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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
the ending???? just reach into my chest cavity and rip out my still beating heart
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Wow. Don't let the terse sentence structure and dated dialogue keep you from finishing this book. It packs an emotional punch.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the only reason this gets one star is because I'm feeling generous, and I did appreciate the commentary on war.
"And the spirit is no older and not my wiser."
"You are wise."
"No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful."
This struck me. The whole exchange made me think, and I recalled the connection to AP Euro last year where my class discussed that 'old men make wars, but it is young men who fight them.' Just the whole idea is so fascinating to me and truthful. It's basically the truth slapping you it the face and calling out to you.
While Hemingway's commentary on war was a strong point, his writing style is non descriptive, but easy to read and fast paced. The book seems too long, but I read fast and moved. The pacing was decent, though I prefer more detail. However, the book get EXTREMELY repetitive. I will get into the romance soon because it is the definition of terrible, but whenever Frederick and Catherine had dialogue it was a repeat of everything they ever said.
There is no character development, no learning new and exciting things about your lover, just poorly written small talk and lust between the two. They meet, and Frederick, the main character, is introduced to Catherine by his cot-mate/roommate Rinaldi, who already holds some interest in Catherine. But what does Frederick do? He goes after Catherine because she was better looking and nicer to him. Yet, Rinaldi is okay with it because "she likes you better, anyways." REALLY? He just lets it go because he knows his place, and he doesn't fight him, he just lets it happen. Honestly Rinaldi is probably the best character because he is comedic relief, a moral person, and kind. Thank God there wasn't a fist fight or some shit show for Catherine's favor or else I definitely would NOT have finished this book. Okay, so after they have one conversation, Frederick asks to kiss her (consented kiss-a good thing or a social trend of 1916????) and she's like "No," (I cheered) but then he's like "please" and goes in for the kiss and SHE SLAPS HIM. I think I danced a little when this happened, but she says she's sorry. And I just stopped.
NO.
Stupid misogynistic author.
But yet.
"I was angry and yet certain, seeing it all ahead like the moves in a chess game."
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? He plays her, so that she feels sorry and in the wrong. #NOPE Also I was pissed by the fact that she was blonde, so I think he just promoted a dumb blonde stereotype.
Ugh, okay so it gets worse.
After that she agrees to kiss him, but after she keeps her lips closed the whole time, and he tried to pry them open, she then proceeds to lay her head on his shoulder and CRY.
"Oh darling," she said. "You will be good to me, won't you?"
What the hell I thought. I stroked her hair and patted her shoulder. She was crying.
"You will, won't you?" She looked up at me. "Because we're going to have a strange life."
Ummmm where do I start?!?!
-portrayed girls as weak and spineless
-has her crying on his shoulder (terrible trope/move/choice) and then had her still interested in him, despite his lack of answer of treating her well.
-'what the hell I thought.' a man afraid of female tears. aka emotion.
Okay but afterwards, he goes after her. And he's always thinking about her, and they kiss when they meet up which is basically every night.
W H Y?!?!
He seemed as though he had Z E R O interest in her, and she was unsure, but nope let's throw them together. #revengepiece because that's what this is. Hemingway was hurt as an ambulance driver in WWI, and he fell in love with his nurse, but after he was healed up and all and the war ended she left because he was too young and she wasn't very interested anymore. #amazing So, young heart broken Hemingway wrote this book as revenge. He made Catherine a lovesick fool, who lived only to "please her husband." ALL TOO MANY TIMES she mentioned that she'd do 'whatever he wanted,' or 'if it'll please you,' or 'I promise I'll be good, a good wife.' YUCK. I almost threw up in my mouth a couple times. Is this actually what Hemingway believed because his marriage to Martha Gellhorn makes it seem this way. To summarize, she was a journalist and she left as a foreign war correspondent for WWII despite Hemingway's wishes that she stay home and they not get involved, but SHE WENT ANYWAYS BECAUSE SHE'S ALLOWED TO and so he decided to go along and report because she went and he had to keep an eye on her. I love Martha Gellhorn, so look her up, but I guess Hemingway charmed her so well because I can stand that she was married to him.
Okay back to this suckass romance. As I mentioned this is a revenge piece for what happened in real life. So like real life, Hemingway had to portray his main (aka himself) as one of his 'code heroes' which I have to talk about in class. A code hero has grace under pressure, drinks a lot, fears death but has their dalliances with it, is a womanizer, well travelled, and such. So, Frederick (the main) is hurt in the war while trying to attain food. THE IRONY. Okay but I might have died this way in actual war, by trying to get food. Anyways, he return and Catherine transfers to his hospital to be with him and take care of him, and it's like day two or three of her being there and he's already horny and asking for sex, but she's like "no you're not strong enough, rest" and he's like "please" and she gives in. It wasn't obvious like that, but it was highly suggestive.
Is this supposed to be manly? Having sex have after you almost died and are injured?
I see the appeal-live for today because you legit just almost died, but why not just wait until you can properly use your knee before you make love. It just seems really stupid to me: he could further injure himself by trying, especially if he feels the need to be on top. Which with his busted knees seemed impossible.
Hemingway just feels like a James Bond reject. He lives the lifestyle, but he never had enough action. He has the girls, the drinking addiction, and the near death experiences. I only like the Daniel Craig James Bond because at least he seems to have more of a moral compass around women. But don't quote me on that.
Okay so the romance: they get pregnant. SHOCKER. And NEITHER of them make a big deal about it. At first he seemed a little worried, but Cat just played it off.
I wanted to scream and I might have.
He return to war, leaving her preggers, but he eventually returns to her as a deserter WHICH IS HYPOCRITICAL OF THE HEMINGWAY CODE HERO. He may have escaped death with "grace under pressure," but being a deserter is more the act of a coward than a hero. #JUSTSAYIN
Continuing on, he returns and they act as if there was no separation. She cares little about his fugitive status and lets him make up the plans to get away, she's just glad to see him. I get the excitement of seeing him again, BUT REALLY, the lack of interest of staying alive. NOT COOL.
Women are not that naïve.
Hemingway the fact that you thought that makes you naïve, and the fact that you thought women would play it off makes you naïve. The fact that you think ALL men would believe this makes you naïve, none of my favorite male characters would stand for this..OH WAIT.
I'm kinda kidding, I don't think all men would agree, but maybe I'm being optimistic.
Lets skip to the end because until it's time for her to give birth they just fuck, drink, and eat.
Okay so it's time for her to give birth, and she gets drunk/high/mind fucked on this anesthetic gas, and keeps asking for it, but Frederick just does what she wants. Sure let him NOT be overbearing and manly and independent now when he needs to put his foot down and not let her have all these drugs repeatedly.
Then Hemingway had the audacity to make the child end up dead, but also kills off Cat because of hemorrhages.
Obviously someone's still bitter about being dumped.
And he didn't even care about the child, all he cared about was if Cat was still alive. Mixed emotions here bc I appreciate "wife" loyalty but at the same time he literally said "I was not ready to be a father, I had no connection to fatherhood." So?!?! He stays with her as she dies, and when she does he has literally no reaction. You'd think he'd cry or punch a wall or do SOMETHING, but he exchanged his anger slightly at the doctor for saying she should proceed with the C-section, and then "left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain." That's it. No emotion. It's as if he didn't care about her anymore and would move on. What a great guy.
So that's basically how I feel about this book. I definitely have more things I'd like to go into specifics about, but I didn't mark any of the more specific lines that I found problematic, so...
IZZY OUT.
"And the spirit is no older and not my wiser."
"You are wise."
"No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful."
This struck me. The whole exchange made me think, and I recalled the connection to AP Euro last year where my class discussed that 'old men make wars, but it is young men who fight them.' Just the whole idea is so fascinating to me and truthful. It's basically the truth slapping you it the face and calling out to you.
While Hemingway's commentary on war was a strong point, his writing style is non descriptive, but easy to read and fast paced. The book seems too long, but I read fast and moved. The pacing was decent, though I prefer more detail. However, the book get EXTREMELY repetitive. I will get into the romance soon because it is the definition of terrible, but whenever Frederick and Catherine had dialogue it was a repeat of everything they ever said.
There is no character development, no learning new and exciting things about your lover, just poorly written small talk and lust between the two. They meet, and Frederick, the main character, is introduced to Catherine by his cot-mate/roommate Rinaldi, who already holds some interest in Catherine. But what does Frederick do? He goes after Catherine because she was better looking and nicer to him. Yet, Rinaldi is okay with it because "she likes you better, anyways." REALLY? He just lets it go because he knows his place, and he doesn't fight him, he just lets it happen. Honestly Rinaldi is probably the best character because he is comedic relief, a moral person, and kind. Thank God there wasn't a fist fight or some shit show for Catherine's favor or else I definitely would NOT have finished this book. Okay, so after they have one conversation, Frederick asks to kiss her (consented kiss-a good thing or a social trend of 1916????) and she's like "No," (I cheered) but then he's like "please" and goes in for the kiss and SHE SLAPS HIM. I think I danced a little when this happened, but she says she's sorry. And I just stopped.
NO.
Stupid misogynistic author.
But yet.
"I was angry and yet certain, seeing it all ahead like the moves in a chess game."
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? He plays her, so that she feels sorry and in the wrong. #NOPE Also I was pissed by the fact that she was blonde, so I think he just promoted a dumb blonde stereotype.
Ugh, okay so it gets worse.
After that she agrees to kiss him, but after she keeps her lips closed the whole time, and he tried to pry them open, she then proceeds to lay her head on his shoulder and CRY.
"Oh darling," she said. "You will be good to me, won't you?"
What the hell I thought. I stroked her hair and patted her shoulder. She was crying.
"You will, won't you?" She looked up at me. "Because we're going to have a strange life."
Ummmm where do I start?!?!
-portrayed girls as weak and spineless
-has her crying on his shoulder (terrible trope/move/choice) and then had her still interested in him, despite his lack of answer of treating her well.
-'what the hell I thought.' a man afraid of female tears. aka emotion.
Okay but afterwards, he goes after her. And he's always thinking about her, and they kiss when they meet up which is basically every night.
W H Y?!?!
He seemed as though he had Z E R O interest in her, and she was unsure, but nope let's throw them together. #revengepiece because that's what this is. Hemingway was hurt as an ambulance driver in WWI, and he fell in love with his nurse, but after he was healed up and all and the war ended she left because he was too young and she wasn't very interested anymore. #amazing So, young heart broken Hemingway wrote this book as revenge. He made Catherine a lovesick fool, who lived only to "please her husband." ALL TOO MANY TIMES she mentioned that she'd do 'whatever he wanted,' or 'if it'll please you,' or 'I promise I'll be good, a good wife.' YUCK. I almost threw up in my mouth a couple times. Is this actually what Hemingway believed because his marriage to Martha Gellhorn makes it seem this way. To summarize, she was a journalist and she left as a foreign war correspondent for WWII despite Hemingway's wishes that she stay home and they not get involved, but SHE WENT ANYWAYS BECAUSE SHE'S ALLOWED TO and so he decided to go along and report because she went and he had to keep an eye on her. I love Martha Gellhorn, so look her up, but I guess Hemingway charmed her so well because I can stand that she was married to him.
Okay back to this suckass romance. As I mentioned this is a revenge piece for what happened in real life. So like real life, Hemingway had to portray his main (aka himself) as one of his 'code heroes' which I have to talk about in class. A code hero has grace under pressure, drinks a lot, fears death but has their dalliances with it, is a womanizer, well travelled, and such. So, Frederick (the main) is hurt in the war while trying to attain food. THE IRONY. Okay but I might have died this way in actual war, by trying to get food. Anyways, he return and Catherine transfers to his hospital to be with him and take care of him, and it's like day two or three of her being there and he's already horny and asking for sex, but she's like "no you're not strong enough, rest" and he's like "please" and she gives in. It wasn't obvious like that, but it was highly suggestive.
Is this supposed to be manly? Having sex have after you almost died and are injured?
I see the appeal-live for today because you legit just almost died, but why not just wait until you can properly use your knee before you make love. It just seems really stupid to me: he could further injure himself by trying, especially if he feels the need to be on top. Which with his busted knees seemed impossible.
Hemingway just feels like a James Bond reject. He lives the lifestyle, but he never had enough action. He has the girls, the drinking addiction, and the near death experiences. I only like the Daniel Craig James Bond because at least he seems to have more of a moral compass around women. But don't quote me on that.
Okay so the romance: they get pregnant. SHOCKER. And NEITHER of them make a big deal about it. At first he seemed a little worried, but Cat just played it off.
I wanted to scream and I might have.
He return to war, leaving her preggers, but he eventually returns to her as a deserter WHICH IS HYPOCRITICAL OF THE HEMINGWAY CODE HERO. He may have escaped death with "grace under pressure," but being a deserter is more the act of a coward than a hero. #JUSTSAYIN
Continuing on, he returns and they act as if there was no separation. She cares little about his fugitive status and lets him make up the plans to get away, she's just glad to see him. I get the excitement of seeing him again, BUT REALLY, the lack of interest of staying alive. NOT COOL.
Women are not that naïve.
Hemingway the fact that you thought that makes you naïve, and the fact that you thought women would play it off makes you naïve. The fact that you think ALL men would believe this makes you naïve, none of my favorite male characters would stand for this..OH WAIT.
I'm kinda kidding, I don't think all men would agree, but maybe I'm being optimistic.
Lets skip to the end because until it's time for her to give birth they just fuck, drink, and eat.
Okay so it's time for her to give birth, and she gets drunk/high/mind fucked on this anesthetic gas, and keeps asking for it, but Frederick just does what she wants. Sure let him NOT be overbearing and manly and independent now when he needs to put his foot down and not let her have all these drugs repeatedly.
Then Hemingway had the audacity to make the child end up dead, but also kills off Cat because of hemorrhages.
Obviously someone's still bitter about being dumped.
And he didn't even care about the child, all he cared about was if Cat was still alive. Mixed emotions here bc I appreciate "wife" loyalty but at the same time he literally said "I was not ready to be a father, I had no connection to fatherhood." So?!?! He stays with her as she dies, and when she does he has literally no reaction. You'd think he'd cry or punch a wall or do SOMETHING, but he exchanged his anger slightly at the doctor for saying she should proceed with the C-section, and then "left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain." That's it. No emotion. It's as if he didn't care about her anymore and would move on. What a great guy.
So that's basically how I feel about this book. I definitely have more things I'd like to go into specifics about, but I didn't mark any of the more specific lines that I found problematic, so...
IZZY OUT.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated