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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Hemingway creates isolated characters in this novel. Though there is much interaction between them, never do they feel genuinely connected as people until the fifth book (this novel is divided into 5 books). Though death is a constant throughout this wartime tale, it does not act in a binary with life. Not until death do the relationships between the characters truly come to life.
I like Hemingway's writing style here that some reviewer's have seem to taken annoyance to. Hemingway painted picturesque landscapes as well as one can with words. Additionally, the book really showed some real affects of war. We got to see how war affected characters we cared about, from disease and injury to sudden death. It really does drive home the antiwar point. What I did find rather annoying was the dialogue between Fredric and Catherine. Catherine, for being such an integral part of the story, had absolutely zero character development or insights. She's rather static for playing such a large role, and almost serves as an accompaniment to Fredric. Weak character development for both Frederic and Catherine made it impossible to get involved in the romance. Because of this reason, the ending(which was kind of predictable I think?) didn't really hit as hard as it should have. It was still quite sad though, and sat with me for a bit. Overall, I think the character development could have been better, but there is some sections in here that are extremely well written and deserve to be read.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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:
Yes
The world breaks everyone 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.
After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Damn wtf 😭
As my first journey through a Hemingway book, it might require another read to fully grasp. What I can appreciate of it, however, is the ceaseless rhythm of war and life and how intertwined those two are... and how tragic they both can be.
It was very Hemingway-esque - beautifully and sparsely written, sexist as all get out, and perfectly tragic. There were parts of the book that made me scoff, namely Catherine because she's so submissive it's actually gross, but the ending made me tear up and I thought it was really poignant. Even the parts that made me a little mad at Hemingway were still very well written and overall I'm glad I took my time with it.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated