The Sun Also Rises

What Hacker News says

1. spunkycomicsAug 2026
   This is tough, because as this newsletter gets at - sometimes things will simply smack you in the face. The only way to get that underlying experience is through experiencing more.

   My two favorite books I read in high school were "The Crucible", and "The Sun Also Rises". Neither had an ounce of relatability to my life, I had no prior experience that should let me connect with a disillusioned generation of WWI vets or puritans scared of the woods. But I did have a phenomenal AP Lit teacher that conveyed the context enough for me to have a starting point and then get lost in the characters and environments and let the quality of the work carry it from there. I found Gatsby less appealing, but at least two of my friends fell in love with it that year. No book is going to do it for everyone, especially in a class like that where the point is working your way through cultural history.

   I think you nail it with the range of teachers being the crux. There's just so much riding on whether or not you really connect with a teacher's way of conveying excitement or not.

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2. mjg2Apr 2026
   I’m going to suggest books with prose I like: - The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway - Butcher’s Crossing, Willams - Legs, Kennedy - The Passenger, McCarthy

   As for sci-fi: Dune!

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3. eszedDec 2025
   I've not read enough Corey to form a judgement, but I don't think Jordan has nearly enough literary "heft" to satisfy close reading. Don't get me wrong: the story is fun - I enjoyed every bit of Wheel of Time - and would recommend it to anyone who likes that sort of thing, but the deeper stuff (characters, prosidy, world-building, thematic "meaning") don't bear much examination.

   In fantasy / sci-fi, I'd unreservedly recommend:

   - Ursula K LeGuin

   - Steven Erickson

   - Gene Wolfe

   With reservations, I'd recommend:

   - Patrick Rothfuss (unfinished)

   - George RR Martin (unfinished; sometimes dodgy prose, but occasionally transcendent character and theme)

   - Dune (just know it goes downhill fast after the first book)

   Elsewhere, but still genre (ie: meant to be entertaining, not uber-serious, self-conscious "literature"):

   - Patrick O'Brian

   - Arthur Conan Doyle

   - Dorothy Dunnet

   I'd recommend Rudyard Kipling's short stories, but they're hit and miss, and sometimes out of step with modern mores. Maybe stick with the Jungle Book, and Just So Stories, and if you like those make sure you read Without Benefit of Clergy, They (short stories), and Kim (a masterpiece of a novel).

   Once you've got through those, Hemingway is approachable, and the true modernist master. Fiesta / The Sun Also Rises (same book, known by different names in different parts of the world) is ironic and beautiful; A Farewell to Arms is beautiful and almost unbearably sad; his short stories are impeccable.

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4. jasonkesterMay 2025
   A quick Public Service Announcement:

   Go back and read all those books you were supposed to have read in high school.

   It turns out, they are actually really good. And now you're old enough and have had enough life experience to understand and relate to them.

   I remember kinda liking "The Sun Also Rises" in highschool literature class. There were these people travelling around Spain and drinking a lot. I could relate. At some point in my late 20s, I came across a copy and read it again. Turns out it's an awesome book, and about more than just swilling wine.

   So the thought occurred that since one of those terrible highschool literature books was good, maybe more of them would be. I grabbed The Great Gatsby. Awesome book. Whatever JD Sallinger thing they had us read. Awesome. Joseph Conrad, Jack London, Oscar Wilde. Hell yeah. And all those authors had tons of other great stuff they'd written. And there were lots of authors in the last hundred-odd years. It kinda kicked off a lifetime of seeking out the Good Stuff.

   One minor downside, as long as we're doing a PSA, is that doing this will kill your ability to read Airport Bestsellers of any genre. You'll need actual good writing from here on out. Fortunately, there's lots of people still doing that so they should be able to crank out new good books faster than you can read them.

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5. briandearOct 2024
   Hemingway is hard because people demand explicit. The story behind the obvious is what makes The Sun Also Rises so powerful. It defined the lost generation. It was the 1920s version of Clerks.

   I’m sure people read Hills Like White Elephants expecting to find an elephant in the story. Of course there is — a big one right there in the room.

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6. AlbertCoryNov 2023
   To the list of favorite audiobooks, I'd add:

   A Short History of Nearly Everything

   This was not rereading for me. I still haven't "read" the book, but I don't need to.

   The Sun Also Rises: this one I'd read. Maybe a book written in the first person is easier to narrate?

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