Rating: 
Summary: My favorite Hemingway yet!
Review: For Whom the Bell Tolls is a fantastic book. Hemingway writes heroes with fears, doubts, and faults so well that I feel a deep connection with them. Not every man is a John Wayne; passing through life clear of purpose and without second thoughts. (But watch a little tv and you'd think it were so.) Hemingway creates characters I can understand, appreciate, and connect with. Also, Robert Jordan's love interest reflected my own with my fiancee. The book was fantastic for its story, its plot, the characters and the way it made me feel reading it and afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: Radical Transformation
Review: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS is a great book if you are interested in the history of the Spanish Civil War. It is also useful if you are seeking insights into Hemingway. So much of the novel is taken directly from the author's experiences as a foreign correspondent in Spain for the North American Newspaper Alliance.There are many facets of the book which contribute to its outstanding reputation. Hemingway's treatment of Robert Jordan, the protagonist, is exceptional. Jordan is a very complicated man who is radically transformed by the events described in the book. He is also the first Hemingway hero to contemplate suicide. El Sordo is a leader of another guerilla band which is operating in the same territory as the band in which Jordan serves as an aide. The description of El Sordo's last stand on a hill against the Nationalists is an example of Hemingway's best writing.
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Summary: Hemmingway Understands War, But Not Love
Review: Hemmingway paints an interesting picture of guerilla activity on behalf of the Republic during the Spanish Civil War and offers convincing insight into what motivates a soldier--particularly one who isn't even a native of Spain. But, like most of the "great" American male writers of the 20th century, his grip on love and women is loose at best. The "girl" Maria who wins his heart at first sight is barely 19, "moves like a colt" and repeatedly vows to please him in every way--"I will wash the socks for thee, and fix thy supper," etc., etc.--as soon as this pesky war is over with. Yes, yes, Pilar is a strong female character with an interesting past and clearly defined motives. But she's not worthy of being loved because she is no longer young and never was beautiful. Hemmingway even puts the words into her own mouth. Perhaps Hemmingway was trying to be too ambitious by throwing a love story into this book--either he was too lazy to make it very believable, or he really didn't understand love or women anyway (his personal life might attest to this). In any case, perhaps he should've just stuck with the war in this novel. I much preferred the interesting relationship depicted in "The Sun Also Rises."
Rating:
Summary: Best book by one of the Best Authors Ever
Review: Despite the fact that Hemingway won the Nobel for the Old Man and the Sea, this is easily his best work. It's combination of a gripping plot, intriguing and full characters, and simple, beautifully constructed prose is one that is rivaled by few works ever written. The story is not a complex one that nonetheless captures the imagination of the reader. It is one of love, heroism, convictions, responsibilities and an avalanche of vocabulary words more. His language comes off as repetitive only because it is true. It is true to the words that we speak in our everyday usage and we can assume that that's true of the people of his times. The short, crisp descriptions give the reader a lucidity that one wouldn't normally associate with the lack of syllables in the descriptions. Like Shakespeare, one looks at a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph or a page and cannot discern how anyone could change a word for the better. Everything he put down is as it should be. Potentiality in literature has been reached and fulfilled in this particular form and variety. This book ranks with the greatest of American culture, the English langauge as well as with the greatest the world has offered. I do not hesitate to include it with the Brothers Karamozov, Don Quixote, Journey into the Night, Hamlet and the few elite literary accomplishments that humanity has produced. So, yeah, it was a good book. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Hemingway at his best
Review: Ernest Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls For one who wants to read the book that has it all I recommend Ernest Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls. Friendship, strife, security, terror, love, war, good, evil; this book has them all. It is the story of Robert Jordan, a sympathizer of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, whose duty is to lead a band of guerrillas in blowing up a bridge as part of a Republican offensive. Along the way Jordan will learn the revolting pasts of several of the guerrillas, fall in love with one of them, and spend quite some time meditating on "truths" he was once sure he knew. No sooner has Jordan met with the guerrillas than he discovers that one of them, fearful of being hunted down by the fascist forces, stands against him and threatens to take the entire group away. This first taste of tension is mirrored several times over in Hemingway's gripping novel as Jordan's quest to destroy his bridge turns into a contemplation of whether his cause is truly worthy or not. Much of what Jordan sees recommends the latter. Jordan's guerrilla partners are not simple adornments to his crusade; they all have livid pasts and he finds much to learn from them. Even as they curse and spit at the fascists several of these guerrillas communicate, through their stories, arguments against the futility and cruelty of the war they have willfully taken up. Others, too young to realize what they have gotten into, create commentaries on war through their naïve brashness. Additionally the humanity of the guerrillas makes Jordan question the commands from his isolated, detached superiors. In time Jordan forms strong bonds with his friends and discovers that the thought of sending them into harm's way is not a simple abstraction. This is further complicated by a girl Jordan meets and falls in love with and Jordan's own questions about the worthiness of his orders. Like Robert Jordan we, as readers of For Whom The Bell Tolls, are invited to meditate on many of the thoughts that so bother him. What need a person do to live a full life? How important is it to stay true to principles, even when fighting in vain? What are the limits of brutality? These are a few of the questions Hemingway grapples with in his book. The answers are so well bound with the narrative that often one hardly notices a metaphysical discussion has occurred, but those who give the text a second look will find a philosophical subtext as gripping as the plot line. As for the story, Hemingway creates out of his assortment of characters a narrative of breathtaking beauty. For Whom The Bell Tolls has the power to move one to tears, wet hands with sweat, and force page after page of devoted reading. Hemingway's language is not the most beautiful, but in lieu of poetics his writing has the next best thing: crisp clarity. Perhaps the best thing to say about For Whom The Bell Tolls is that at nearly 500 pages (which glide by in a snap), scarcely one has been wasted. It is a war novel laced with the drama of a Henry James piece and a drama lacerated with the carnage of war. In other words this fine book of Hemingway's manages to transcend two genres and end up at some unknown point in between, but certainly above both.
Rating: 
Summary: I Obscenity In The Milk Of....Aw, Muck It.
Review: The plot, characters, etc. have all been discussed ad infinitum around here. Let's just say I was looking forward to my first Hemingway book. It took me three months to get through it. I'll read another one, but if it's anything like this one, maybe Ernie isn't for me.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I could give it 6 stars
Review: Robert Jordan is by far the most exciting, interesting and principled fictional character I've ever had the pleasure to read about. Set during the fascist take over in 1930's Spain, For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel that will easily stand the test of time (not much of a prediction since it was written in 1940) and is one of the finest books in the English language. Jordan, an American, is the main character who comes to Europe to fight the good fight against Franco's military thugs. The reader is given a fascinating in-depth look into his psyche, where he reflects on his fellow soldiers, plans for warmaking and the justifications and rationalizations along the war trail.
Pablo's another character that is burned into your consciousness long after you've finished reading. A fellow rebel (they weren't rebels in the true sense, since they were fighting for a government they had duly elected; however, they have all the characteristics of guerrillas in that the Spanish military waged an immediate and violent war against that very democratically elected government), the reader is left wondering just how committed he is to the cause. There is an incredible flashback story detailing Pablo's orchestration of the sadistic torture and humiliation of a group of wealthy fascist sympathizers. The vivid description involved in this passage is nothing short of extraordinary.
Of course the true democrats, fighting for the Republic against the well financed and better armed fascist military, eventually lose the war, but having that foreknowledge does nothing to detract from the cliff-hanger like feelings brought about by the various battles and journeys the rebel crew embarks upon.
This is the best, and most accessible of all of Hemingway's works. If someone is interested in reading Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls is the perfect starting point. As for Hemingway's style of prose, what more can be said, except that it's brilliant, enthralling and readily accessible to the common reader, unlike Joyce and Faulkner. In my opinion, every American should give some time to Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. Commitment, intelligence, sacrifice and fighting for the well being of your fellow man is all there along with a terrific love story. Given that the average American attention span is like a ferret on a double espresso (Dennis Miller), very few will give books like For Whom the Bell Tolls a try with the mass of pop TV garbage out there.
An excellent companion to the book is the documentary film "The Good Fight" narrated by Studs Terkel. It gives a mini history lesson of the Spanish Civil War and specifically focuses on a group of U.S. citizens (the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) who heroically went abroad and fought along side the democrats against Franco and his fascist military thugs.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books ever written
Review: An interesting historical novel set in the context of Revolutionary Spain, but classic Hemmingway, it carries with it the important lesson of activism over apathy, especially pertinent to today's world. It teaches that ideals transcend political boundaries and that if you believe in something strongly, then you owe it to yourself to protect that ideal in any part of the world and at any cost, even that of your life. Intwined is a beautiful love story. One of my top 5 greatest books of all time. Thats a rave, baby. The poem by John Donne at the beginning makes the book worth buying.
A 5 because it is a great story with an invaluable lesson. If you gain nothing, you still read beautiful prose by one of the greatest authors ever.
Rating: 
Summary: A True Classic
Review: This novel is considered by most to be one of the great novels of the 20th Century, and its author to be one of the greatest authors of all time; there are undoubtedly reasons for this. Yet, Hemmingway is also considered to be a "love him" or "hate him" type. I tend toward the former, though he isn't one of my personal favorites. The plot of this novel is relatively straightforward. American Robert Jordan, a member of the International Brigades fighting with the Republicans against the Fascists during the Spanish Civil War, is given the task of blowing up a bridge to prevent the Fascists from bringing up reinforcements to repel a Republican offensive. But while the plot is uncomplicated, the depth and breadth of Hemmingway's story telling are not. There are layers and layers of emotion, passion, and personal pain. You are transported to the mountains of Spain with Jordan and a band of Spanish guerilla fighters. The characters are so incredibly real, that you feel as though you could find their names in a history book. For those who have never read Hemmingway, I'd say give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: Sparse, it's not
Review: For Whom the Bell Tolls, is equally very engaging and very dull. Occasionally this novel cracks with energy, the tension among the characters is quite potent, and then at other times it bores you near sleep. The rambling monolgues can be great(like when Pilar is detailing Pablo's once fervent commitment to the cause) and then at other times the words seem to be an annoying roadblock that you have to wade through to get to the meaty parts. All in all I respect this novel and do think it is a good work, but I can't give it more than 3 stars, because of the chores it sometimes put me through.
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