Many countries in Europe are destinations for young adults interested in studying a foreign language and learning about the continent's rich history.  It's a unique stretch of land - for sure - conquered and overrun by countless tribes, empires, and migrations over thousands of years.  Part of it's intrigue is the stark cultural differences and diverse languages in such a small area.  Over a couple train rides in a long day, one can sample escargot in a Parisian restaurant, enjoy an Oktoberfest beer in Germany, and walk across Charles bridge in downtown Prague.  In this same day, a traveler will hear the Latin based French, Germanic based German, and Slavic based Czech languages.  Nearby are Hungary, with people who speak Magyar (a Uralic language related to Finnish and Estonian), and the Basque region of northern Spain, whose people speak Euskera, a language with no known linguistic relatives.  Scattered throughout the region are many other languages mostly related to one of the original branches of Proto-Indo-European.  The following day, one can visit the incredible architecture of the Hapsburg dynasty in Vienna Austria, crumbled ruins of the Roman empire in Brescia Italy, and horrific WWII sites near Krakow Poland.  In short, Europe was, and still is a diverse land.
 
I've been to Europe - twice.  In the summer of 2002 I visited my brother in Italy for three weeks.  I was 19 at the time.  Two years later I took a year off from college, worked for 6 months, then went to Spain to study and travel Europe for 5 months.  Beyond the regular drinking with other students I met in my Spanish school, (Dutch, German, English, Scottish, Irish, Icelandic, American, Australian - honestly, mostly German and Dutch), and beyond the lovely foreign women I chased around and went on dates with, I was able to travel solo for five weeks around central and western Europe.  There is really nothing else like it.  The regular social gatherings in Spain with fellow classmates and locals was it's own special period.  Vagabonding around Europe with no guide, no companion, and no plan, was another different, but equally special time.  Particular to Europe vagabonding, I think, is the ease in making friends in new places.  Youth hostels and local pubs abound with young travelers - many alone too - looking for a few beers and a good conversation.  It's even better if they happen to be young, single women.  Overall, I met my fair share of young guys with the same goal as me - have fun and live in the moment.  I also met my fair share of young women with the same goal as me - have fun and live in the moment, and if we get on well enough, share a bed.
 
Looking back, there were a few girls I dated in Europe I could have settled down with for good, if I were to meet them later in life.  But there was never any time for that.  Plus, I was young and locking someone down didn't even make sense.  There was no future then.  My past didn't mean much either, beyond the minor insecurities springing up here and there from adolescents.  Getting hung up on one girl was silly, even if there was one or two I liked but didn't get the reciprocation I desired.   There was always five more with the newest Spanish class, or three more at the next bar in Krakow Poland, or two more at the hostel in Amsterdam.  Life was moving fast.  There was no time for dwelling.

The male characters in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises are infatuated with Lady Bret Ashley of England.  They dwell on her.  She's a socialite, and a drunk, and she sleeps around with many men.  She's in her mid-thirties - not exactly her prime.  Her past is checkered with painful memories from her prior marriages.  Yet, the story's narrator, Jake Barnes, loves her.  His friend, Robert Cohn becomes obsessed with her after they travel together.  Another friend, Lady Ashley's fiance Mike Cambell, festers over every man she runs off with, ribbing Robert Cohn at every chance.  It seems another American friend, Bill Gorton, is fancied with her too.  These are grown men living in Paris and traveling Spain.   Sure, there were less people in 1920s Europe, but you can't tell me there weren't plenty of beautiful women running around Paris and San Sebastian.  Despite the regular drinking, partying, traveling, and constant socializing, something about Lady Ashley drives these men almost mad.  At one point in the story, Cohn is so upset Lady Ashley has run off with a young bullfighter in Pamplona, he tracks her down and almost beats the bullfighter to death.  A confrontation between him and Mike and Jake follows, and he knocks them to the ground with swinging fists - primed from years in the boxing ring.   

The drama surrounding Lady Ashley is punctuated with the simple, straight descriptions of Parisian nightlife, Pamplona bullfighting festivals, and the Spanish countryside.  A juxtaposition is generated between the main characters and the life they live in Europe.  Jake is impotent, presumably from a war wound; Robert has emotional issues; Mike is a bankrupt alcoholic; Lady Ashley is an emotionally damaged alcoholic.  Amid their deficiencies exist moments of joy and perfection.  The young bullfighter, Pedro Romero, exudes this ideal with his bullfighting, "Out in the centre of the ring Romero profiled in front of the bull, drew the sword out from the folds of the muleta, rose on his toes, and sighted along the blade.  The bull charged as Romero charged.  Romero's left hand dropped the muleta over the bull's muzzle to blind him, his left shoulder went forward between the horns as the sword went in, and for just an instant he and the bull were one, Romero way out over the bull, the right arm extended high up to where the hilt of the sword had gone in between the bull's shoulders.  Then the figure was broken.  There was a little jolt as Romero came clear, and then he was standing, one hand up, facing the bull, his shirt ripped out from under his sleeve, the white blowing in the wind, and the bull, the red sword hilt tight between his shoulders, his head and legs settling.  "There he goes," Bill said."  The main characters are mesmerized by his performance.  In another passage,  Gorton, Barnes, and an Englishman named Wilson Harris go on a fishing trip in northern Spain, a moment in the book revealing the serenity and beauty of the countryside, "The path crossed the stream on another foot-long below the ford, and joined the road, and we went into the woods.  It was a beech wood and the trees were very old.  Their roots bulked above the ground and the branches were twisted.  We walked on the road between the thick trunks of the old beeches and the sunlight came through the leaves in light patches on the grass.  The trees were big, and the foliage was thick but it was not gloomy.  There was no undergrowth, only the smooth grass, very green and fresh, and the big gray trees well spaced as though it were a park."  With these passages, Hemingway draws us into the surroundings - in the moment - and accentuates their purity. 
 
When we move beyond our routines, we can find these places too.  Traveling and living abroad can bring us into these moments - and Europe is one of the premier places for this.  Whatever may be dwelling in our depths, whether simple insecurities from high school or deeper issues carried over from the tragedy of war manifesting as an obsession with a woman, the dawn of new experiences and the dream of the moment await us all.                      

    

Summary:  Touching without being melancholic, and hopeful with a crew of damaged characters, The Sun Also Rises lures us to look past our demons to better days, with the most subtle nudge.        
 
Rating:  8.0

-E.B.
2018-12-27