Ernest Hemingway published The Sun Also Rises in 1926, when he was 27. It made him famous. It established what we now call the Hemingway style: short sentences, stripped-back prose, dialogue that carries more than it says, and the iceberg theory — if you know something fully, you can leave it out and the reader will feel its absence.
It is also a roman à clef — a novel about real people, thinly disguised — and Hemingway's expatriate circle in Paris recognised themselves immediately, not all of them happily.
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What The Sun Also Rises Is About
Jake Barnes is an American journalist living in Paris after the war. He was wounded — the nature of his wound is described once, obliquely, early in the novel, and then never mentioned again, though it determines everything. He is in love with Lady Brett Ashley, an Englishwoman of great beauty and restlessness who loves him back in her way, but their relationship cannot be what either of them wants.
They travel to Pamplona for the San Fermín fiesta — running of the bulls, bullfighting — with a group of friends: Robert Cohn (a romantic novelist who is in love with Brett), Bill Gorton (Jake's closest friend, good-natured and funny), and Mike Campbell (Brett's fiancé, bankrupt, increasingly drunk).
The fiesta is the novel's centre — vivid, alive, violent, everything the characters' Paris life is not. Pedro Romero, the young bullfighter, becomes Brett's next obsession. What follows breaks the group apart.
How Long Is The Sun Also Rises?
| Reading speed | Time to finish |
|---|---|
| 200 WPM | ~5.6 hours |
| 250 WPM (average) | ~4.5 hours |
| 350 WPM (practised) | ~3.2 hours |
| 500 WPM (RSVP) | ~2.2 hours |
Reading Strategy
Read for what is not said — Hemingway's iceberg theory means the important content is below the surface. The wound is never described. Jake's love for Brett is never declared. The significance of the fishing trip is in what Bill and Jake don't say to each other.
The dialogue carries everything — Hemingway's dialogue is the novel's main instrument. At warpread's RSVP mode at 400–450 WPM, the dialogue scenes flow with tremendous pace; don't slow down for them.
Book I (Paris) and Book III (aftermath) — slower, more interior. Use 300 WPM here.
Book II (Pamplona) — the fiesta is vivid and kinetic. 400 WPM. This is Hemingway at his most confident.
The last line — "Isn't it pretty to think so?" — is one of the great endings in American fiction. It repays reflection.
For the full speed reading technique, see how to read faster.
Where to Read The Sun Also Rises Free
- warpread library — instant reading, RSVP mode, no account needed
- Project Gutenberg — complete text, EPUB and download
- Standard Ebooks — best-formatted free EPUB
More Modernist Fiction in the Library
- A Farewell to Arms — Hemingway's WWI novel; the war that made the Lost Generation
- Mrs Dalloway — Woolf's modernist stream-of-consciousness; the same post-war world
- The Sound and the Fury — Faulkner's response to Hemingway's generation
For the full list of free classics, see the 50 best free classic novels to read online.
Continue Reading
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For tips on building reading speed with books like this, see How to Speed Read: 7 Proven Techniques — covering RSVP practice, subvocalisation reduction, and how to track your progress.
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Frequently asked questions
Is The Sun Also Rises free to read online?
Yes. The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926 and entered the public domain on 1 January 2022. You can read it free at warpread.app's library (Project Gutenberg ID 67138), Standard Ebooks, and many other sites — no account, no download, no payment.
How long does it take to read The Sun Also Rises?
The Sun Also Rises is approximately 67,000 words. At 250 WPM it takes about 4.5 hours. At 350 WPM around 3.2 hours. At 500 WPM with RSVP reading, about 2.2 hours. It reads very fast because Hemingway's prose is so stripped down — no sentence is doing more work than it needs to.
What is The Sun Also Rises about?
Jake Barnes, an American journalist in Paris in the 1920s, is in love with Lady Brett Ashley, an Englishwoman who cannot love him in the way he needs because he was wounded in World War I. Jake, Brett, and a group of expatriate friends travel to Pamplona for the fiesta and the bullfighting. The novel is about the Lost Generation — the people damaged by WWI who are living without purpose or direction — and about what happens when desire cannot be fulfilled.
What is Hemingway's iceberg theory?
The iceberg theory (Hemingway called it the 'theory of omission') is his writing principle: the dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. If you know something thoroughly, you can omit it from the page and the reader will still feel it. In The Sun Also Rises, Jake's wound is described once and then never directly referenced again — but it shapes every interaction in the novel. What is not said is as important as what is.
Who is the Lost Generation in The Sun Also Rises?
The Lost Generation is Gertrude Stein's phrase (quoted as an epigraph) for the generation that came of age during World War I and felt spiritually adrift afterwards. In the novel: Jake Barnes (impotent, wry), Brett Ashley (free-spirited, ultimately unhappy), Robert Cohn (romantic idealist who cannot face reality), Mike Campbell (bankrupt, drinking heavily). None of them can commit to anything. The war has made purposeful living feel fraudulent.
Is The Sun Also Rises good for RSVP reading?
The Sun Also Rises is ideal for RSVP reading. Hemingway's prose is built for pace: short declarative sentences, minimal description, rapid dialogue. At 400–450 WPM in warpread's RSVP reader, the stripped-down style flows exactly as intended. What's harder to catch at speed is the subtext — everything below the surface. Plan to read once fast, then reread key scenes slowly.
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