Rating: 
Summary: Not much more that can be said about this one!
Review: Still, I'll have a go.THE SUN ALSO RISES was Hemingway's breakthrough novel. And what a breakthough it was. Before it, he had modest success with his short stories (a literary form of which he was a master, to be sure). But it was this novel that made his reputation stateside (he was an expatriate in Paris, just like the characters in this novel, at the time he wrote and published it). The book reads like a prolonged short story which is, in fact, its great strength. It is a slice of life, of very particular lives to be sure, painted in that finely crafted impressionist style which Hemingway honed in his days as a literary apprentice in Kansas City, Chicago and on the Left Bank of post World War I Paris. Briefly, the book details the escapades of a group of expatriates living it up in dissolute pleasure in the wake of the recently finished war in a recovering and still giddy Europe. Giddy, at least, within the crowded milieu in which these people mainly move. It has no plot to speak of, except for the movement of its people in and out of bars, parties and bull fights, and their conversations in cafes and taxis and, on occasion,in rural hunting lodges, most of which embody a tight and elaborate dance of almost ritual posturing. The tale follows them as they move cautiously about one another, and through various parts of Europe from their Parisian base, seeking connection and a tenuous spiritual sustenance which may only be had in the hurly-burly of a nightlife world of their own making, a world in which past troubles and insecurities can momentarily be forgotten. At its heart the novel follows, most of all, the growth of one man, its main character, from morose outsider in love with the unattainable to a person who sees his world all too clearly and, recognizing this, severs himself at the end from what he most desires. Nothing happens and yet everything does, precisely reflecting the emotional landscape through which the tale progresses. I will add my voice to some others here, as well, regarding the inimitable Hemingway style, a style he fashioned (not entirely in a vacuum, of course) from the world of experimentalist writers and painters in which he immersed himself in his Paris years. At its best, the sort of writing with which he has crafted this fascinating novel explodes into the reader's consciousness, creating a sense of reality and freshness that previous forms of prose had failed to attain. It is poetry as much as prose for its rhythms and repetitive stress on simple, basic words which combine, at times, to build an image in the mind, a concrete sense of the real world which puts to shame all the abstractions and florid prose of previous literary works. But there's no sense in trying to recapitulate the story here or to describe how it's told. The best thing is for the reader to step into it and experience it. It is still fresh and strong today and worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Hemingway
Review: There is a certain purity of language, a freshness of style present in The Sun Also Rises that is noticeably lacking in Hemingway's later works. As pointed out very capably by Mr. Mitchell in his earlier review, the plot of the novel itself is not likely to draw many readers, as the drunken revelry of the characters does tend to get a little old. Plus, I have my doubts that anyone can consistently consume as much booze as Jake Barnes, Lady Brett, and especially the "hangers on" did in this novel. Jake's fishing buddy Bill and Brett's fiance were in a state of inebriation virtually throughout the novel.Here the audio format works well, because listening to a good actor speak the words of a drunken character might be easier to endure than trying to read drunken dialogue.
For me, the novel works in a number of ways. Hemingway clearly loved the subject matter, and I thought the beginning of the book, as did his later masterpiece A Moveable Feast, provided a fascinating glimpse of post-WWI Paris. Then, when Hemingway and his friend catch the train for Pamplona to go fly fishing and catch the bullfights, the book really takes off. Hem loved to fish and he loved bullfighting, and his enthusiasm for these sports clearly shines through. Every year someone gets gored in Pamplona during the running of the bulls, and until reading this book I could never discern why anyone would put themselves in that position. Jake Barnes is clearly a true fan and "aficianado" of bullfighting, and his narration points out the many subtle ways to distinguish between a true master, and an overrated matador trying to make it look dangerous while he remains out of harms way. All the while, Hemingway portrays a doomed romance between Jake and Brett, all the more painful for him since he has to watch one man after another follow her around and get caught in her web. The pathetic Robert Cohn is the most striking example, since the married Cohn sent his wife to England to visit "friends", so that he could follow Brett around Paris and Spain like a wounded puppy after she makes the mistake of sleeping with him. Cohn is clearly an unwanted companion, and the blowups between him and Brett's fiance were memorable. I also loved the scene at a Paris cafe where Cohn's wife bitterly denounces Cohn for sending her off. In summary, this novel affords a real opportunity to see a good writer perfecting his craft. Hemingway hated phoniness in all things, bullfighting and writing among them, and for any serious student of twentieth century literature much time should be spent with this book. It is a pleasure to read (or listen to), and reveals more secrets each time you pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful, Dispassionate Novel
Review: This is Hemingway's first novel, and it is a great novel, and dispassion is the word I would use for it. Dispassion is a form of muted passion... passion felt from within, but not expressed openly, or even felt in an animated way .. it's a sense of connectedness, through (ironically) a lack of connectedness... it's awareness of the disconnectedness that we all share ... Hemingway's story about American ex-patriates in Paris is very moving, in a tone poem sort of way. It pours over the city, over the characters, and over narrative descriptions of bus rides and bullfights, all with wonderful power and emotion. True, his characters are kind of rough and tumble, but they feel what humans feel ... This book is not a masterpiece, but it comes close ... the only thing missing is the sense of overall integration of every aspect of the story ... This is a marvelous book, and I recommend it to everybody.
Rating:
Summary: If you haven't read this masterpiece, you need to read it.
Review: Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature and for good reason as this his first major novel shows. What we notice about Hemingway is his style; but for all its infamous "simplicity," Hemingway's style is very tightly controlled and rich in emotional intensities. He used to practice by reciting the King James version of the Bible in order to get the power and poetry of adjective deficient prose. Hemingway's characters wander, they do not "Quest" so he is probably postmodern. Nevertheless, the moderist issues of self and identity are prominent. These people live in the post WW II wasteland which as shown is absolutely authentic. Even the character Robert Cohn, the Jewish boxer from Princeton is real because, believe it or not, in those days circa 1926 boxing was a Jewish sport.
Rating:
Summary: Might be Heningway's finest
Review: The Sun also Rises is a wonderful novel which established Ernest Hemingway as the voice of the Lost generation. Writing in powerful, sporadic prose, Hemingway has the unique ability to bring exotic places to life. Who doesn't yern to see Paris and Spain after reading this book? Hemingway eloquently gives us round characters and tells the story with remarkable mood, and tone. The book as an interesting after-glow to it as well.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for everyone.
Review: I first read this book about a year ago for a high school english assignment. Usually, I find reading very tiresome, boring, and uninteresting. This book changed my outlook on reading. It is a fast read, and does not leave the reader bored after the first 50 pages. It also gave me an opportunity to learn about this interesting generation of young people. A must read for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: A Generation-Defining Novel--With Some Bull
Review: As an author with my debut novel in its initial release, I savor a few books annually. THE SUN ALSO RISES is one of those books. I read it first as a teenager. I then read it six or seven times for courses as an undergraduate and a graduate student at Claremont. THE SUN ALSO RISES tells the story of the Lost Generation. It is Hemingway's career-defining novel as well as the novel that captured like none other the lifestyle and concerns of his American expatriot associates. Jake, an emasculated World War I veteran, narrates the story. Jake is in love with Brett who perhaps loves him in return, yet their love cannot be consummated. Robert, ostensibly Jake's best friend, and Frances, Robert's girl friend, are on hand as Jake and Lady Brett struggle with their problem. Mike, the Lady's fiance, also finds his place in the story. Hemingway, working at the top of his talent before his persona began to envelop his writing, presents the moveable feast of Paris and the bullfighting life in Spain. While THE SUN ALSO RISES is far from politically correct, it is a groundbreaking novel that still speaks to people today.
Rating:
Summary: Hemingway lives up to his name in "The Sun Also Rises"
Review: This book truely defines the fine work of a fine author. Not only is the novel written in perfect Hemingway style, excluding all the unwanted information that clutters the lines of many contemporary novels, but it delivers a story about life, mistakes, and consequences. This is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliance and inadequacy
Review: TSAR brilliantly capture's the feelings of disillusionment and detachment that the so called "lost generation" felt. The book is a little slow to start but the last two third's which take place in spain are wonderfully written. The main protagonist Jacob Barnes, left with a wound received in combat, is impotent and deeply in love with brett an english woman engaged to another man. The irony of Jacob being passionate about the bull fights, the very epitome of masculinity, and him being impotent does not go undetected. The entire book is for me about people wanting thing's they know they cannot have, and yet wanting them more for it. Robert Cohn the Jewish outsider desperately wanting acceptance, Jacob wanting passion, Mike escape through alcohol and all of the above wanting Brett. In fact Brett is the fire to which they are all drawn and ultimetly burn themselves against
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: May be this was not a good Hemingway to start with. I'd heard about Hemingway's simple, direct style of writing, and find nothing more irritating than writing in which the author concentrates so much on style that plot and content are almost obscured. Yet, in this novel, I felt that Hemingway went to the other extreme - at times, the novel reads like a bad high school essay (Hemingway seemed to have no conjunction other than "and" available to him - and I saw this, and some friends were there, and we went for a drink etc etc). This is almost as irritating as over-elaborate writing. Of the plot and theme of the novel, I think that stories of rich young people who don't need to work for a living trying to find a "meaning" in their lives has become so overdone by now that (perhaps) the originality of this novel has been lost. Throughout my reading of the novel, I was struggling with whether or not Hemingway wanted me to empathise with or at least understand the sorry group of characters he presented. Yet are any of these (essentially) bar flies worthy of anyone's empathy? Two events in the novel redeemed it slightly for me. The first was Brett falling for the 19 year old matador, Pedro Romero, and the outrage this causes among her emotionally bankrupt suitors. Indeed, given the choices open to her, Romero is clearly attractive! Why indeed, as a woman, should she not be able so to choose? As an aside, Hemingway's loving descriptions of Romero's beauty did seem strange when considered alongside Hemingway's macho image (was Ernie protesting too much??). The second event was the Spanish waiter's disgust at the loss of human life in the fiesta in Pamplona. Is a fiesta worth such a loss? A brief and unexpected glimpse of humanity in among all the bullfighting.
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