The Sun Also Rises

By: Ernest Hemingway, Colm Toibin

Narrated by: William Hurt

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Originally published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises is Ernest Hemingway’s first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style.​

A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. In his first great literary masterpiece, Hemingway portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.

Who's your papa? Listen to more from Ernest Hemingway.

©1926 Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright renewed 1954 Ernest Hemingway. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form (P)2006 Simon and Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon and Schuster Audio Division, Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

2007 Audie Award Finalist for Classics

"An absorbing, beautifully and tenderly absurd, heart-breaking narrative....It is a truly gripping story, told in lean, hard athletic prose...magnificent." (The New York Times)

“The ideal companion for troubled times: equal parts Continental escape and serious grappling with the question of what it means to be, and feel, lost.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Not the best from Hemingway or Hurt

Hemingway and Hurt are two of my favorites. But this is kind of a dull story read too slowly. Was hoping for something on the level of Farewell To Arms and this isn’t it. Listening at 1.5x speed helped the pace but not the book unfortunately. Still, glad to have listened as there are some good parts.

Well read

Very good execution of the story. Still as depressing a story as ever, but it always makes me feel better about my own alcohol consumption.

Wish I was there

Would you listen to The Sun Also Rises again? Why?

Again as in a second time or again as in for the 1st time? I'll just assume the question means for the 1st time. Listening for a second time would be incredibly boring and quite pointless, as I have already listened to it once.

This was my first Hemmingway book and I rather liked it. The characters were real and flawed as hell, except maybe Jake who's only flaw is perhaps the company he keeps.

The book moves along a good clip with just enough detail at the right places to make it come alive and flesh out what needs fleshing out. Like a masterpiece sculpture, you don't want too much fat (useless detail) and you want just the right portions of lean muscle and sinew (meaningful interesting detail). This book has just that.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake, he's a mans man drinking, smoking, watching bull fights. Jake appears to be Hemmingway himself in many respects.

What about William Hurt’s performance did you like?

Everything, the man is a master.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I don't have a F.....ing clue.

Any additional comments?

This book captures the post world war I period in Europe from the point of view of some artists and ex-patriots. The slang is obviously dated and they used terms that just aren't heard anymore, but you sort of get used to it. It makes you want to go to Spain and hang out in an old bar, go to the bull fights, go fishing in a remote stream, drink wine all day and not even mind the fact there is no air conditioning.

I think one of the key things about this book is that it doesn't try to be overly ambitious and therefore doesn't become overly heavy and boring. It's just a story about some people on a trip in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, but mostly Spain. There is jealousy, anger, fighting, drinking, fishing, impotence and for a while you don't know if maybe something real bad might happen to a few of the people or not.

I'm giving it 5 stars, but only because I can't give it 4.5 stars. It's better than 4 out of 5 which is 80%.

Buen libro, mala actuación.

El libro es extraordinario. La actuación de españoles hablando inglés, malísima. Malísima. Hubiera sido perfecto con una actuación menos exagerada.

Hurt was perfect for this!

Wow, I can’t believe all these negative reviews. What did you want some happy-go-lucky or sing-songy voice? You realize all the main characters and certainly the lead character and narrator are lost, drunk and depressed the whole time right? I though Hurt did an excellent job of capturing the actual mood of the story. He IS the voice I thought Jake would have. For those who hated it, I suspect you have not let yourself feel the emotions the book was meant to stir. Cheers to Hurt!

Superb story, well read

The definitive novel of the Lost Generation. Fast, promiscuous lives in Paris, Spain. Bullfighting and infighting, told in Hemingway's trademark understated, elegant way. Simply outstanding.

William Hurt's choice of emphasis on parts of the sentence struck me as odd at first. Pauses and emphasis where you don't expect it give a feeling of awkwardness, like Macon Leary was reading this book.

As he is vocalizing Hemingway's inner voice I am not sure this is entirely out of place, but it took me a while to get used to it. Overall I really enjoyed the narration. The character voices were simply superb. Mr Hurt does a mean Scottish accent.

Wonderfully Minimal

This is the first instance of Hemingway's writing I've listened to, and I really enjoyed his simple and direct writing style. It's not easy to portray the empty and searching feeling of ennui that is so common among all people without having characters that come off as spoiled or pretentious, but this book manages it. While it's hard to say how my experience with this book is lacking in that my generation is not anchored by the common experience of war, I still found myself identifying with many of the characters. A fantastic, understated listen.

Classic

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I would say that I enjoyed listening to this book. Hemmingway's way with words is always exceptional and it was good to read another of his famous works. However, I noticed many similarities between this and his work a moveable feast which took me out of the story a couple of times.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The stroy itself was an intersting look into real events and therefore was pretty good.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really enjoyed the report of the fight. Hemmingway's courage to take what would be the climax for many authors and have it occur without the reader being directly involved. A courages and exciting choice.

Did The Sun Also Rises inspire you to do anything?

I will defeinitely read more Hemmingway and will never go to a bull fight.

William Hurt should keep his day job

This is the first time I’ve listened or read this book. Hurt’s timing and inflection was terrible, even when the text gave clues in italics and punctuation. I took to following along his narration with the book and confirmed it wasn’t me.

Perhaps I’m too far removed from Ernest’s (my 8th cousin) era to comprehend any greatness in this story. It does remind me of my young single military days in Europe, 55 years after this stories time. I remember them fondly but don’t see them as especially unique. Maybe that’s why the story feels like “that’s life” to me.

boring reading

dude made me fall asleep many times. very monotone and lacked emotions and emphasis in important parts. Please get someone else to narrate the book!