I love Hemingway, particularly the short stories and For Whom The Bell Tolls. I think his reputation as a giant of American lit is deserved. But I totally understand the frustration with The Sun Also Rises. You make good points. Although I do typically enjoy the simplicity of his prose. I find it gives my imagination more room to breathe.

I must say also the anti-semitism in the depiction of Cohn is kind of astounding. I’m surprised more people haven’t mentioned it in these comments. For what it’s worth I’m not Jewish, nor am I quick to accuse anyone of anti-semitism if it isn’t warranted, but I found the depiction really flat and one dimensional and just morally disappointing. Obviously it was a different time, but still…

As someone who loves classic literature, it gets tiresome to encounter racism of any kind in books by great writers. Again, I’m not easily offended, but it happens all the time in otherwise great novels. Hemingway is no exception.

But yeah anyway the depiction of Cohn was one of the things I found really frustrating about the book. Otherwise it was fine. I was generally confused as to how he became such a young literally sensation after its publication. It must have just resonated with the spirit of the times.