An early and enduring modernist novel, it received mixed reviews upon publication. Hemingway biographer Jeffrey writes that it is "recognized as Hemingway's greatest work.

The basis for the novel was Hemingway's trip to Spain in 1925. The setting was unique and memorable, depicting sordid café life in Paris and the excitement of the Pamplona festival, with a middle section devoted to descriptions of a fishing trip in the Pyrenees. Hemingway's sparse writing style, combined with his restrained use of description to convey characterizations and action, demonstrates his "Iceberg Theory" of writing.