Josh Sumrall

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Josh Sumrall is Currently Reading

Josh Sumrall is currently reading

The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway

bookshelves: fiction, favorites, classics, favorite-fiction, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in December 2025

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Josh Sumrall said: " ”How do you feel?”
“I feel like hell.”
“Have another?”
“It won’t do any good.”
“Try it. You can’t tell; maybe this is the one that gets it. Hey, waiter! Another absinthe for this señor!” (178)

I really can’t fault those who don’t get The Sun also Rises. ”How do you feel?”
“I feel like hell.”
“Have another?”
“It won’t do any good.”
“Try it. You can’t tell; maybe this is the one that gets it. Hey, waiter! Another absinthe for this señor!” (178)

I really can’t fault those who don’t get The Sun also Rises. This was my fourth attempt to read this book. Attempts one through three never took off, but something about this book sunk it’s teeth into me and didn’t let go this time. It was an utterly enjoyable reading experience and I understand the immense love and acclaim that’s been thrown this book’s way.

The Sun Also Rises feels like Hemingway’s response to the book of Ecclesiastes, a connection he makes clear by opening up the book with a very KJV quote from Qoheleth. This in fact, may not be so much a response to Ecclesiastes as a resounding agreement with its message: vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

Hemingway’s cast of characters (who may be more real than fiction) are all searching for the longings of their hearts and the thing that will finally make them happy, only to be disillusioned and disappointed. What will finally make it all ok? Unlike Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes, Hemingway doesn’t say. This book’s lack of plot, hard boiled style, and intentional meaninglessness will, of course, lose many readers. Life is vanity upon vanity after all, and a lot of people don’t go to fiction to be reminded of that. I don’t really blame anyone who feels this way, but I’ve got to say that this book and its message really worked for me this time.

I found the dialogue in this book fantastic. My eyes flew down each page and I snorted quite a few times at the wit of the characters and the sincerity of their interactions. I am (and have always been) a fan of Hemingway’s hard boiled language and his iceberg theory of writing, so no surprise it won me over. This journey with the lost generation— much like the book of Ecclesiastes itself— was so poignant to me because it all felt so bluntly honest about the meaninglessness of life. The book turns 100 in a few months, and is still somehow true. I really loved this, and maybe the novel found me right when I was ready.

All of that said, I wish there was a little more Ecclesiastes 12 here. Without it, the truths in the novel may crush you. It seems like maybe they did, in fact, crush Hemingway in the end. ...more "

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"Re-reading this treasure in honor of it’s 100th birthday next month. A forever favorite book 😍" — Sep 03, 2026 06:22PM

Jan 10, 2026 03:02PM · see review