gmerganser 's review for:

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

5.0

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I really enjoyed this beautiful book despite its length. I especially liked the literal translations of Spanish (using thou, etc.) which made the reader's immersion in Spain more total and maybe mirrored Robert's/Hemingway's own thought process as people for whom Spanish is a second language. The romance with Maria was sweet at times, and Pilar, Pablo, and Anselmo were great characters, especially Pilar. A few keywords: tragic, brooding, romanticized, and leftist in a self-reflective way. Some questions brought up include: how should we feel about killing? How should we feel about our own death? Is our own death worth it for a hopeless cause?