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threepigeons 's review for:
A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Unless I pick up something worse, this is going to be the worst read of the year by far. There were a lot of really promising passages where I was hoping for there to be some great points made and was disappointed every time.
At first, it seems like a novel about what it had been like to drive an ambulance in WWI. This was interesting, but extremely short-lived in favor of one of the worst romances I've read in my life. The main character's match regularly boasts having no attachments or interest in the world at all except for him after about two weeks of conversation. Most of her speaking lines were on the topic of having nobody else and wanting to interact with no one else (including both their families). I was hoping that this would evolve to some commentary about the two not being particularly suited to one another, but rather being forced together and only really wanting some semblance of normalcy or a desperation for someone to care about you when surrounded by war and death - but if this was a point he was trying to make, it wasn't very good. I really don't think Hemingway thought Miss Barkley was unusual or had reason to be dissatisfied.
I have to say, the book does pick up in the last quarter or so. Not enough to slog through the first 75% of the least exciting, zero chemistry romance you've ever read. The ending itself was unimpressive, and despite the big sad finish the only emotion I felt was joy that this horrible affair was all over.
At first, it seems like a novel about what it had been like to drive an ambulance in WWI. This was interesting, but extremely short-lived in favor of one of the worst romances I've read in my life. The main character's match regularly boasts having no attachments or interest in the world at all except for him after about two weeks of conversation. Most of her speaking lines were on the topic of having nobody else and wanting to interact with no one else (including both their families). I was hoping that this would evolve to some commentary about the two not being particularly suited to one another, but rather being forced together and only really wanting some semblance of normalcy or a desperation for someone to care about you when surrounded by war and death - but if this was a point he was trying to make, it wasn't very good. I really don't think Hemingway thought Miss Barkley was unusual or had reason to be dissatisfied.
I have to say, the book does pick up in the last quarter or so. Not enough to slog through the first 75% of the least exciting, zero chemistry romance you've ever read. The ending itself was unimpressive, and despite the big sad finish the only emotion I felt was joy that this horrible affair was all over.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, War