The Sun Also Rises Book Notes Summary

In the morning the fiesta is over. Jake wakes late and sits in a café, watching people clean up the remnants of the festival. Bill joins him. Bill is going to Paris, Mike to Saint Jean de Luz, and Jake wants to spend a week in San Sebastian. They decide to rent a car and drive as far as Bayonne together. They settle up at the hotel and wait for the car. Montoya, disgusted with what happened with Romero, stays away from them. The car arrives and they leave Pamplona and travel through the fertile Basque country. They arrive in Bayonne, buy Bill his train ticket, then go to Biarritz for a drink. They have several rounds, each paying, but Mike is too broke to buy very many. He tells them Brett doesn't have any money, and this worries Jake.

Topic Tracking: Anti-Semitism 13

The three go for a drive along the coast. They leave Mike at Saint Jean, and always the bankrupt, he leaves Jake to pay for the rental car. Bill and Jake drive to Bayonne, and Jake wishes him off. Bill will have left for America by the time Jake is back in Paris.

Jake rents a room in Bayonne. Back in France, Jake can rest. There is no one to party with, and that's okay. He has dinner and actually savors the wine, rather than drinking to get drunk. When he pays the waiter, he overtips him. Jake likes how simple France is--you tip someone well, and they like you. You know where you stand in France, but in Spain it is not so clear.

Topic Tracking: Values 19

Jake takes the train the next morning to San Sebastian. He feels silly and somewhat uncomfortable to be returning to Spain. But San Sebastian has good weather, a beautiful landscape, and good swimming. Jake takes a nap, then goes swimming. Afterwards Jake walks around town and has a drink. Jake returns to the hotel for dinner, and there are a group of bicyclists there. There is a big race going on, and they stopped in San Sebastian for the night. Jake talks to the team manager about bicycle racing, which he knows little about. The manager wants Jake to see them depart tomorrow, but Jake sleeps very late and misses it. He drinks coffee and reads the paper. Life is quiet and good. He takes a long swim in the afternoon. When he returns to the hotel, there is a telegram for him. It is from Brett, who wants him to come to Madrid. She needs his help. Moments later another telegram, with the same message, arrives. Jake asks the concierge for the train schedule to Madrid, and he sends Brett word of his arrival tomorrow. Disgusted with himself, he thinks:

"That seemed to handle it. That was it. Send a girl off with one man. Introduce her to another to go off with him. Now go and bring her back. And sign the wire with love. That was it all right." Chapter 19, pg. 239

Jake takes the overnight train and does not sleep. The train reaches Madrid, "the end of the line. All trains finish there. They don't go on anywhere." Chapter 19, pp. 239-240 He takes a cab to Brett's cheap hotel, the Montana. The maid takes Jake to Brett. She kisses him distractedly, and then tells him how awful things are. She tells him she sent Romero away. It was for his own good. Brett says she doesn't want to talk about it, but she cannot help bringing it up. It seems that Romero was somewhat ashamed of her. He wanted to marry her, to keep her close. But she had to become more feminine first. She jokes about it, but the idea frightens her.

Topic Tracking: Gender 17
Topic Tracking: Anti-Semitism 14

Brett starts to cry. She says she's going back to Mike. She and Jake leave the hotel, and learn that Romero paid the bill. Jake and Brett go for a drink. Brett wants to talk about Romero--how young he is, how he'd only been with two women. Brett feared her presence and influence would hurt his bull-fighting, which was so important to him. Brett misses him, but she feels good, too: "'You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a bitch.'" Chapter 19, pg. 245

Topic Tracking: Religion 12

They go out for dinner, and Jake drinks a lot. Brett tells him he doesn't have to get drunk, but Jake isn't so sure. Jake suggests a ride around Madrid. They get into a taxi, and Brett sits close to Jake. Jake puts his arm around her. It is very cozy, and Brett remarks on how much fun they could have had together. Jake, who has seen how Brett treats those she loves, answers her:

"'Yes....Isn't it pretty to think so?'" Chapter 19, pg. 247