Take a photo of a barcode or cover
npopowski 's review for:
A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was a bit underwhelmed by this book to be honest. I enjoyed Hemingway's prose and use of dialogue, as well as the banalities of that time period surrounding the war, but the romance between the two main characters felt a little performative at times and their dialogue did not feel like it aged well. As a woman reading this today, I couldn't help but feel like the love interest was made out to be someone Hemingway wanted her to be, not really what she would be like at the time. Through the end, she was obsessive over the way she performed in front of him, or how he perceived her, worrying about appearances as she slowly withered away, as he left her to drink throughout the labor and eat at the local cafe. It was jarring, to be honest, and dulled the emotional impact of the ending for me.