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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
A wonderful story of love and war. The ending was heavy with emotion. My first Hemingway, but it certainly will not be my last!
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11318189
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11318189
Hemingway.
The word conjures so much for so many who love literature and writing. This book is the story of an American soldier working as a field officer in the Italian army during World War 1. (Never mind we never figure out how or why.) It’s about war, yes, but it’s also more about his relationship with the nurse who helps convalesce him from a battlefield injury near the Italian-Austrian border.
There’s an extraordinary amount of ennui in this book. The relationship is banal. His depiction of war life is flat and listless. Or is it Hemingway’s writing? Or is it so realistic in its uninterestingness (is there a better word here?) that this is what makes him a master? I read that Hemingway did not want to insert any interpretation of events into his narratives, leaving the reader to do so.
That’s certainly the case here. There’s no interpretation. Only a long string of events, one after the other. “I went to the hospital, then I drank, then Catherine visited me…” It’s seriously banal stuff. And yet…it’s compelling? That’s the paradox of Hemingway for me. I can’t decide.
The utter mundanity of his depiction of war, of his description of life and of love--I don’t know what to make of it. It’s confounding. It’s utterly realistic. But if I’m being candid, A Farewell to Arms is a tale that’s missing a soul.
—
One of my best friends, who is an English professor at a university, and who has read more widely than anyone I’ve ever met, recommended this book to me as one of the best he’s ever read. He gave it to me as a birthday gift two summers ago, which is the copy I read with gratitude to him for the gift.
The word conjures so much for so many who love literature and writing. This book is the story of an American soldier working as a field officer in the Italian army during World War 1. (Never mind we never figure out how or why.) It’s about war, yes, but it’s also more about his relationship with the nurse who helps convalesce him from a battlefield injury near the Italian-Austrian border.
There’s an extraordinary amount of ennui in this book. The relationship is banal. His depiction of war life is flat and listless. Or is it Hemingway’s writing? Or is it so realistic in its uninterestingness (is there a better word here?) that this is what makes him a master? I read that Hemingway did not want to insert any interpretation of events into his narratives, leaving the reader to do so.
That’s certainly the case here. There’s no interpretation. Only a long string of events, one after the other. “I went to the hospital, then I drank, then Catherine visited me…” It’s seriously banal stuff. And yet…it’s compelling? That’s the paradox of Hemingway for me. I can’t decide.
The utter mundanity of his depiction of war, of his description of life and of love--I don’t know what to make of it. It’s confounding. It’s utterly realistic. But if I’m being candid, A Farewell to Arms is a tale that’s missing a soul.
—
One of my best friends, who is an English professor at a university, and who has read more widely than anyone I’ve ever met, recommended this book to me as one of the best he’s ever read. He gave it to me as a birthday gift two summers ago, which is the copy I read with gratitude to him for the gift.
While I like Hemingway's succinct sentences, the technical aspects of war really aren't that interesting to me. I did not like a lot of the conversations also - too long and often hard to follow who is actually speaking. (Perhaps, though, that is how real conversations transpire.)And, I thought that some of Catherine's words seemed stilted, but then I read some letters written around that time and they were similar. So perhaps it just seemed weird in today's context.
However, Book Five, the last section of the book redeemed it for me. The focus of this part of the story is Henry and Catherine's happy time prior to the baby's birth. I found Tenente much more likeable in this section, more of a sympathetic character after he deserted. And in spite of his initial protestations, I do believe that he came to love Catherine.
This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Kathy. Some of the story takes places in the Julian Alps, near places where we recently travelled. However, I don't know geography well enough to recogonize many of the place names. (And I never did go to a map...) Seeing the area, though, gave me a better idea of the difficulties of fighting a war in that area.
"No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful." (261)
However, Book Five, the last section of the book redeemed it for me. The focus of this part of the story is Henry and Catherine's happy time prior to the baby's birth. I found Tenente much more likeable in this section, more of a sympathetic character after he deserted. And in spite of his initial protestations, I do believe that he came to love Catherine.
This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Kathy. Some of the story takes places in the Julian Alps, near places where we recently travelled. However, I don't know geography well enough to recogonize many of the place names. (And I never did go to a map...) Seeing the area, though, gave me a better idea of the difficulties of fighting a war in that area.
"No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful." (261)
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
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
Ako izuzmem Pokretni Praznik, ovo je verovatno moja omiljena knjiga koju je Hemingvej ikada napisao. Toliko je živa i deluje kao da ti se sve scene stvaraju pred očima. Njegova sposobnost da prenese filmsku atmosferu na papir je nešto što me konstantno oduševljava. Prošlog meseca sam u Za kim zvono zvoni imala žalbe na šofinističke likove i loše napisane žene-ovde nemam taj problem jer je Ketrin kompleksna i nezavisna.
Ne mogu dovoljno da nahvalim ovu knjigu. Maestralna je!
Ne mogu dovoljno da nahvalim ovu knjigu. Maestralna je!
Didn't finish. What's the hype? What makes Hemingway ''good''? He's a bore.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When you think of Hemingway, you think of a tough "man's man," but besides being a gritty novel about the First World War, it's also a gripping love story that will keep you completely hooked to the very end.