A FAREWELL TO ARMS

Well, what did I use it (the book) for -! Read it !!!! You really must try harder .Excellent book - well written - plenty of factual stuff - however the last chapter was appalling. He tried 20+ times to find a suitable finish……he clearly failed…….

In a world riven by conflict, a fact that truly threatens to define humanity, Hemingway’s masterpiece remains as poignant and wrenching as ever.Utterly beautiful in its literary poeticism, utterly heartbreaking in its moral, it is understandable why this was lauded as the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Hemingway's style of writing is as unique as JD Salinger's or Joyce's. It is very sparse, purposeful and reserved. In the introduction his grandson writes that Hemingway wrote "on the principle of the iceberg. For the part that shows there are seven-eighths more underwater."The story follows Frederic Henry, an American lieutenant serving as an ambulance driver on the Italian front in WWI. He is wounded while eating cheese in a trench, gets a medal for bravery, and falls in love with a typically beautiful, devoted and idealistic English nurse while he is recovering. In their resultant journey, both physically and emotionally, Hemingway masterfully portrays the sheer futility of war and the ultimate truth of existence, that life marches inexorably on even after the most shattering of tragedies. It is an enlightened novel, a true exploration of the human condition. In the end there is always death.Henry's daring journey across the Italian countryside is my favourite part (as well as when he rows all night through the storm down the lake to try and cross the Swiss border before dawn - the image of him using his umbrella as a sail is so comic and desperate and perfect). But one of the most powerful moments takes place when Henry gazes into the fire. Hundreds of ants on a log are trying to escape the flames. He contemplates being a “messiah” and lifting them from their deaths, but after a moment, he simply empties his water glass on them so he can fill it with whisky. The water only makes the ants burn and sizzle faster.This book also has possibly the most shocking and abrupt ending to a novel I have ever read. Hemingway’s style of writing is indeed unique: very sparse, purposeful, reserved and intensely powerful. In the very opening paragraphs his technique emerges. If Emily Bronte’s writing was a blossom tree in full bloom, Hemingway’s would be a sparse acacia on a barren plain. He creates a rich and exquisite scene by continually returning to several powerful sensory images that root us firmly in the moment: the dusty leaves, the marching troops, all distilled beneath a clear, hot sky. There is almost a whispering undercurrent of assonance to the words through the repetition of ‘leaves’ and ‘river’ and ‘trees’ and ‘dust’ and ‘troops'. It is hypnotic. And this introduces us to the setting throughout the novel, the war-ravaged orchards and towns of Italy in summer.But the rain, oh the rain. It was perhaps a few chapters into the novel that I realised how Hemingway was using the rain to directly convey the events. Whenever the rain started, something bad happened. This got so extreme that as soon as the sky clouded over dread descended upon me. But we must interpret Frederic Henry’s narrative while bearing in mind that there are in fact two Henry’s, the man living out the events and the man recounting them an unknown number of years later (as it is first person past tense). So we see the world through a lens of bitterness and pain, lending a slightly detached and cold air to his words.Ultimately this is an anti-war novel. I have had a year or so now to recover from the end and to try to work out why this most heartbreaking and bitter of novels is such a national treasure. I have decided it is not the intensely powerful literary poeticism that makes the novel so raw and painful and hypnotic and perfect, but how it enlighteningly explores the human condition and exposes the brutal reality of war and the sheer inevitability of death. In the end there is always death, merely death and oblivion. From the moment Henry gets that pointless wound while eating cheese in a trench to the moment Catherine begins hemorrhaging I was captivated and tortured in equal measure. Alongside the meaningless slaughter of millions life goes on and by definition so does tragedy, of even the most natural kind. It will leave you feeling hollow, but it is one of those necessary reads.Fatalism and futility, that’s what I got from this novel. But is there any hope in this abyss? Perhaps it is indeed that life simply marches inexorably on, and ultimately by allowing it to break us we become stronger at the broken places."If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."

The protagonist joins the Italian army voluntarily at the beginning of the First World War and at first the reader is at a loss to pinpoint just why he has. During the second half of the book it becomes more and more clear that this is the position he himself is falling into. While his conversations with the Italian soldiers, who for various reasons are losing their enthusiasm for the war, are amusing and heartfelt, they do feel less important when viewed in the context of the whole novel. As readers we experience the frustration of the idleness against a facade of military discipline as the soldiers wait to fight and resort to alcohol and prostitution to kill time.Henry's love affair with Catherine at first seems very convenient and the result of circumstance more than anything. The injury for which he is hospitalised seems trivial and unheroic, yet he doesn't go out of his way to protest against his being awarded medals for bravery. Their idle talk appears infantile and heightened artificially by the looming presence of the war.These two aspects begin to resolve and make sense artistically however, when we reach the final third of the novel. Henry becomes separated from his regiment ironically because Italian troops, who have mistaken them for Germans begin shooting at them. Thus begins the real action sequence of the plot in his attempt to escape. Henry is caught and faces being shot as a deserter, but he manages to flee from that and reunite with Catherine, whom he learns is now pregnant, and they plan to run away to Switzerland (neutral territory) together.What follows in the last one hundred pages in my view makes up for the arrogance, misguidedness and flippancy demonstrated in the earlier parts. It is one of the most tender love stories I have ever read and its conclusion is devastatingly poignant. Persist and you will not regret opening this book!

I recently read "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and whilst a little dated now ( for example the use of "thee" and "thou) I neverthess thoroughly enjoyed the novel. The tight plot-line and sense of drama dragged me into the story and I really cared about the lead characters. It was and remains an exceptional novel and a wonderful example of the novelists art.I decided then to read "A Farewell to Arms" being Hemingway's first novel and the one that made hIs reputation. I must say that whilst I finished the novel I found it hard to warm to the main characters - Frederick Henry a rich, somewhat spoiled and dissolute American who deserts from the Italian army and Catherine, an English nurse who he falls in love (or should that be lust?) with. The dialogue between them often seems to be contrived and does nothing to advance the novel. This may be a result of the age in which the novel was written (1929), but whole chapters are spent describing how they spend their time in one city or hotel or another with very little of interest happening. Even the ending of the novel which Hemingway apparently rewrote 39 times did little to move me. It may be that I am missing something and readers will no doubt form their own view but compared to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" I found this first offering of Hemingway very average.

Hemingway at his best! Not too many writers have been able to capture the essence of human existence like him.

One of Hemingway's finest books.

Je laisse à chacun le loisir d'apprécier ce roman, ou pas. Il faut cependant signaler de nombreuses erreurs de frappe qui rendent la lecture parfois pénible

Humanistic theme, dynamic story, fascinating characters, enchanting narratives, beautiful storytelling and majestic dialogue, Hemingway proves once again that he is one of the greatest novelists.

I love this book, this edition, this author. It's undoubtedly a collectable.