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willjf's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
colette_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nelly_070's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
mghoshlisbin's review against another edition
4.25
“Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers the numbers of regiments, and the dates” (185).
My first foray into Hemingway had been The Old Man and the Sea, which I had immediately fallen in love with. Santiago’s tale of pursuit is rapturous, and his prose sophisticated. A Farewell to Arms was a similarly impressive piece of literature.
I will admit that Hemingway’s tonality and form is unusual—the staccato quality of the sentences and the way he dances around the evocation of emotion can be a hit or a miss, depending on the reader and their preferences. However, in terms of a story set in World War I, such is A Farewell to Arms , I find this style specifically engaging, a perfect choice, for the ways that war creeps itself into our skin, into the pains of civilian life, across the borders of countries. There is no escape from its ravages—on the battlefield, in a hospital, or even within the beds of lovers. Hemingway’s style presents this without the falseness of sentimentality, and I think it brings the novel to more astuteness than most war stories, even some of the most lauded (i.e. All Quiet on the Western Front).
A Farewell to Arms follows American lieutenant Frederick Henry, who is an ambulance driver on the Italian front during the First World War. After he is injured during an explosion, he meets the English Catherine Barkley. Despite the harsh realities of war, Henry’s desertion, and the utter lack of certainty in a time of disaster, they fall in love. Throughout the novel, war infiltrates even their most intimate moments, or perhaps replicates itself there.
Hemingway builds an intriguing argument for the boredom of war as well. As I am new the war literature, perhaps this is a more vetted theme, but it was a fascinating topic for me. Throughout the novel, Henry provides long descriptions of the landscapes, primarily in Italy and Switzerland, which can seem hollow and mundane. Henry uses these as a way to engage himself, not only to distract himself from war, but to simply fill the time. In terms of style, Hemingway has a specific way of lacking sentence variation which inspires the sensation of repetition, boredom, sameness. “He drank a beer,” or “he read the paper”. They’re inherently non-descriptive and repeated over and over again, inspiring a monotony that spreads through Henry as much as it does the reader. Even so, however much Hemingway illustrates the boredom that can come with war, the efficacy of his writing style is sustained in the ways he also includes contrast. The passage in which Henry is injured through the shell explosion is quite graphic, jarringly so. Not only is the gore of the violence disturbing, but Hemingway intersperses the indifference of Henry with moments of true poeticism. “‘They [the soldiers] were beaten to start with. They were beaten when they took them from their farms and put them in the army. That is why the peasant has wisdom, because he is defeated from the start. Put him in power and see how wise he is” (179). The conversations between the priest and Henry throughout earlier sections of the novel are quite illuminating as to Hemingway’s feelings about war, and the consequences of its existence.
“I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty. I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow” (41).
It is arguable that the relationship between Catherine and Henry mirrors the boredoms and intensities of war. This is primarily through the strangely simultaneous lack of commitment and strong devotion that they have for one another. Catherine will flip flop on whether she cares for Henry or wants to see him. Henry will have moments of exceptionally deep devotion, and then immediately after, leave her side for a beer and lunch. Even the initiation of their relationship was somewhat lack luster - in which Henry revealed that he didn’t actually love her, but that their relationship could be some form of casual fun. Despite the fact that Henry abandons war to be with Catherine, he also reminiscences about his comrades while he’s with her. Or perhaps, despite the fact that they constantly talk about getting married, it never comes to fruition, even once Catherine becomes pregnant. Both of them fluctuate constantly. These moments of indifference are juxtaposed with a yearning crucial love - Henry’s litanies of prayers during Catherine’s onslaught of hemorrhages (330) alongside his regular food breaks during her difficult labor, or his complete lack of care for the baby who had died.
Hemingway is well-known for his love of objective realism, and this is just as clear in A Farewell to Arms, as Hemingway himself had been in the Ambulance Corps on the Italian Front. He had also had a relationship with Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse, to whom his indifference was also somewhat plain. There is not much commentary on their relationship that I can provide, but I find it interesting that Hemingway inserts himself into his own literature. Regardless, this was a lovely re-entry into Hemingway’s literature. I am sure to visit again soon.
My first foray into Hemingway had been The Old Man and the Sea, which I had immediately fallen in love with. Santiago’s tale of pursuit is rapturous, and his prose sophisticated. A Farewell to Arms was a similarly impressive piece of literature.
I will admit that Hemingway’s tonality and form is unusual—the staccato quality of the sentences and the way he dances around the evocation of emotion can be a hit or a miss, depending on the reader and their preferences. However, in terms of a story set in World War I, such is A Farewell to Arms , I find this style specifically engaging, a perfect choice, for the ways that war creeps itself into our skin, into the pains of civilian life, across the borders of countries. There is no escape from its ravages—on the battlefield, in a hospital, or even within the beds of lovers. Hemingway’s style presents this without the falseness of sentimentality, and I think it brings the novel to more astuteness than most war stories, even some of the most lauded (i.e. All Quiet on the Western Front).
A Farewell to Arms follows American lieutenant Frederick Henry, who is an ambulance driver on the Italian front during the First World War. After he is injured during an explosion, he meets the English Catherine Barkley. Despite the harsh realities of war, Henry’s desertion, and the utter lack of certainty in a time of disaster, they fall in love. Throughout the novel, war infiltrates even their most intimate moments, or perhaps replicates itself there.
Hemingway builds an intriguing argument for the boredom of war as well. As I am new the war literature, perhaps this is a more vetted theme, but it was a fascinating topic for me. Throughout the novel, Henry provides long descriptions of the landscapes, primarily in Italy and Switzerland, which can seem hollow and mundane. Henry uses these as a way to engage himself, not only to distract himself from war, but to simply fill the time. In terms of style, Hemingway has a specific way of lacking sentence variation which inspires the sensation of repetition, boredom, sameness. “He drank a beer,” or “he read the paper”. They’re inherently non-descriptive and repeated over and over again, inspiring a monotony that spreads through Henry as much as it does the reader. Even so, however much Hemingway illustrates the boredom that can come with war, the efficacy of his writing style is sustained in the ways he also includes contrast. The passage in which Henry is injured through the shell explosion is quite graphic, jarringly so. Not only is the gore of the violence disturbing, but Hemingway intersperses the indifference of Henry with moments of true poeticism. “‘They [the soldiers] were beaten to start with. They were beaten when they took them from their farms and put them in the army. That is why the peasant has wisdom, because he is defeated from the start. Put him in power and see how wise he is” (179). The conversations between the priest and Henry throughout earlier sections of the novel are quite illuminating as to Hemingway’s feelings about war, and the consequences of its existence.
“I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty. I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow” (41).
It is arguable that the relationship between Catherine and Henry mirrors the boredoms and intensities of war. This is primarily through the strangely simultaneous lack of commitment and strong devotion that they have for one another. Catherine will flip flop on whether she cares for Henry or wants to see him. Henry will have moments of exceptionally deep devotion, and then immediately after, leave her side for a beer and lunch. Even the initiation of their relationship was somewhat lack luster - in which Henry revealed that he didn’t actually love her, but that their relationship could be some form of casual fun. Despite the fact that Henry abandons war to be with Catherine, he also reminiscences about his comrades while he’s with her. Or perhaps, despite the fact that they constantly talk about getting married, it never comes to fruition, even once Catherine becomes pregnant. Both of them fluctuate constantly. These moments of indifference are juxtaposed with a yearning crucial love - Henry’s litanies of prayers during Catherine’s onslaught of hemorrhages (330) alongside his regular food breaks during her difficult labor, or his complete lack of care for the baby who had died.
Hemingway is well-known for his love of objective realism, and this is just as clear in A Farewell to Arms, as Hemingway himself had been in the Ambulance Corps on the Italian Front. He had also had a relationship with Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse, to whom his indifference was also somewhat plain. There is not much commentary on their relationship that I can provide, but I find it interesting that Hemingway inserts himself into his own literature. Regardless, this was a lovely re-entry into Hemingway’s literature. I am sure to visit again soon.
littybit89's review against another edition
3.0
I think this book would be better if I had a broader knowledge of WWI and European geography. Hemingway has expansive prose that could be enjoyed aesthetically, however.
swoodward727's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Wtf😟
snm1202's review
slow-paced
I know that the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started. But with Catherine there was almost no difference in the night except that it was an even better time.
votesforwomen's review
1.0
"Classics" aren't necessarily good, people. And since I have to do academic writing on this and can't yell anywhere else...LET'S DO A ROAST REVIEW because that is who I am. When in doubt...ROAST.
Meet I. Our protagonist. Also known as "Tenente". Hemingway assumes that his average American reader knows that this means "Lieutenant" in Italian. News flash: the average American reader is unaware of this fact, and thus I spent the first 100 pages of the book thinking that "Tenente" was I's actual name. This is a technique that works in flash fiction, people. Not in actual novels. Cue the screaming. (Also, this guy's name is "Federic Henry", which is apparently an American name, and from which one can also derive the nickname of "Fred".)
Meet Miss Barkley (also known as Catherine), our Love Interest. She was the Angsty, Insecure, Clingy, Codependent girlfriend BEFORE IT WAS COOL. The only problem, of course, is that there is absolutely 0 backstory to explain why she's like this, and we never get an explanation. I lies to her once, and as a result, SHE WILL NEVER TRUST HIM AGAIN OR SOMETHING WHAAAAAAA except that's never stated. It's just IMPLIED. Like everything in this book.
The other characters? Who needs them? We've got Rinaldi, easily the most entertaining character in the book--except that we don't really know anything about him. All we know is that he's the Original Sassy Gay Best Friend. (Or at least, I'm assuming he's gay. He spends the entire book calling "I" "baby" and asking him for kisses and this does not mean cheek kisses, y'all). Except he's also very into women. So. Is he bi? Is he just really troubled? Is this a really bad impression of Italians? Hemingway either: 1) doesn't know or 2) doesn't care.
Speaking of Italians: Hemingway informs us that "I" doesn't know how to spell in Italian. This is a clever ruse to disguise the fact that Hemingway himself doesn't know how to spell in Italian. As someone who knows a bit of the language and definitely how to SPELL some of the common words, I cringed every time they spoke in Italian. Because. HE MISPELLED "HI" IN ITALIAN. How does one even do that.
I know Hemingway has been lauded as a brilliant writer and I know it's a different time period. I'm going to try not to bring Fitzgerald into this review even though I could sing about how much I love Fitzgerald's writing style for at least a year. THE WRITING STYLE SUCKS OKAY. It really does. It's flat and uninspired and this guy has no clue how to use commas OR DIALOGUE TAGS. So half the time I had no clue who was talking and I just skimmed conversations (which is fine, they're literally all extraneous) because I couldn't keep up. How does one get away with writing like that? HOWWWW????!!!!!
Also, can I just mention: I had no idea that Americans in the Italian army were as rich as they were, or that they had to do as little fighting in World War One as this guy did, because he'd never been in combat before getting his leg badly injured, and I swear he had so much money he never needed to work another day in his life. His girlfriend really just stayed with him for the money, I think. He literally bought a cabin in the mountains in Switzerland and drank to excess AT SWISS BARS every single day and he never worked and never got paid. Like...how.
I could write an entire review about Hemingway's characters' view of women, but for right now, let's just say: he writes women like they're the worst (probably because he only knew flappers and they were kind of troubled), and his male characters are so obsessed with women that I was embarrassed to the point of literal actual tears at one point. That's right, y'all. This book literally made me cry from anger. Because these men...MY GOODNESS. The women are objects. We're at war so that we can sleep with all the girls who come along. These two innocent, small, helpless girls who need help escaping the German advance in Italy? Man, I wish we weren't so busy retreating...if we weren't heaven knows we'd be cheering our luck about finding a couple of virgins on the side of the road. (Please note: these two girls were FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN.)
Also the romantic relationship was entirely built off codependency and cruelty and this is not love, people. It genuinely isn't. "Am I a good girl?" "Please tell me I'm doing well. I just want to please you." "The rain doesn't change how much you love me, does it?" "I'm so fat because I'm pregnant and I think you probably don't love me anymore because I'm not thin and exciting anymore" <----ACTUAL LINES FROM THE MAIN GIRL IN THIS BOOK. Please. Please. Someone bleach my eyes because BLARGH.
I will write about this in English class because I have to. But I'm saying this right now: I never want to have to read Hemingway again. And I can find NOTHING good about this story. You heard that. NOTHINGGGGGGGGG.
I could rant for a very long time, but oh well. We're doing great. 1 star and please, spare yourself from ever having to read this book. If you have read it: I pity you, poor soul. Better luck next time.
Faith out. Have a great day :D
Meet I. Our protagonist. Also known as "Tenente". Hemingway assumes that his average American reader knows that this means "Lieutenant" in Italian. News flash: the average American reader is unaware of this fact, and thus I spent the first 100 pages of the book thinking that "Tenente" was I's actual name. This is a technique that works in flash fiction, people. Not in actual novels. Cue the screaming. (Also, this guy's name is "Federic Henry", which is apparently an American name, and from which one can also derive the nickname of "Fred".)
Meet Miss Barkley (also known as Catherine), our Love Interest. She was the Angsty, Insecure, Clingy, Codependent girlfriend BEFORE IT WAS COOL. The only problem, of course, is that there is absolutely 0 backstory to explain why she's like this, and we never get an explanation. I lies to her once, and as a result, SHE WILL NEVER TRUST HIM AGAIN OR SOMETHING WHAAAAAAA except that's never stated. It's just IMPLIED. Like everything in this book.
The other characters? Who needs them? We've got Rinaldi, easily the most entertaining character in the book--except that we don't really know anything about him. All we know is that he's the Original Sassy Gay Best Friend. (Or at least, I'm assuming he's gay. He spends the entire book calling "I" "baby" and asking him for kisses and this does not mean cheek kisses, y'all). Except he's also very into women. So. Is he bi? Is he just really troubled? Is this a really bad impression of Italians? Hemingway either: 1) doesn't know or 2) doesn't care.
Speaking of Italians: Hemingway informs us that "I" doesn't know how to spell in Italian. This is a clever ruse to disguise the fact that Hemingway himself doesn't know how to spell in Italian. As someone who knows a bit of the language and definitely how to SPELL some of the common words, I cringed every time they spoke in Italian. Because. HE MISPELLED "HI" IN ITALIAN. How does one even do that.
I know Hemingway has been lauded as a brilliant writer and I know it's a different time period. I'm going to try not to bring Fitzgerald into this review even though I could sing about how much I love Fitzgerald's writing style for at least a year. THE WRITING STYLE SUCKS OKAY. It really does. It's flat and uninspired and this guy has no clue how to use commas OR DIALOGUE TAGS. So half the time I had no clue who was talking and I just skimmed conversations (which is fine, they're literally all extraneous) because I couldn't keep up. How does one get away with writing like that? HOWWWW????!!!!!
Also, can I just mention: I had no idea that Americans in the Italian army were as rich as they were, or that they had to do as little fighting in World War One as this guy did, because he'd never been in combat before getting his leg badly injured, and I swear he had so much money he never needed to work another day in his life. His girlfriend really just stayed with him for the money, I think. He literally bought a cabin in the mountains in Switzerland and drank to excess AT SWISS BARS every single day and he never worked and never got paid. Like...how.
I could write an entire review about Hemingway's characters' view of women, but for right now, let's just say: he writes women like they're the worst (probably because he only knew flappers and they were kind of troubled), and his male characters are so obsessed with women that I was embarrassed to the point of literal actual tears at one point. That's right, y'all. This book literally made me cry from anger. Because these men...MY GOODNESS. The women are objects. We're at war so that we can sleep with all the girls who come along. These two innocent, small, helpless girls who need help escaping the German advance in Italy? Man, I wish we weren't so busy retreating...if we weren't heaven knows we'd be cheering our luck about finding a couple of virgins on the side of the road. (Please note: these two girls were FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN.)
Also the romantic relationship was entirely built off codependency and cruelty and this is not love, people. It genuinely isn't. "Am I a good girl?" "Please tell me I'm doing well. I just want to please you." "The rain doesn't change how much you love me, does it?" "I'm so fat because I'm pregnant and I think you probably don't love me anymore because I'm not thin and exciting anymore" <----ACTUAL LINES FROM THE MAIN GIRL IN THIS BOOK. Please. Please. Someone bleach my eyes because BLARGH.
I will write about this in English class because I have to. But I'm saying this right now: I never want to have to read Hemingway again. And I can find NOTHING good about this story. You heard that. NOTHINGGGGGGGGG.
I could rant for a very long time, but oh well. We're doing great. 1 star and please, spare yourself from ever having to read this book. If you have read it: I pity you, poor soul. Better luck next time.
Faith out. Have a great day :D