Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is the first book I've read by Hemingway and now I can understand why this auther is nearly legendary. It was truely amazing in some subtle way that I can hardly define. Since reading this book, I've decided to read as much Hemingway as I can get my hands on and I only hope that his other works live up to this first taste I've had. Granted, the plot is quite basic, but the building tension between characters, and underlying pain of Jake pulled me in. I felt like I could relate to these people. Hell, I wanted to have a drink or two with them...
Rating: 
Summary: misunderstood!!
Review: All I want to say is that anyone who thinks this book is boring and immoral is totally overlooking both the symbolism of the story and the context in which the book was written. It is a commentary about the Lost Generation of the twenties. This was a time, especially for Americans, when all people wanted to do was have fun. Of course, it ended up taking a toll on them, which is why it is the "lost generation". Did you like Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby? It is the same kind of thing. You have to put into perspective the kind of world these people were living in. The romanticism of life is what makes the story symbolic--Jake's impotence in conjunction with his love for Brett, the wild social scene (i.e., the perpetual drunkenness of most characters), and the great melodrama of the expatriatism and the bull fights. These aspects of the book are what intrigue the reader, contrasted with the extreme simplicity of the writing. So what if all the characters were drinking all the time? It's historically accurate, as far as the social scene of the pre-Depression west. Now, I'm not saying I particularly enjoyed the brashness of characters such as Mike, or the pity I felt for Cohn, or the irresponsibility of Brett. But, just because the characters weren't likable doesn't mean that the story doesn't say a hell of a lot about society as Hemingway perceived it, or at least how he chose to portray it. For those who didn't enjoy it, I recommend you read it again, and look for the symbolism Hemingway tries to get across.
Rating:
Summary: I would like to dispute some of the negative criticism.
Review: I think the only way anyone could find "serious flaw" in this book is if the reader himself looked for things in the book that weren't there. I don't think it is necessary to compare characters in the book to the bulls or homosexuals; this book was written simply about about people of the "lost generation", who were devestated by World War One. Jake was not "trying to assert his manhood", he was just a man who fell in love with a woman who he loved too much to hate. I think that this book, as were many of Hemingway's novels, was largely autobiographical. A book of real people lost in a real world written by a real person. If you are a real person and not lost in superficiality as Hemingway was lost in WWI, its imposible not to love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best book of the century
Review: One of the best book ever written
Rating:
Summary: simplistic, wonderful
Review: This is not a book that can be taken at its face value. In order for the reader to get a true feeling of what the story is about then they have to read beyond the simplistic form. Jake is constantly trying to re-assert his manhood. That is why he hated the men that Lady Ashley was with when she is first introduced into the story. They were gay, and he sees them as having the correct tools and using them the wrong way. The bull fights are the same, its all about penetration, either the bull does or the sword does. Nearly all of the characters are expatriates, and their incessent drinking illustrates their desolation and thinking that there is nothing good in the world anymore. A common thought after WWI. Hemingway spins an intricate tale of unrequited love and desolation beneath a simplistic facade. EXCELLENT
Rating: 
Summary: If you haven't read Heminway before..pass over this one
Review: This novel, it has been written, was one of Hemingway's favorites. It certainly is not mine. I am listening to this book on tape and I am glad I didn't purchase the book. It is ok to listen to during rush hour traffic but not with precious evening hours. If you are into the late 90's politically correct scene, this book will offend you time and time again. I understand that in 1926 it was a different time, but Hemingway degrades Jews, Catholics, and I can't even use his derogatory word for the black fighter. Bull fights? Yeah, yeah, yeah, so what?
Rating:
Summary: Someone throw Lady Bret in the bull-ring!
Review: Hemingway is overrated and this book has serious flaws. Hem didn't even know where the book began. It begins with the last sentence of chapter II, about going out to have a drink and watch the evening crowd along the boulevard. The first two chapters about Cohn are useless and written in a style unlike the rest of the book. The count is built up to be a major character in book one, and then is gone never to be heard from again. And why the oldsters love Hem's dialogue is beyond me. And are these the most annoying people in history? Hey, Lady Bret, DO shut up! Although generation talk is a 20th century invention for mediocre journalists to have half their story already written (Ernest Hemingway, the voice of the lost generation, etc.) these people are not a part of the lost generation but the drinking, thinking that they got it made generation. I know teenagers who have been through more stuff than these knuckleheads. If you want to read great Hemingway read A Moveable Feast. Well, that is all for today students, for I have to go and watch the new Pamela Anderson Lee cop show. Yea!
Rating:
Summary: Jake Barnes: Grace under pressure
Review: "The Sun also Rises" made a huge impression on me when I read it as a college student a number of years ago. It is true that one must look beyond the surface to get a clear understanding of any book by Hemingway. It is also true that the language that he used was not flowery, nor overly eloquent but the meaning revealed within the lines. It is also true that the characters are often expatriates; living on the fringe of society and hedonistic to the max. All of those elements are visible here, yet sometimes it might require a magnifying glass to see it. However, these are the qualities which make Ernest Hemingway, the seminal writer for a generation and certainly one of the best. I propose one hint when reading "the Sun also Rises." Pay close attention to the relationship between Barnes and Robert Cohn. Barnes laothes Cohn for being everything that he is not. What drives him over the edge (in the inner sanctum of his own mind and demons) is the success Cohn has insofar as his relationship with Lady Brett. Barnes is impotent and this is a crushing blow to his manhood. The tragedy here is his inability to consummate a sexual relationship with her. It destroys him--yet he is still accepting of his predicament. This is what allows this character to maintain "grace under pressure"-- as Hemingway once coined the term or the ability to stand or hold ones ground when all odds are against you. Certainly this can be a tragic flaw for any of Hemingway's male characters--the total loss of his virility. Yet he stands his ground and never loses it. He just hates Cohn from a distance and rationalizes that he (Cohn) is one who cannot do anything just for the sake of doing it---whether it be drinking, winning the Princeton boxing title, or being in love with Brett. It is complicated but one can come away with these qualities after finishing the novel rather than while reading it. I think his friend and sometimes rival, F. Scott Fitzgerald, summed him up best when he said of Hemingway: "He's the real thing."
Rating:
Summary: intoxicating (in more than one way)
Review: I thought this was an excellent book. After reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and enjoying it imensely, I picked this book. It still amazes me the way Hemingway could explain the feeling of any given moment in such a way that reminded me of a similar moment or feeling that I have experianced in my life. I found myself wishing i could write in such a way and found it is much easier to read than write in such a style. Some have found this book "boring" and that the drinking was "excessive" but this is what an entire generation of people were experiancing after WWI. I've visited both Paris and Spain, and after this read, I wanted to go back to Spain and see if I could some how retrace Jake's steps in this story. An excellent book! Read "For Whom the Bell Tolls" if you enjoyed this book or want to experiance Hemingway's finest novel!
Rating:
Summary: a lovely book indeed.
Review: This book is very nice. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. guy from Chicago. Sure, Hemingway writes simply and it seems simple enough, but don't be so shallow. Mr. Texan- please don't compare this to a Friends episode. ugh. Even if you think it is meaningless, it's absolutely delightful. the dialogue kills me, and the last line kicks arse. and besides- "the road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs."
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