The Sun Also Rises: Reaction to the book

Going into this book from The Things They Carried, I thought this book would talk more about the war. The Sun Also Rises didn't even have any part of the war in it. I felt like it was just all about following the social life of a war veteran. I don't really see how this book got great reviews and is viewed as a masterpiece. I don't see anything powerful about it, and I don't understand how it helped make Hemingway one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. I definitely thought that Tim O'Brien's story was more inspirational. I really wasn't able to connect to any characters or parts of the plot in The Sun Also Rises, but I felt like I went through some of the same problems and emotions as the people in The Things They Carried. I think that maybe the time period difference between the two books had some impact on the way I feel. I usually prefer books that are set in modern times. The Things They Carried is set closer to present day than The Sun Also Rises is. I guess I just expected this book to be better than it was because of how prestigious and well-known Hemingway is.