By R.J. Melby 

Writer/Reporter 

When my partner and I recently vacationed in Key Largo, one day w0e decided to take the two-hour drive south to Key West. Between the crowded streets, the roosters everywhere you went, the shops and restaurants, and the Southmost point landmark, it also happened to be the location of Ernest Hemingway’s house.  

As a creative writing major, intrigue burned inside. I’d read the prolific writer’s short stories, but I’d never read his novels. Unfortunately, with everything that happened on that hectic day, we never got the chance to visit the Hemingway house. However, having a Kindle unlimited membership, I later picked up an e-book copy titled “The Sun Also Rises.”  

I didn’t expect the rest. 

Published in 1926, “The Sun Also Rises” was Hemingway’s first published novel. The book follows Jake Barnes, an American veteran and writer injured in the first world war. He lives in Paris with his expatriate friends. There, they lead a free and easy life, drifting from bar to bar and sharing idle conversation. Jake later meets the Lady Brett Ashley, a woman whose allure lies in her blunt, fetterless speech and her masculine style of dress. Eventually the group decides to vacation in Spain, where they fish, drink, and watch the bullfights. 

What struck me most about the work was Hemingway’s prose style. The dialogue in this book is written in bursts, never relying on expositions. A few words are passed around in conversation, and the reader is left to interpret the situation and underlying themes themselves. Allusion and innuendo are at the heart of “The Sun Also Rises,” and once one gets the hang of it, the things being said beneath the words become easy to follow. Also, the rich character dynamics, sly and humorously absurdist narrative, and straightforward observations of Jake Barnes all help to reflect the post-war culture of the early twentieth century. It turns philosophical when you least expect it, and when it does it is always welcome. 

Hemingway’s “The Sun also Rises’” reputation as one of the great American novels is not without reason. While on the surface the story seems to plod on at times, the action lies in the relationships of the characters and Jake’s growing understanding of himself. As the story progresses, the reader understands the enriched dynamic of the characters.  

On a final note, by the end of our trip, when it came time for buying souvenirs, after considering between googly-eyed pufferfish, shells, and stuffed animals, I decided to purchase a physical copy of “The Sun Also Rises,” which now sits happily on my shelf.  

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