Philip and Ernest

I finished reading the Sun Also Rises this morning.  Like all things experienced in youth and revisited as an adult, it was very different.  Everyone knows Hemingway is the genius of few words but I forgot the joyous effect of his sparse, efficient style.  The intensity was magnified by contrasting it with my most recent read, The Human Stain by Philip Roth.  As Hemingway is the master of few words, Roth expertly layers phrases escalating emotional tension until it crests like a breaking wave.   I marvel at Roth's fluent prose, he does things with words that make my knees wobble.  I underlined long passages throughout the book.  With Hemingway, I can't point to a single page where I was swept away. Instead it was the experience of the whole that engendered my awe.  These authors are as exceptional as they are different.  They make reading a euphoric venture.  From Roth to Hemingway, the bar is high for my next choice.  Thankfully there is no shortage of options, beautiful art bound in black type face is abundant.