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A review by pgsweetdee
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
2.0
2.5/5
This was the book that did it for me. The first book of the year that I officially didn't finish, although I got close.
I've read a lot of books I haven't loved, both this year and others, and finished most of them. And I really like 'The Sun Also Rises' a lot... or at least when I read it a decade ago. This isn't even the book I've disliked the most this year (Looking at you, Tropic of Cancer).
But this book, man.
I think it's a combination of two major factors:
1. The acclaim of this book. Did you know that this book was unanimously recommended for the Pulitzer Prize? The only reason it didn't win was due to one old fart who thought the book was obscene. This book. The book that uses the word curse in stead of actual swear words.
2. The sluggish pacing. Yes, this is a sin of many great pieces of literature that me, the common man, just doesn't "get." But really- what is happening here? And why is it taking hundreds of pages? Maybe if Hemingway didn't feel the need to translate his Spanish so literally, and as a result inertly, this wouldn't grate as much. But even the interior life of our only well-rounded character is a bit shallow, because that's how our famed author likes to roll.
Anyway, folks love this book. It's historically important. It has a high rating on this site. But it's not for me. Sorry EH :)
This was the book that did it for me. The first book of the year that I officially didn't finish, although I got close.
I've read a lot of books I haven't loved, both this year and others, and finished most of them. And I really like 'The Sun Also Rises' a lot... or at least when I read it a decade ago. This isn't even the book I've disliked the most this year (Looking at you, Tropic of Cancer).
But this book, man.
I think it's a combination of two major factors:
1. The acclaim of this book. Did you know that this book was unanimously recommended for the Pulitzer Prize? The only reason it didn't win was due to one old fart who thought the book was obscene. This book. The book that uses the word curse in stead of actual swear words.
2. The sluggish pacing. Yes, this is a sin of many great pieces of literature that me, the common man, just doesn't "get." But really- what is happening here? And why is it taking hundreds of pages? Maybe if Hemingway didn't feel the need to translate his Spanish so literally, and as a result inertly, this wouldn't grate as much. But even the interior life of our only well-rounded character is a bit shallow, because that's how our famed author likes to roll.
Anyway, folks love this book. It's historically important. It has a high rating on this site. But it's not for me. Sorry EH :)