The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge discussion

June Book DiscussionThe Sun Also Rises

Hi Hey and Hello again! Its been a while! This month we're going to dive into some Hemingway and I'm very excited. My gateway into his work was "The Short Happy Life of Francis MaComber" which was a jolly good trip. Anyhoo, lets have some pre-discussion. Have you read any of his works? What are your expectations going forward? Do you know anything about Hemingway's background, or his attitudes towards masculinity?

Just finished this book and look forward to discussing this with you. What did you think? How did the writing appeal or not appeal to you?

I didn’t particularly like the writing style and found the very little description to rely a lot on my own imagination. I felt sorry for jake. And I found Brett to be very wishiwashy with her feelings and treating her friends really poorly. Especially since she seems to be in love with jake too.

Not sure if she loves anyone or just the thought of falling in love and the chase after it.

What do you all think?

And when was this book mentioned in Gilmore girls? Anyone know which episode and how it was brought up?

thanks Amaka for creating the discussion! I had a brain lapse and thought I created it and didn't! The sun must have fried my brain.

I've always been a little scared of Hemingway so I will have to warm up to this selection:-)

Helene wrote: "Just finished this book and look forward to discussing this with you. What did you think? How did the writing appeal or not appeal to you?

I didn’t particularly like the writing style and found t..."

I'm so happy you're joining us Helene! Although I haven't finished the book yet, I'm picking up a lot of you're comments here. I also find Brett to be a little, wishywashy, and although I haven't finished, I'm trying to understand why, or rather what Brett is supposed to represent here. I'm also trying to connect the in depth analysis of Robert Cohn we got in the first chapter. Was it a red herring, because I found myself a little lost when we shifted to focus on Jake and Paris. So far I'm wondering if Robert Cohn and Jake are intended to mirror each other, and if so, is Brett supposed to be a foil to Frances?
I find that Hemingway's writing can't be sped through, especially the dialogue.
Also, "The Sun Also Rises" is from season 4, episode 5

Holly wrote: "thanks Amaka for creating the discussion! I had a brain lapse and thought I created it and didn't! The sun must have fried my brain.

I've always been a little scared of Hemingway so I will have t..."

I'm hopeful that this proves a good experience then!

Thanks for your reply 😊 I’m excited to hear your thoughts when you reach the end. I also found Hemingway easy and quick to read. And it sort of read like an interview or article sometimes. Maybe an essay too. I don’t know. But I also didn’t feel like it went very in depth with each person and not even the main character who I would have liked to see more layers of or more about.

I’m worried about writing spoilers so I’ll keep it vague but still might feel like a spoiler:















I wonder if it’s a medical thing that stops Brett from being with Jake and because she can’t be with who she loves she is unable to pick someone else?

I thought Robert was a very desperate type of guy and a bit stalker like too. I found it a bit unlikely that everyone keeps falling for Brett. Maybe it was a little bit of wanting to be the one to “tame” her or “change” her?

For such a short book this is dragging on for me. Is the senseless wandering part of everyone trying to find meaning in being the Lost Generation?

Does his impotence represent you can want but you can't have, because you were doomed from the start? I'd be interested to see in what part of Heminway's career he wrote this book because it has been so depressing so far, I find that the man's man, old-school, poor ol' boy trope is always hard for me to relate to.

Also, racism, classism, elitism, and anti-semitism?

Helene wrote: "Thanks for your reply 😊 I’m excited to hear your thoughts when you reach the end. I also found Hemingway easy and quick to read. And it sort of read like an interview or article sometimes. Maybe an..."
So I'm finally done! It was kind of a slog, which is disappointing since I did enjoy Hemingway's other work. I also want to comment on the way the book reads. I felt like it was more of journal entries, or interview like you noted. Either way, I felt as if we have a case of the unreliable author, which makes me question everything we read about Brett, or Robert or even himself

Caroline wrote: "For such a short book this is dragging on for me. Is the senseless wandering part of everyone trying to find meaning in being the Lost Generation?

Does his impotence represent you can want but you..."

Very much yes to the "boo hoo rich white man" trope made the book hard to get through. The aimlessness makes it hard to stay immersed in the story as well.

I have read the Sun Also Rises many times. This novel and a Movable Feast are my favorites. I was deeply immersed in the characters and how Hemingway uses such minimalistic descriptions, so concrete and based on true experiences. The lost generation were irretrievably damaged by their experiences during the war. Hemingways use of short sentences, concrete detail, and untagged dialogue to characterize his characters and set up the scenes in the novel was so innovative. He had a style and it was stoic and just seemed to me to emphasize the importance of living life. The love triangle between Jake, Brett and her lovers were just heartbreaking. There was so much desire on both parts between Jake and Brett but that desire could never be fulfilled. It frustrated me as the reader that it could never be. The bullfighting imagery of tempting fate by being so close to death is also at the forefront of the story. The inability to consummate their love hurts Brett nearly as much as it does Jake. The ending pretty much mirrors the beginning and not much changes. It just has such a nostalgic and sad feeling. Also what got to me was that Brett always turns to Jake and he is always there for her. The description of the scenes in the cafes and the decadence of being abroad during this era immerses the reader in the aimlessness of it all. The drinking, the sex, the maddness it was all a way for these characters to anesthetize themselves and forget the pain of the world wide conflict they experienced. This time around I really saw how Brett was such a revolutionary character for her era. She was very masculine and aggressive. This is not an uplifting story and invokes many emotions in the reader.

So I know I'm late to this, but as I read through the discussion posts I realized a few things:

1. I read this incredibly superficially as compared to the rest of the group, haha. It was just an entertaining summer read to me. It was like a summer with my friends back in my 20's - food, drinks and partying.

2. While Brett and Jake's love is a bit tragic, it was so beautiful to me. It reminded me of how Rory keeps meeting with Logan in secret in the last season despite being in romantic relationships. There's something about those Romeo-and-Juliet-we-wish-we-could-but-cant-actually-be-together love stories that just gets me; and,

3. Frances reminded me of Emily Gilmore when she verbally Hulk-smashed Robert Cohn.