First published 1972
Jake Barnes sits in a Parisian café, watching the world pass by while nursing wounds that go deeper than those he received in the war. As an American journalist living in Paris during the 1920s, he moves through a circle of expatriate friends who drink heavily and talk endlessly about art, love, and the meaninglessness they all feel but rarely name. His complicated relationship with Lady Brett Ashley forms the emotional center of his days. She loves him but cannot be with him due to his war injury, yet neither can fully let go of the other. When the group travels to Pamplona for the running of the bulls and bullfighting festival, their personal dramas play out against the backdrop of Spanish tradition and ritual. Jake watches as Brett becomes involved with a young bullfighter, forcing him to confront the limitations his injury has placed on his life and his capacity for happiness.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, american, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Paris, Pamplona, Spain
Period: 1920s
208 pages · Paperback · Pan Books
Content warnings: war