Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" first appeared in the magazine transition in August, 1927, and within a few months appeared again in the collection Men Without Women. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway's 1926 novel of life in Paris and Pamplona, had already secured the author's reputation as the spokesperson for his generation. Men Without Women further solidified critical approval of his early work. "Hills Like White Elephants" was singled out for special attention from reviewers. For example, Dorothy Parker, enamored with Hemingway and his prose, called the story in an early review "delicate and tragic." She further added, "I do not know where a greater collection of stories can be found."

Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, did not seem appreciate Hemingway or his prose. Her review, contemporary with the publication of the story, was filled with what could be termed "left-handed compliments." For example, she wrote, "There...