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So now I finally understand what people are going on about when they talk about Hemingway-esque writing. It is very clear and simple. Overall I liked it. Would I attempt to emulate the style in my own writing? Probably not so much...

While I was reading this I was reminded of The Great Gatsby, for a few reasons: these people's lives seem so meaningless, and they seem to have money that just grows on trees, and they flit around drinking and eating and holidaying as they please. There's also a central love story featuring an upper class woman and a bunch of men. The tale seems to be about love but also a generation (the 'lost' generation, I'm told). They seem to be suffering from a particular kind of disillusionment. But really... Which generation doesn't suffer with that? If it's not caused by a war it's caused by capitalism or technology or something else. The longer time goes on the less life seems to hold meaning...

The novel is also heavy with symbolism. I quite liked that aspect of it. Some of the best scenes involve fighting or bull fighting.

I have to admit that at first I didn't 'see' how pathetic Robert Cohn was... I feel like Hemingway's style, though it is very clear and to the point, could possibly leave one in doubt as to his intentions. It was only when the characters started coming right out and saying Cohn was pathetic, and asking him to piss off, that I realised he was such a pitiable figure. Had they not been so vocal in the repulsion they felt towards him, I would not have known. This is where adverbs can actually be helpful. LOL.

I read spark notes as the same time as I read this (I'm a bit of a dullard when it comes to literary fiction so I need the help) and I can see that the men who fall in love with Brett (apart from Jake) are trying to dominate her to prove their masculinity. I don't really proclaim to fully understand men, but this nature of theirs to want to dominate and tame women does bother me. The relationship Brett has with Jake is one I would dearly love to have. To be admired and nurtured by a man without having to succumb to his masculinity...

Where am I gonna find a eunuch, though, in this day and age?