Reviews

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

iltorre's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense

5.0

sleeping_probs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

aliceholmes's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

ollie_reading's review against another edition

a slight stylistic departure from his early major works, and the first fifty pages or so are engrossing and beautiful, but it gradually becomes more and more tedious and emotionally limp and utterly muted. events that should be exciting and terrifying and riveting feel like they're happening in a tiny snowglobe in your hand with figures so small and so quiet that you feel your eyes and ears straining to make any kind of connection whatsoever.

it's not hemingway in general that I'm allergic to because I found 'the sun also rises' and 'a farewell to arms' very good; it's more that those books exemplified his iceberg theory working exactly as it should while 'for whom the bell tolls' appears at first to be an iceberg but is actually a floe.

the flaw that seems constant in all of his fiction is also at its absolute worst here - the dull and rigid obsession with writing a very calm, sensible, stoic, rational thinking-man protagonist basically incapable of ever having flaws or embarassing himself in any way surrounded by hot-headed tempermental passionate types who are constantly engaging in petty squabbles and furious fights and generally looking silly while our hero sagely observes far too sophisticated to get dragged down into the dirt with them. in his previous novels it's bearable but here it's absolutely ridiculous, a mary sue of staggering proportions.

and I didn't even mention the sex/romance but plenty before me have covered that embarrassment quite well.

higgi109's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

panikstricken's review against another edition

funny hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

tomwyllie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-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? Yes

3.5

lindarlissima's review against another edition

1.0

this was my first and last venture into Hemingway. Can't stand those 5-word sentences, I felt like he was patronizing me! "He went to the water. He took a drink. It was cold. It felt good." Ugh. Then add a little horrible violence, some sex, and you have a novel! Yipee!

Barf.

emilymalonzo's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

3.0

cassiejane's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

My favorite Hemingway book that I’ve read. Takes a topic as vast as “War” and brings it down to a human level. Dialogue and characters were brilliant. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault