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Mar 04, 2016Kat_V rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
I agree fully with the comment by Spitlead. This book was a challenge to get through and left me feeling incredibly annoyed with the author by the end. The only question on anyone's mind that just so happens to NEVER get answered is: what is wrong with Jake Barnes?? Both in terms of his physical injury and whether or not THAT is the reason he never makes it with Brett Ashley, or is it some kind of mental incapability that keeps him in her permanent friendzone? His impotent pining over a woman he will never be with but will do anything for is incredibly pathetic and does nothing to endear the reader to the protagonist at all. What a wimp. Maybe the magic of this novel is lost on my 2016 viewpoint, or maybe I'm just 'not artistic enough' to get the point of this book, but it really seems to have NO point whatsoever. If Hemingway presented a book like this today to be published as a novel, he'd likely be told to just go be a travel writer. That said, it is clear the author was passionate about bullfights, and the only magical part of this novel is when he describes them in detail.