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The Sun Also Rises

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The Sun Also Rises

Written by: Ernest Hemingway
Narrated by: Michael Gandolfini
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About this listen

Actor Michael Gandolfini, star of The Many Saints of Newark, brings Hemingway’s masterwork to life with an original and captivating performance in this brand-new audiobook edition of The Sun Also Rises.

In his unforgettable first novel, Hemingway artfully illuminates the plight of the Lost Generation, weaving a poignant tale of love and loss in the aftermath of World War I. The story follows two expatriates living in Paris in the 1920s: Jake Barnes, an American war veteran and journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, an independent Englishwoman exploring the opportunities afforded by a new era of liberated women and sexual freedom. Impotent due to an injury suffered during the war, Jake must navigate his hopeless love for Brett in a changed world of waning morality.

From Parisian society’s vibrant nightlife to the ruthless bullfighting rings of Spain, The Sun Also Rises takes listeners on a powerful journey through mass disillusionment, moral bankruptcy, and elusive could-have-beens. All the while, we see both the brokenness and resilience of a generation scarred physically and emotionally by the horrors of war.

Public Domain (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing 20th Century Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction War Morality Inspiring
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It’s a slow go, this one and Michael Gandofini’s narration did nothing to help. He shouts his way through a supposedly Scottish characters lines, and travels through many English speaking countries as he tries to figure out what an English accent is supposed to sound like.
Hard to imagine what the director was doing during this.

Holy bad accents!!

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An interesting story for what it is. Some enjoyable characters, wonderful descriptions of the French and Spanish countryside in the 1920s. Hemingway's style is a bit repetitive in this early work, but it seems to fit the characters and the troubled existence they're living after the war. Didn't love the performance, but credit to Gandolfini for attempting to do all the voices and accents.

A Classic

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The work itself is, of course, a classic - which I have read before. The performance really takes away from the book.

Distractingly poor performance

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A boring story about dissolute characters squandering their sorry lives. Maybe it would've been better if the narrator wasn't so dreadful. Especially the accents; they were unbelievably terrible. If this is how Hemingway saw and lived his life it is no wonder that it ended badly.

So boring

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I had a harder time getting into this book, as compared to other Hemingway works, but ended up really enjoying it. Perhaps I should listen again, so that I really get the character development. Loved the time in San Sebastian and Pamplona, and how he brought the running of the bulls and bullfighting to life, and the people who live amongst these traditions.

UPDATE: I have a completely different perspective on this book after I read “Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises” by Mary McAuliffe. The Sun Also Rises was Hemingway’s first novel and is largely based on a trip he made with friends… easily identified in the characters. I changed my rating from 4 to 5, and can’t wait to listen to it again, with this context.

Ultimately very good (updated to WOW)

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