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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
feels so good to be free of this book’s shackles. some beautiful writing but tell me why it felt like a first draft. also it did NOT need to be 598 pages.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In case you need an explanation as to what makes Hemingway great, For Whom the Bell Tolls is a perfect showcase novel for his talent as one really has to have it in him to make a reader sit through a 500 pages long war novel where virtually nothing happens until the last 20-30 pages. All the characters do is talk: they talk when they eat, make love and go on patrols; they talk about the war, the country, the violence on both sides, their lives before, during and hopefully after the war. And somehow Hemingway manages to keep the reader involved in the conversations, while simultaneously waiting impatiently for the action to commence. It seems to be the main point he is trying to make: war is as far away from herioc images people usually have of it as possible, it consists of gruelling waiting, incessant preparations and never-ending conversations; the actual combat comes and goes as if in a nightmare leaving nothing but burned ground for more waiting, more preparations and conversations.
The most challenging thing about the novel is its language, which in a way imitates old English, which, in turn, is used to render the differnce between formal and informal registers in Spanish (it is presumed the majority of the dialogues are held in Spanish). It doesn't take much time, though, to get used to it, and the combination of old English pronouns with different Spanish words left untranslated creates an absolutely unique flavour. For Whom the Bell Tolls a mesmerizing novel, yet having finished it, you can't be sure whether you've been hypnotized by it for better or for worse.
The most challenging thing about the novel is its language, which in a way imitates old English, which, in turn, is used to render the differnce between formal and informal registers in Spanish (it is presumed the majority of the dialogues are held in Spanish). It doesn't take much time, though, to get used to it, and the combination of old English pronouns with different Spanish words left untranslated creates an absolutely unique flavour. For Whom the Bell Tolls a mesmerizing novel, yet having finished it, you can't be sure whether you've been hypnotized by it for better or for worse.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Makes me want to grab a rifle run to the mountains and shoot nazis
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes