Farewell To Arms

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting read
Review: This was the first Hemingway novel I ever read. Like one of the other reviewers, I don't pretend to understand and analyze all of Hemingway's symbolism, but with the help of Cliffs Notes and SparkNotes (online at www.sparknotes.com), I discovered how masterful Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms is. This is not difficult reading, but it is beautifully worded and the descriptions of places and events are spellbinding. This is one of the better high school required books I have read. If anyone wants to get into the classics, A Farewell to Arms is a good place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Every Star
Review: First, let me start with the important facts. A Farewell to Arms is the kind of book that always keeps you interested. As the story builds, so does the suspense with each passing action. In short, the novel is not dull.

Between happenings, Hemingway describes scenes in such vivid detail that can't help but capture the mind's curiosity. If you read this, and let him weave his magical tale, you won't be disappointed.

At the base of the novel, there's an excellent story. Anyone that reads it, while giving his or her full attention to the book, should have an excellent and refreshing experience.

By the way, you don't have to be a Hemingway fan to like this story; it's an all around great book. I wish I could describe all of the fantastic things that he puts in, but I think it's best to know very little about the story before reading it. Check this book out and have fun.

Rating:
Summary: Layers of Symbolism
Review: Required high school reading 25-years ago, I found the book to have more meaning from an adult perspective. A sometimes rambling tale of love and war, Papa Hemingway's prose runs the gamut from masterful to mind-numbing. Not his best work.

Rating:
Summary: Hemingway in earnest
Review: The words in this book are scripted in black ink upon the pages and the pages of the book are white. The whiteness of the each page is light against the darker skin of the fingers of your hand as you turn the pages of this book after reading the words on each page. A white page might be stained with a dried brown puddle of coffee if you accidentally spill your coffee in an effort to stay awake while reading this book. The ponderous oncoming words on the seemingly endless pages of this book flow ponderously as they keep coming on each page, white page after white page of script in black ink. Coffee is good and necessary for anyone who reads this book, good hot coffee in a mug with cream and sugar to keep you awake from word to word, page after page. ZZZZZzzzzzz.

Rating:
Summary: hemingway is the best ever
Review: i feel sorry for all you people who thought that this book was bad. this is one of the best books ever written. anything written by hemingway is going to be an excellent book. if you like hemingway there's no way that you won't like this. it's classic hemingway and it is a great love story. it's one of the saddest books that i have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: My first with Hemingway, maybe my last
Review: Okay, I don't mean to be critical of Hemingway's writings. I mean I can hardly call myself an expert since I've only read A Farewell to Arms. And to tell the truth it's all I desire to read. The only reason I picked it up was because it was on my high school summer reading list. I know he's well known for his writing, but I found it rather asinine. I'm sorry, but his short, choppy writing style just didn't work with me. Maybe I like it when books go into deep detail and take awhile to say one thing, or maybe it's just that I haven't let Hemingway grow on me yet. The only reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 2 is because I thought he did a wonderful job at portraying a love story during the brink of war. So if you must read this book, read it for the story line and not the author.

Rating:
Summary: An American Great
Review: I read this book because I had to, and in the end I enjoyed it very much. (...the wonder of school.) Seriously, though, Hemingway's writing is truly outstanding and I for one don't believe that he is too objectionable, as some apparantly feel in his treatment of women, to be widely appreciated. Other than that non-issue, the book is really outstanding in its plot, but even one who doesn't read much will greatly enjoy and appreciate the extraordinary "economy" of Hemingway's prose.

Rating:
Summary: Good reading for experienced men and women
Review: "Fairwell To Arms" was no easy reading because the development of the story was very slow. I think that Hemingway was trying to express the sadness of war, and also the loneliness that accompanies it. Even though Henry thought that Katherin would give him happiness and to forget about the war, he was still alone and sad at the end. It shows Hemingway's pessimistic view in life. Throughout the book, Henry was always drinking. I wonder if Henry drank all the time was because he didn't want to feel the pain of war and to think at all. His complete indulgence of Katherin was also another escape for him to avoid feeling anything about the war. It is a tragedy.

Rating:
Summary: Not Hemingway's Best
Review: I read this in high school about twenty years ago, and recently decided to revisit this work. I think this is an important thing to do. As our lives change, quite often the meaning of great books change to us also, and we can gain an even richer experience. I am sorry to report that this is not the case with this novel. At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I would suggest that this book is a long way from resembling the great canon of work that is Hemingway's.

Now don't start screaming yet. Please bear with me. To begin with, don't we seem to have a rather idealized version of our hero's girlfriend? She is blonde, slender and beautiful; falls in love with him immediately; and without any complications. Every time she is with him, everything is just "grand." Isn't this just a little too perfect? We know she is Scottish, but what else? She has no brothers, sisters, or mother and father that we know of. What indeed, is she doing in Italy, other than simply being available? She's not much of an idealist. After all, it didn't take much convincing for her to leave the war, just as our hero did. Who is she?

For that matter, what about Mr. Henry? He is an American fighting in the Italian army as an ambulance driver during World War I. Yes, I know this is true of Hemingway's life, but as fiction, we need more clarity. Isn't this a little unusual? Why is he there? He never explains. He's there, he gets wounded, he fights again, he gets sick of it, he leaves. Even more annoying, his family always seems to send him money when he gets in a jam. The perfect out. Who are they, and why do they do this?

Even worse is the contrived ending. I won't give away the details, but wow, he sure comes away clean. As George Carlin said in a comedy routine: "Boy, you ARE a good sport!" It is a bit much.

Don't get me wrong. Hemingway was a great writer, and there is a lot of good stuff in here. His relationships with the Italians and his description of the retreat ring true. But there is too much missing for this to be considered a great novel on its own. If you want the best of Hemingway, you have to go further. Start with "For Whom the Bell Tolls," if you don't believe me, or any of the hundreds of great short stories he has. Even this one is a very good read. But remember, he wrote it at the tender age of 30, and clearly, his best work was yet to come.

Rating:
Summary: In the rain...
Review: I am not even going to pretend that I am intelligent enough to discern the symbolism and such in this classic novel. Besides, symbolism is nice, but so is this story. That being said, for those of you who have not read this book, I encourage you to do so. It is a story of love and war. Love between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley. The former is an American, but is serving the Italians in their war effort against Austria. The latter is a British nurse who is also aiding the Italians. The two met when Henry was injured from schrapnal that came out of an Austrian bomb. The war is World War I. Hemingway creates an atmosphere that lets the reader comprehend and visualize how devastating this war truly was. He is like a master chief who carefully adds the proper amounts of love and the struggle of war in his story. It's beautiful. It's sad. Hemingway has such an eye for detail that I am willing to assert that he has the ability to tell the reader what it is like to be human during this period. There's no embellishing, no exaggeration. Please let Hemingway tell you his story.