Fun Fact: most of the characters are based on people Hemingway knew. Robert Cohn is pretty much an exact copy of Harold Loeb in Hem's Paris circle. http://www.bama.ua.edu/~sigmatau/texts/sun.html The book itself is quick. I dig that it's a fairly accurate snapshot of the 20s. Sexual mores, nightlife, we see that things really haven't changed in 90 years. I think the book is a fine story, but it is a lesson on writing style more. Hemingway really cut his narrative down to the meat and potatoes. Then again, a lot of guys were doing that at the time. We also see a tough guy be sentimental, vulnerable, and haunted (author and the protagonist).