Many consider Ernest Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises, to be his greatest work. The story follows a group of fast-living, hard-drinking, disillusioned expatriates wandering through Europe in the mid-1920s. The main characters are lost, lacking meaningful foundations in their lives. Hemingway based the characters on his inner circle during his exploits in Paris and Spain. He thrived in a community of writers and artists, including James Joyce, E Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein. The Sun Also Rises showcases Hemingway's widely imitated concise writing style. His short, simple sentences and spare, natural-sounding dialogue are resonant.