FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

Rating:
Summary: A truly magnificent work
Review: This book is the best book I have ever read. In it, Hemingway deeply explores the main character, Robert Jordan. The reader is able to get a thorough understanding of this remarkably realistic character. His philosophy is that war is horrible, but necessary at times. He does not wish to execute some orders, but knows that he must. He does not like his fate, but he accepts it. I quickly found myself caught in the strong plot, and enjoyed Hemingway's rich detail. The book is elegant and yet gruesome; there is a stark contrast between the love of Robert Jordan and Maria, and the atrocities of war. This book is excellent. It will make you feel a myriad of emotions and will keep you turning the pages. I strongly recommend this book to all who love Hemingway's novels, because it is simply his best work. Hemingway goes deeper into the characters and their nostalgic reminiscences than any other. For those of you who are not familiar with Hemingway's novels, I strongly recommend that you read this book and become familiar with an outstanding author.

Rating:
Summary: For Whom the Bell Tolls is a great book by a great author.
Review: Hemingway changed literature. He was that significant. And even though he has been brushed aside, or assaulted, by literary history, he has not been forgotten by those who write and found their seminal inspiration in his work. For me, reading In Our Time was a life changing event. When I later picked up For Whom the Bell Tolls, the scenery, imagery, characters, situation, sense of place was so vividly drawn, painted, portrayed, that I could describe it decades later.... It is as if I have been there. The setting is Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. You have many very fine reviews here that can tell you about the story itself. I simply felt impelled to assert that I could identify with this story in some way that I did not relate to The Sun Also Rises. I've read this one twice and In Our Time three to five times.... and will undoubtedly read them again. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: It's a book alright.
Review: The book was not boring, but it was neither any fun to read. That's all

Rating:
Summary: I really liked this book,
Review: This was a really good book. I think many of you out there should read this, as it is a significant piece of literature, from a sigificant author.

Rating:
Summary: Overall Good Book
Review: The Book was well written. It provided me with many hours of entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Hemingway's definitive work
Review: This book is as meaningful as it is enjoyable. It presents life in no terms other than reality. The dichotomies that Hemingway explores, the anecdotes he tells, the characters he creates, and the experiences he describe all combine to create a spellbinding work.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves its Place in Literature
Review: Despite bpathrose's trenchant review and appreciation of great literature, this novel remains one of the finest novels of this century. Is our culture so corrupted by mediocrity that we can no longer recognize true, meaningful art? I believe that those that appreciate what is beautiful will embrace this book in the future as so many have in the past.

Rating:
Summary: This is the most boring book i ever read, so i burned it up.
Review: I hate this book no one should ever have to read this book, that is my opinion and if you you dont like it i dont care. This is a bad book dont read it.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful and insightful work.
Review: In FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS Hemingway again reveals how war affects the lives of the average citizen. The ones who are called on to fight and die in the war. The people who have no power in declaring the war and above all who don't want the war at all. The ones who are for the most part forgotten when it is over. A lot has been made over his unconventional and individual style but it is really Hemingway's experience that make his books important. He gives us a window into a time and place none will ever again visit and it is in this that we can begin to appreciate what war actually did to a country and it's people and why freedom is a precious commodity. Incidently, to quibble over why a character in a book of this stature would cut her hair is not only to miss the point of the work, but to not even try to find it. If you think you can do it better than Hemingway then write a couple of novels and we'll see if they become standards of American literature.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal truth
Review: This is a story about how simultaneously precious and arbitrary life can be at the same time. Hemingway tells us through his work that ultimately, our brief moment in the sun is nothing more than a chance to do something special and worthwhile, and it is up to us to seize the moment or let it pass. For Whom the Bell Tolls reads far better than The Sun Also Rises, and even though the settings are completely different, I think the same themes about hard-edged valor come through in both. Feminist attempts to emasculate Hemingway (as in other reviews here) seem rather cynical and pointless to me. I enjoyed this book very much. Hemingway has some profound things to say about life. You may not find the bitter message politically correct, but the truth has a way of being enlightening even if unpopular.