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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really didn't know where I stood with this until the very end.
First off, I am generally a fan of Hemingway's ultra-taut style and approach to underwriting his characters, though I do feel this lends itself best to his short stories. But Catherine was such a lifeless, chauvinistic-fantasy of a character that any time she appeared my eyes quickly glazed over. How the protagonist could fall in love with her speaks only to his need for a well-stroked ego; she serves no other function in the narrative. If the story had centred solely on the love affair, I doubt I could have finished it.
Where it pulled me back in was the depiction of the Italian retreat, the frantic insubordination and trial-by-fire of anyone of remote responsibility, and the protagonist's steady realisation that war is a dirty, often unheroic, business. The ending - especially the subtextual unravelling of a man unable/unwilling to encounter his own emotions - was moving enough to leave me on an overall positive.
First off, I am generally a fan of Hemingway's ultra-taut style and approach to underwriting his characters, though I do feel this lends itself best to his short stories. But Catherine was such a lifeless, chauvinistic-fantasy of a character that any time she appeared my eyes quickly glazed over. How the protagonist could fall in love with her speaks only to his need for a well-stroked ego; she serves no other function in the narrative. If the story had centred solely on the love affair, I doubt I could have finished it.
Where it pulled me back in was the depiction of the Italian retreat, the frantic insubordination and trial-by-fire of anyone of remote responsibility, and the protagonist's steady realisation that war is a dirty, often unheroic, business. The ending - especially the subtextual unravelling of a man unable/unwilling to encounter his own emotions - was moving enough to leave me on an overall positive.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A depressing account about the absolute banality of war and the extent of human stupidity and brutality. The love story was slightly more interesting despite its tragic ending.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
It had been a while since a book has emotionally destroyed me like that.
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes