Thursday, October 15, 2020
Why I Don't Like The Sun Also Rises
Now as you might have guessed from the title I am not a big fan of The Sun Also Rises, it is kind of boring and is the first book this year to have actually made me fall asleep while reading it. I think the main reason I don't like it is that nothing important is happening. In Mrs. Dalloway we were building up to something, and in the Mezzanine we got to see how the main character sees the world. In The Sun Also Rises we are just following Jake as he goes about his day drinking and talking with his friends, people who usually only get a couple of sentences of introduction. The only people we really get to know are Jake, Brett, and Cohn and most of the time we are only watching Jake and his other friends, who we barely know. Then there is the fact that pretty much the entire book so far (Chapter 10) is just short back and forth dialogue. And the dialogue all consists of pretty meaningless things, sometimes its a joke and they say something contradictory immediately after but it is extremely difficult to notice when this is happening, as they don't mention how something is said. It just isn't interesting to read, the most interesting part of this book is when Jake describes the other characters, but most of the time when it isn't dialogue all we get is where people are going and what the area around them is like which can be important but really it isn't as important as the characters in a book like this. I significantly preferred the Mezzanine because while it was boring we got a really interesting view of the world of the character's POV, which we don't get in The Sun Also Rises.
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I really liked your sentence about how the area around Jake was less important than the actual characters because that reminds me a lot of Virginia Woolf. I also think that this book does not have the most trustworthy narrator and I think that a lot of the benign description is supposed to lend the reader a cue to "read between the lines", a hard switch from The Mezzanine and Mrs. Dalloway which just told the reader pretty clearly what they were supposed to get out of the book- at least compared to Hemingway.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you said that "nothing important is happening", and used Mrs. Dalloway and the Mezzanine as counter examples. By estimation, I'd say that more actual plot events have already taken place in TSAR than the entirety of the Mezzanine, and it's not far off Mrs. Dalloway, either. Which means that the quality difference is in the characters, relationships and the emotional components. And I definitely see what you mean, the book is pretty dry, but I actually like the writing style a lot. While the other two books are constantly dumping piles of information out in the open, TSAR makes you work to find any emotional implications in the actions or dialogue. So, whenever Hemmingway does outright say something relating to a character's emotions, it stands out and you know to pay attention. Personally I prefer Hemmingway's style, because I think it's more subtle and focused, but that's subjective
ReplyDeleteI disagree, I think this book is so much more appealing and entertaining to read than the other books we have read thus far. I am not sure how you can say nothing has happened in comparison to the other books when they are both a-day-in-the-life-of books of the mundane. I think that what makes this book better is the trimming of everything excess and unneeded from the narrative, you don't have to hear about staplers or what people are wearing to a party.
ReplyDeleteI think that what you don't like is specifically the style of this book. The Sun Also Rises is written in a way so that it is the subtle events that make up the content of the story. While you can obviously think whatever you want about the book you should keep this in mind. Is it this book specifically or is it the style as a whole?
ReplyDeleteI too prefer the mezzanine, however this novel still has its merits. It takes a deep dive into relationships in a really compelling way.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is rather hard to keep track of the characters. Since the majority of them are constantly drinking all the time and we don't really see them doing anything else, it becomes tricky to pick out individuals. This is a very big contrast to Mrs. Dalloway, where even random characters got a pretty detailed description.
ReplyDeleteEverything does seem pretty disconnected, but I think it's still slowly getting somewhere at a pace that keeps me interested. We're getting a deep look into each character's insecurities and relationships with each other, which is interesting for me to follow. I also think all the things we've learned about the characters will start to become important soon, as we already see some of their characters and relationships changing (Cohn's is a great example, as he now annoys everybody)
ReplyDeleteI have to say that in comparison to The Mezzanine and Mrs. Dalloway, I prefer The Sun Also Rises. That being said, I see your points. The Sun Also Rises concerns itself with the daily, frivolous activities of a couple adults. However, unlike the other two books we have read, there are few details included on the thoughts and relationships on each character. Having such little information, the reader is left to fill in a lot of details themselves, which can be annoying or interesting, depending on the reader's style.
ReplyDeleteI would say that The Sun Also Rises is definitely my favorite book out of the ones we've read so far. It's interesting that you say nothing important is happening in this book compared to the Mezzanine and Mrs.Dalloway. If anything I think those books, especially the Mezzanine, were excruciatingly boring and lacking in plot. The Sun Also Rises is definitely more subtle in expressing its plot and dialogue, so I guess it makes sense that its style doesn't appeal to everyone. The only thing I do find pretty meaningless in The Sun Also Rises is the long paragraphs describing Jake's environment while he's traveling.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting take, and I agree with you on the basic premise but disagree on the reasoning. The reason I personally disliked The Sun Also Rises was because of the characters. I found them difficult to relate to and quite frankly annoying. I would say in terms of content probably the most "things" happened in this one out of the three we've read. There's drama, there's action, there's romance, there's fights, but in my eyes the unlikability of the characters trumps any entertainment value.
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