. I found the drinking tedious, the bull fighting horrific, and the frequent antisemitism offensive.
But despite all that, I must admit I do really enjoy Hemingway’s style. Not all the time, but it makes for a very refreshing break from more florid writing (such as the Dostoevsky I just finished--what a contrast!) It’s an excellent palate cleanser.
I’m sure others can describe his style much better than me, but I was struck by one thing in particular. When the narrator feels something, it’s so beautifully realized--so subtle and surprisingly touching. He leaves out all the typical descriptions, exposing the bare truth, and there’s something so vulnerable in the subtlety that it almost breaks your heart.
And that I did enjoy, very much.
Well, I didn’t find them nice people at all, but then I didn’t have any of the wine.
And I didn’t like the story either. Jake Barnes and his expatriate friends drink and argue in 1920’s Paris, take a little fishing break, then drink and argue through the fiesta in Pamplona, Spain. I found the drinking tedious, the bull fighting horrific, and the frequent antisemitism offensive.
But despite all that, I must admit I do really enjoy Hemingway’s style. Not all the time, but it makes for a very refreshing break from more florid writing (such as the Dostoevsky I just finished--what a contrast!) It’s an excellent palate cleanser.
I’m sure others can describe his style much better than me, but I was struck by one thing in particular. When the narrator feels something, it’s so beautifully realized--so subtle and surprisingly touching. He leaves out all the typical descriptions, exposing the bare truth, and there’s something so vulnerable in the subtlety that it almost breaks your heart.
And that I did enjoy, very much.