Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises published 50 years ago this year

First posted 6/25/2020; last updated 7/5/2020.

The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway

First Publication: 1926 Category: semi-autobiographical novel Sales: ?

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: “The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation.” AZ Hemingway presents the idea that the generation which was “considered to have been decadent, dissolute, and irretrievably damaged by World War I – was in fact resilient and strong.” WK “Additionally, Hemingway investigates themes of love and death; the revivifying power of nature, and the concept of masculinity.” WK “The Sun Also Rises is “a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.” AZ It “helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.” AZ “It received mixed reviews upon publication. However, Hemingway biographer Jeffrey Meyers writes that it is now ‘recognized as Hemingway's greatest work,’, and Hemingway scholar Linda Wagner-Martin calls it his most important novel.’” WK “The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.” AZ “The characters are based on real people in Hemingway's circle, and the action is based on real events,” WK including “Hemingway’s trip to Spain in 1925. The setting was unique and memorable, depicting sordid café life in Paris and the excitement of the Pamplona festival, with a middle section devoted to descriptions of a fishing trip in the Pyrenees.” WK Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon WK Wikipedia

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver’s Travels published 250 years ago on this day

First posted 7/4/2020; updated 7/6/2020.

Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift

First Publication: October 28, 1726 Category: fantasy novel/political parody Sales: 1 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: “Considered the greatest satire ever written in English,” BN Jonathan Swift “shows humans at their worst: whether diminished (in Lilliput) or grossly magnified (in Brobdingnag). Our capacity for self-delusion – personified by the absurdly pompous Gulliver – makes this darkest of novels very funny.” TG He “intended this masterpiece, as he once wrote Alexander Pope, to ‘vex the world rather than divert it.’” AZ “Savagely ironic, it portrays man as foolish at best, and at worst, not much more than an ape. The direct and unadorned narrative” AZ “chronicles the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, principally to four marvelous realms.” BN In “the land of Lilliput…six-inch-high inhabitants bicker over trivialities” AZ while Brobdingnag is “a land where giants reduce man to insignificance.” AZ He also visits “Laputa, a wondrous flying island; and a country where the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses, are served by savage humanoid creatures called Yahoos.” BN “Written with disarming simplicity and careful attention to detail, this classic is diverse in its appeal: for children, it remains an enchanting fantasy. For adults, it is a witty parody of political life in Swift’s time and a scathing send-up of manners and morals in 18th-century England.” AZ “Beneath the surface of this enchanting fantasy lurks a devastating critique of human malevolence, stupidity, greed, vanity, and short-sightedness. A brilliant combination of adventure, humor, and philosophy, Gulliver’s Travels is one of literature’s most durable masterpieces.” BN Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon BN Barnes & Noble TG Telegraph: The Perfect Library

A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh: Published 50 Years Ago Today

Last updated 11/2/2020.

Winnie-the-Pooh A.A. Milne

First Publication: October 14, 1926 Category: children’s stories Sales: 2.95 million

Accolades (click on badges to see full lists):

About the Book: In this classic children’s book, “A.A. Milne created a life philosophy with the trials, triumphs and tiddley-poms of the honey-loving, always kind-hearted” TG teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and his adventures with his friends who include the timid Piglet, the melancholy Eeyore, the wise Owl, the picky Rabbit, and the motherly Kanga looking after her son Roo. The book’s sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, introduced the bouncy Tigger. “These characters and their stories are timeless treasures of childhood that continue to speak to all of us with the kind of freshness and heart that distinguishes true storytelling.” AZ In 1926, Saturday Review said: “Winnie-the-Pooh is a joy; full of solemn idiocies and the sort of jokes one weeps over helplessly, not even knowing why they are so funny, and with it all the real wit and tenderness which alone could create a priceless little masterpiece.” AZ A.A. Milne, “wrote this book for his son, Christopher Robin.” AZ As the illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard “lovingly gave Pooh and his companions shape.” AZ “Portions of the book were adapted from previously published stories. The first chapter, for instance, was adapted from ‘The Wrong Sort of Bees,’ a story published in the London Evening News in its issue for Christmas Eve 1925. The chapters in the book can be read independently of each other, as they are episodic in nature and plots do not carry over from one chapter to the next.” WK Resources and Related Links: Writ by Whit (2/9/2019). “10 Books Which Impacted Me” AZ Amazon TG Telegraph: The Perfect Library WK Wikipedia

In July 2018, I became the organizer of the Classic Novels Book Club. Check out the Book Club tab here or Meetup for more information. This is our November 2020 book.