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What are readers saying about A Farewell to Arms?
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Gareth posted a review at 2010-02-21 08:36:40.
(Language: English)
  
There's no running away from death.And you're really hit with that here. I didn't know what to expect from Hemingway when I picked up For Whom... six months ago and was expecting something far more lyrical but what he writes really pulls you in. In this particularly is the conversations of the characters. You can totally identify with the people, see yourself there, and that what hurts when it all goes wrong. I'm fast becoming a fan 
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Daniel posted a review at 2010-07-07 07:44:15.
(Language: English)
I often hear people refer to Hemingway's style in a negative way. However, to me, this is a prime example of the modern novel. This is a breathtaking story about a War World I American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his love for an English nurse. This is not a traditional War story, but the first two thirds of the book are stunning.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-11-19 08:16:37.
(Language: English)
Hemingway's style of writing suits my minimalist tastes. The novel itself is a masterpiece. It almost reads like a journal in how personal it is. This is one book you can read many times over and get something new from it every time. As with most of Hemingway's writing, the most important details are left unsaid, but are instead laid just below the surface for the reader to discover. The book takes place in a time when people spoke differently and gender roles were certainly defined in a more traditional manner, so dialogue between men and women may seem a bit sexist if you view it from today's perspective. Nothing I could say in words could do this book justice. You simply have to read it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-07 01:27:17.
(Language: English)
I looked forward to reading this book for sometime, especially as I was led to believe that Hemmingway was a literary great. Well, if he is "Farwell To Arms," did not show it. The wrtiting style was simplisitic and rather boring, especially for such an emotive subject topic and although the book was semi-autobiographical it lacked any intensity of feeling. If you are intrested in a classic war novel, try George Orwell's "Homage To Catolonia" and give this one a miss, its pretty mundane.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-23 11:49:32.
(Language: English)
I read A Farewell to Arms because I felt I should. It’s Hemingway’s autobiographical novel about an American ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War 1. It is, on the surface, an unabashedly romantic novel. A majority of the book revolves around the love affair between the protagonist, Frederic Henry, and a Scottish nurse, Catherine Barkley. The book is filled with idyllic descriptions of the (war-torn) European countryside and the lazy days between military actions. But hanging over this picturesque setting is the omnipresent threat of destruction. The characters, in order to maintain good humor in the face of the horror, drink constantly. The horror intrudes on the novel in an explicit way only occasionally, but when it does, it hits hard. Particularly affecting are the scenes in which Henry is injured and those surrounding the retreat of the Italian army. It’s easy to see how influential this book has been. We have the gallows humor later found in Catch-22 and M*A*S*H*, the casual descriptions of horrific military actions and romanticization of war in the books of W.E.B. Griffin and the like. It’s an excellent novel, as you’d expect, and I will happily read it again in a few years.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-28 08:46:08.
(Language: English)
This book did not make a ginormous impression on me, as have a few others, but I do cherish the time that I spent reading it. The contrast between Henry and his acquaintences is amazing; they are looking for the cheap, the good, and the easy, while Henry searches (and settles) for the exquisite, the excellent and the rare, which he finds mainly in Catherine. Henry is seen as one with standards that are too high, and thus he cannot enjoy the "good life." Also interesting: Catherine, who searched for and found the exquisite, the excellent and the rare in Henry, is looked upon by her friends as pretty much a whore. Interesting perspective of how men and women were--however, in some cases still are--seen.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-06 09:48:12.
(Language: English)
Even though Hemingway is regarded as one of the greatest writers ever, I find his relation of events in the past tense and skipping over any real action as though it were intruding upon his prose... well, it's just a little tedious. Admittedly, all of his books will keep your attention with interesting ideas and plain, flat statements, rather than waxing poetic over inconsequential details, like many other writers. He is also very original in his story ideas. This was a good book, but the narration was poor, as have been most of Hemingway\'s audio books that are available. It is worth suffering through it, but don\'t try to listen to them in a noisy vehicle in traffic.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-11 02:24:27.
(Language: English)
I didn't particularly care for this "war novel". In fact, I saw little war action at all. First, the main character is injured in one of the two conflicts in the book, and remains in the hospital for several months because of his injuries. Then, he falls in love with his nurse, but almost immediately is sent back out on the battlefield. However, the battle is a loss and the main character wanders about in the wilderness of Italy until rescued. After he returns, he finds out that the nurse is pregnant. However, after the many trials and tribulations he endures, his wife and child die in childbirth. If you're looking for wartime action, DO NOT read this novel!
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sneha posted a review at 2011-09-22 10:55:39.
(Language: English)
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-06-25 12:59:54.
(Language: English)
Favorite Book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-11-17 01:57:14.
(Language: English)
just finished this book. i must say this is one of the rarest books that have moved me emotionally... The book is so vivid in detail, yet so simply written it's almost an understanment. Now i know why other writers rate Ernest Hemingway as one of the greatest writers who've ever lived...looking forward to reading the rest of his work...
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Jo posted a review at 2011-10-05 03:08:50.
(Language: English)
Disgusting male chauvinist crap.
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Bruce posted a review at 2010-09-30 01:51:08.
(Language: English)
On the back of the book it says, "The best American novel to emerge from World War I." That doesn't speak well for the rest of the American novels because this book was very weak. Most of the book is incredibly slow moving and boring and Hemingway's characters all have such a fake vibe to them. The dialogue is strange, approaching insane, and the ending is one of the worst written endings I've ever read. I don't know why anyone thinks so highly of Hemingway or his writing style. This just continues the sad trend of classics being very and overrated and disappointing. A Farewell to Arms took about 7 hours and 45 minutes to read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-09 09:04:37.
(Language: English)
Written by Ernest Hemmingway, ‘A Farewell to Arms’ is a story of an American named Lieutenant Frederic Henry who is an ambulance driver at the Italian front during the First World War. The main theme of the story is the love affair between him and Catherine Barkley because of which he is not able to be loyal towards the army he is serving for and prefers to stay as close as possible to his love. The book is divided into five parts that show different times in Henry’s life. The book is told in first person by Henry. The sentences in the book are pretty short, lucid and terse which is the typical Hemmingway’s writing style. Hemmingway couldn’t refrain from mentioning some of the adventures he has been into in his actual life. In fact he was himself a lieutenant at the Italian front during the world war. The concept of existentialism of which Hemmingway was a strong believer is the highlight of the story and is clearly evident at the end of the book. It also accounts for an abrupt ending of the story which is also a trademark of Hemmingway’s books. After understanding what the author wants to showcase through this book, this book is a gem otherwise it would seem like a simple story. The end of the book is the best end thus far I have seen in any other novel. The book’s acknowledgement by the Pulitzer’s prize seems absolutely apt. Hemmingway wants to depict a normal human being through the character of Henry. The things and the people (Catherine) he loves are shown as a metaphor for the wishes and goals of a normal human being. The author wants to show that even if our wants and wishes are not fulfilled we continue to live and life moves on without any change to the universe. The existence of ours doesn’t matter to anyone. I liked the book very much as it compelled me to ponder over the concept of existentialism. I would recommend this book to everyone to look at Hemmingway’s view towards life.
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Marcel posted a review at 2009-01-10 03:14:33.
(Language: English)
I'm getting some interestingly irate e-mails from would-be writers and some "neo-pro" writers (their term) and others who are not happy that I said that if one didn't recognize, or hasn't read, Hemingway's (one 'm') A FAREWELL TO ARMS on isn't ready to be a writer -- after all there are thousands, millions, of books out there, many of which I haven't read, which most writers haven't read!!! What arrogance!!! Who's to say which books a writer SHOULD have read or not? Well, me. The point is not just the truth that a writer has to read widely to develop even a basic understanding of style, but that a few books every few decades -- perhaps only a handful each century (and the form of the novel is only a few centuries old) -- are such stylistic asteroid impacts that all writers need to be aware of them if they're to join in the long cross-generational dialogue called literature. You probably heard me yacking about Harold Bloom's THE WESTERN CANON. Or his HOW TO READ AND WHY. Bloom is the literary critic who developed the idea and theory of "the anxiety of influence" -- the theory that every poet's (or writer's) work is largely a lifelong agon, a struggle, with some previous writer of his or her choice. I tend to buy into the general premise. The only thing I would debate here is immediate comment about whether someone likes or dislikes A FAREWELL TO ARMS. That's really not so important. The greatest problem with amateur writers (and readers)is launching their opinions on books ahead of their need to read them carefully, perhaps repeatedly, to understand why they've had such an influence on our commonly chosen field of endeavor -- writing and literature. I mentioned earlier that when, in the 1990's, I began writing a novel with Hemingway as a central character -- a project that took years of research on the man and his work -- I came to Hemingway with many reservations. Much of his later work, as I've also mentioned, devolved, I've long thought, into a form of near self-parody as his writerly energies faded. As a man . . .well, he often specialized in being an asshole. (But if we take all books written by assholes off our shelves, we'll have few or none left.) But when it comes to personal preference in apprenticing oneself to the Word, in the early stages, as the grunts in Vietnam used to say -- FUCK IT. IT DON'T MATTER. MOVE ON. In other words, these people -- guys like the Hemingway of a FAREWELL TO ARMS -- write better than you (or I) do now, or probably ever will, and it's part of our own learning process to learn how to appreciate certain works of theirs which we "don't like." We're professionals here, or hope to be, or learning to be, not snookumses in a high chair spitting out our strained carrots because we doesn't like 'em.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-24 12:29:17.
(Language: English)
A Farewell to Arms really bothered me in many ways. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of Hemingway's writing voice. He gets inside my head and long before I finish a book, I'm speaking in simpler sentences than my toddler friends. Another thing that I disliked about this book is Hemingway paints love as his villain in this story. Everything is rough, but alright, until he falls for the idea of love. I couldn't read the book believing that a drunk patient in a hospital who accidentally gets a nurse pregnant is really love between the soldier and the nurse, so much as a sense of obligation. When I finished reading this book it left me empty and upset. I hated it. I probably wont ever read Hemingway again as a result of A Farewell to Arms.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-16 12:41:17.
(Language: English)
This turned out much better than I thought it would. I now understand how Hemingway came to be considered the titan of the American novel. I only can imagine how surprised and intrigued readers of Henry James (whom I think is unappreciated today) must have been by the approach and verve of Hemingway. I was prepared to loathe the character of Catherine Barcalay: she annoyed me and behaved like no woman I ever knew. I do believe Hemingway may not have understood women well, and it bothered me that Hemingway took this fragile, broken, brittle woman and portrayed her so flatly in the first half of the novel. She could have been a more compelling and poignant character than Hemingway cast her. In this current time of stupid warfare, this 80 year old novel remains timely. I will read Hemingway again.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-08 03:22:47.
(Language: English)
Stoppard and Hemingway both have their characters utter philosophical truths about the world, but Hemingway’s achieve their purpose with less. “I’m afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it.†“No.†“And sometimes I see you dead in it.†Is that the most beautiful fragile broken sacred statement on fearing the perils that come with life and love ever written? And it’s only twenty-two words. The whole book is like this, tiny gems achieved with a perfected economy of words. As much as I loved this book (Hemingway’s surgical prose style completely captivates me), I preferred the slower pacing of The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway seems to work best in small spaces, seemingly trivial vignettes which reflect distilled humanity truth: “People love each other and they misunderstand on purpose and they fight and then suddenly they aren’t the same one.†Or, “I never think and yet when I begin to talk I say the things I have found out in my mind without thinking.†Still, all the action provided a comprehensive statement on the inevitability and destruction of war, and the psychology of defeat. “Whichever side realizes they are knocked in last will win.†And, “The Austrians will not stop when they have won a victory. It is in defeat that we become Christians.†Plus, the man knows how to intersperse humor, reversals, contagious friendship, generosity of spirit, and sparkling passion ("And maybe I'd look lovely, darling, and be so thin and exciting to you and you'll fall in love with me all over again." "Hell," I said, "I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?" "Yes. I want to ruin you." "Good," I said, "that's what I want too"). So, how can someone who understands what it means to be alive kill himself? Does that say more about the workings of the world or the high price of genius? Perhaps it has something to do with the author's relationship to his protagonists. I'd say Hemingway's are updates and improvements on the Byronic Hero. There's a literary criticism essay waiting to be composed here, but I'm too busy reading to write it.
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Brittany posted a review at 2009-09-05 08:57:32.
(Language: English)
Supposedly this was loosely based on Hemingway's life. I thought it was a very romantic story. The american joining the Italian army with more of a sense of patriotism than most of the Italians he encounters. His position as an ambulance driver is quite comfortable, and he continues to enjoy life despite the war. He behaves like a typical confident bachelor. And he falls in love when he least expects too. Love makes his life seem trivial as far as his work, friendships go. When he faces the threat of execution he says to hell with this army, war, country. Sneaking out of the country with his pregnant girlfriend, was suspenseful, exciting and hopeful. They have the potential for a grand life together. But childbirth ends in death for the mom and baby. He is crushed, heartbroken, but quickly resumes that macho facade.
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Mary posted a review at 2010-10-15 05:49:45.
(Language: English)
I'm reading it, it's awesome writing, even if I didn't know it was Hemmingway. Honest and unapologetic, not too analytical. I think he wants us to think and come up with our own why's. I'm not a writer, I'm a reader, so this doesn't have a gripping story line for me. It's like, ho hum so far, stinky the way they treat women. A good book on war is like that though, shows that war is good for nothing, is terrible and barbaric. War and Peace is my favorite book. But I'll see how it goes, enjoyed all the comments!
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-08-08 07:33:10.
(Language: English)
I know this is considered an American classic, but (although this is the first work of Hemingway's that I've read besides story Hills like white elephants) I am not wild about his writing style. If you aren't familiar with constant war and geographical lingo, then this book isn't exactly a page-turning read. The dialogue and love story and dialogue between Frederic(sp?) and Katherine was at times cheesy. Yet the redeeming quality I found in the novel was the end. Some may say I am sadistic for thinking the end was the best written portion of the book, but I have myself witnessed death and the way he wrote about it brought me to tears. A book that has the power to bring me to tears must have some very powerful writing in it, at least in my "book."
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-06 10:14:29.
(Language: English)
This was my first experience with Hemingway's work; and I was pulled in quickly. Based loosely on the author's own experiences as an ambulance driver in WWI, the story is tragic almost from the very beginning. One of the best books I've read. Distinctively Hemingway. Hard to qualify, other than calling it a classic. Tragic from almost the first page, it is loosely based on Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver in WWI, and is deeply affecting; dark, as war always is; with a man and a woman in love, fighting against the circumstances and environment into which they had been forced. It's Hemingway; which pretty well says it all. Deserves every praise.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-23 06:31:35.
(Language: English)
I'm amazed by the negativity about this book, so maybe I can convert someone, because this book changed my life, so I wouldn't want anyone to miss out! I read more than basically anybody I know, and this is still by far the saddest, most touching, most romantic book I have EVER read. I first read it the summer before my junior year of high school, and I have read it maybe thirty times already in the ensuing four years. And every single time I read it, I feel like I'm going to vomit, because I know what's coming. Like I said, I've read hundreds of books, but this is the only book that has ever made me physically ill. It's THAT powerful. I don't get the bad reviews, but most people I know go crazy over Nicholas Sparks, and I'd rather gauge my eyeballs out with a spork than read him, so maybe people today just aren't used to this type of romance--and as for Hemingway's style...well, I really hate people who say everyone else is wrong and they're right, but COME ON! It's Hemingway! He's not for everybody, but in my eyes, the man is a God--he doesn't need huge winding passages to convey emotion. In fact, the ending to this book is, in my opinion, the most powerful ending to a book ever written, mostly due to the fact that it IS so simple. It really does feel like you've been punched in the stomach, because Henry's grief is so implicit just beneath the understated surface. He's a broken man. For all of you complaining about this book, I guess you just don't get it. Not to be rude, but saying this book lacks emotion is like saying Hitler was a loving man. Give it another read! Maybe since it doesn't glorify war, it doesn't read well for our generation, since we're so used to these non-stop action war books. I don't know! But this book is a masterpiece. If it seems dull or emotionless, or you hate the characters, you're just not getting it, maybe because this book doesn't hit you over the head with obviousness. This book is about that once-in-a-lifetime love that people rarely find, but even something so rare and beautiful can't stop the realities of the modern world from encroaching, so if you're looking for a glamorous war book, you need to realize that AFTA, although a war book, is realistic and brutal and even anti-war--although the retreat from Caporetto = FUCKING MIND-BLOWING PROSE. The REAL story is primarily about Frederic Henry and the woman who loved him. So yes, this book is deceptively simple, and may seem boring to those who don't "get" it, but it is actually sickeningly intense and even philosophical. Oh, and by the way: like I said, I've read this book maybe 30-40 times, and I have it memorized and know every word even before I read it on the page, and I'm probably the least romantic/sensitive person I know, but this book still makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME. And I still feel like I have to throw up! The point is, for someone who knows and loves a book as deeply and as well as I know A Farewell to Arms, it is very, VERY rare for it to still hit you on the same level, with the same intensity, every single time. Its impact is undiminished.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-01-25 04:01:28.
(Language: English)
just ok.... not so moved with the pace of the plot or the strength of the two main characters - especially C. Barkley comes up underdeveloped, almost inexistent for me to care for her whether she is together with the american tenente, or whether she lives or dies... Compared to the other 'lost generation writer' E. M. Remark's same war and love subject that come across strongly emotional, this one from Hemingway reads somewhat weak...
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