For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90  ·  rating details  ·  96,108 ratings  ·  2,466 reviews

In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight," For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells

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Paperback, 480 pages
Published 2003 by Scribner (first published January 1st 1940)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Geoff
I won't deny my youthful bloody-lust to travel afar and get the girl and die in valor "fighting the good fight"- before those words were emptied by experience and observation-; and to read the messages-in-bottles (all polished sea-glass smooth by now) my teenage self is tossing into a flood tide from far, far away in some distant dimension (where he hardly resembles myself, and I am ashamed of him) this book is "written-well". I perfectly remember my parent's back porch and sun-struck green afte...more
Madeline
Just when I'd decided that Hemingway only ever wrote books about people getting drunk in cafes and thinking about how miserable they are, he surprises me and comes out with something like this. Naturally, the characters still get drunk and think about how miserable they are, but they do it while being guerrilla fighters in the Spanish Civil War, which makes it awesome.

In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien writes that, "If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some s...more
Kevin Xu
This book was long and boring that did not go anywhere,. The reason for me was that it was too slow, epsically the fact that the whole book is centered around one event that in most books would have taken at most 1/4 of the book to get done. The interaction of the characters was always the same, the past lifes of the character did not matter to me for the main hcaracter to make his decision.

But on the other hand, it had a great impact on one person, James Oliver Rigney Jr. He was so impacted on...more
Tom
Ok, before I commit the sacrilege of dismissing this "classic," permit me to establish my Hemingway bona fides: I have read and loved just about everything else he wrote, and have taught Sun Also Rises, Farewell to Arms, and many short stories, and had a blast doing it. I've read Carlos Baker's classic bio, and numerous critical articles on H. I've made the pilgrimage to Key West and taken pictures of his study and the hordes of 6-toed cats. I dig Papa, ok?

But I can not stand this book! I should...more
Saman
یک ترجمه‌ی بد از یک شاهکار ادبی. نمی‌دانم اولین بار چه کسی عنوان این کتاب را این‌قدر بی‌روح و سرد به "زنگ‌ها برای که به صدا در می‌آیند" برگرداند؟

عنوان زیباتر و رساتر این داستان را (این ناقوس عزای کیست) بیش‌تر می‌پسندم؛ چرا که داستان صرفاً روایت یک عملیات پارتیزانی محض نیست، بل‌که روایت یک رابطه‌ی انسانی و در مقابل آن چیزی به نام آرمان و هدف است

باری، ترجمه‌ی بد این کتاب باعث شد تا از خواندن آن لذتی نبرم و فیلمی که از آن پیش‌تر دیده بودم برایم باقی بماند. باشد تا برگردان بهتری از این کتاب روانه ب...more
Chrissie
Hemingway uses special "literary techniques" in "For whom the Bell Tolls" that rather than enhancing the reading experience detract from it. Please see the list below. The ending is totally soppy. You learn nothing about the Spanish Civil War, and a better explanation for why Robert Jordan decided to fight with the Republicans should have been given. The scenes depicting physical attraction were bland and insipid. Some dislike the macho behavior of Hemingway's characters, but this doesn't bother...more
Adrianne Mathiowetz
At some point in high school, I decided that I hated Ernest Hemingway. Was it the short story we read in English class? Was it the furniture collection named after him at Gabbert's? Something made me decide that Hemingway was a prick, and after that I dismissed him entirely.

This book was beautiful.

I don't even like books about war. (Case in point: I scanned half of War and Peace. I think which half is obvious.) But this book took five hundred pages to blow up a single bridge. There were tanks t...more
Andy
The Spanish Civil War is a very interesting historical event, but this story is full of bad dialogue, glorifies the brave American, and largely ignores the plight of the Spaniards themselves - not to mention that the love interest is as one-dimensional as a blowup sex doll, which is pretty much all that her character serves as in this book. I recommend Orwell's Homage to Catalonia if you want to know what the Spanish Civil War was like - unlike Hemingway who was just a reporter in Spain, Orwell...more
Cynthia .
You know you’ve devoured a good book when after going over the last line you feel somewhat ethereal - an unworldly feeling of satisfaction. Well, that is what I felt with this book.

This is my first of Hemingway and my second war novel (first was Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five).
When I picked it up from my book rack, I told myself “Hmmm.. Hemingway. This must be a difficult book”, but I was proven wrong. Hemingway’s stylistic choice of words, the density and intelligent distribution of his sente...more
Jay F
Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls is not a reliable view of the Spaniards during the decade of the 1930s or of their 1936-39 Civil War. From both of those perspectives, the novel has its difficulties.

In Spain of the post-Franco years, and especially since the opening of the archives of the old Soviet Union, the debate about the role of the Communist in the Republic both before and after Franco’s rebellion has increased with renewed intensity. It has long been clear that the war was not a simpl...more
Chris
I can't understand how anyone would dislike this book. I loved "The Windup Bird Chronicle," but I understand how one wouldn't enjoy it. "For Whom the Bell Tolls," however, was one of those classics that was so perfect, so profoundly moving and yet just enjoyable to read, that I can't comprehend the negative review. Like "Anna Karenina," "Crime and Punishment," or "Native Son," its one of those cornerstones of literature that utterly justified its spot in the cannon. The characters were perfectly...more
Lavinia


“Noaptea era senina, iar capul lui la fel de limpede si rece ca si aerul de deasupra. Simtea in nari mireasma ramurilor de brad de sub el, mirosul specific de brad al cetinilor strivite, si mirosul mai patrunzator al rasinii scurse din ramurile retezate. Se gindea la Pilar. Pilar si mirosul mortii, isi zise Robert Jordan. Asta-i mirosul care-mi place. Asta si mireasma trifoiului proaspat cosit, mirosul salviei strivite sub copitele calului cind umbli dupa cirezi, fumul focului de lemne si al fru...more
Garrett
I have a hard time with Mr. Hemingway, I guess. For Whom the Bell Tolls didn't involve as much rampant drinking as many of his other books, but I blame that on the setting—a cave in the mountains where only a few gallons of wine were available (and a flask of absinthe, the flavor of which is described over the course of about thirty pages). However, his standard sexism toward the female characters still applied. Here are a few more things I didn't like about the book:
*Did he really have to write...more
Roger W.
In two minds am I about this book.

For one, it was masterfully written and as I know is often cited as Hemingway's best novel. There were many flashbacks of various characters which were compelling glimpses into their pasts; Mr. Hemingway occasionally took us into the mind of the American protagonist, and the flow of his thoughts was perfectly captured, snippets of this and that jockeying for attention. The language too was unique. No Spanish speaker I, but it was clear to me that from the get g...more
Mark R.
***1/2

This is the sixth Hemingway book I've read, and easily my least favorite and so far the only I wouldn't give a five-out-of-five rating.

There are a lot of great sections in the book, and the ending is fantastic. I don't know that I've ever read a book that explored the specific theme of death any more than "For Whom the Bell Tolls," offering different viewpoints, all of which come from characters very aware of the fact that they could be dead in a matter of days.

The conflict between the ma...more
Alex
I spent tonight complaining to my RL book club buddies (what up Gray!) about how this feels kinda the same as A Farewell to Arms. Same stolid lead, same gushy love story, same (I suspect) dire ending. (Come on, we all read the title.)

[Later on...] Having finished it, though, I'm not so sure. I think he's about something different here. Sure, his style is unmistakeable. Since we were talking about movies tonight, I'll compare him to Tarantino: you'll always recognize a Tarantino movie, because hi...more
sage
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Pedro
Continuo achando o estilo do Hemingway incrível: nada parece supérfluo e tudo reflete seu caráter. Não que este caráter seja incrível, por si... Certamente é impactante, mas imagino que seu apelo já foi muito maior - graças a Deus.

Essa observação está intimamente ligada com a minha leitura; não consegui deixar de questionar o que percebi ser a intenção do autor. Uma vivência crítica, sim, da dor e do sofrimento da guerra, mas que reconhece e chega a dar a impressão de estar muito confortável com...more
Marie
I tried, I really tried, but I found it impossible to empathise with any of the characters – with the possible exclusion of Pilar – and, without empathy, the ultimate outcome of the longest 3 days in anybody’s life totally lost its importance and meaning. I obviously missed some great clue/revelation, as I kept asking myself what on earth was Robert Jordan doing, involved in a conflict that had really not a lot to do with him, apart from his past Spanish teaching and possibly some idealism, alth...more
Karl
For Whom The Bell Tolls.
By Ernest Hemmingway.
Phew. That was a long read.

It was definitely worth the effort tackling something as big as this classic novel, given that most of the themes in the story will resonate with many people.

One in particular was Robert Jordan's DEATH ANXIETY that is prevalent throughout the book; He ruminates about this a lot and as the reader knows how bad the situation is you can't help but feel sorry for him and the rebels.

The terror the REBELS feel about possible captu...more
Marius van Blerck
An interesting book, which starts very well, but it eventually submerges a vibrant storyline into interminable and ultimately tedious introspective soliloquies. A pity, because the book shows so much promise. The opening chapters reminded me a little of the feel of Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" - a book I really loved. McCarthy must have been paying tribute to Hemingway. Another factor that bothered me was how Robert Jordan established total control over the guerilla group within hou...more
Kevin
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a fictional account of the Spanish Civil war, and I say this now, it is probably one of Hemingway’s finest works of fiction. Like Orwell, he reported on the war, arriving in Spain in 1937 and worked with the International Brigades in the Madrid area, advocating a Popular Front Government. The premise of the novel is this: The protagonist is an American called Robert Jorden, a University Teacher in Spain, who joins the International Brigades and gets sent on a mission t...more
Patricia
Mar 03, 2008 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: My sister inlaw and anyone else who really enjoys intense thinking books
Recommended to Patricia by: someone at Kennecott
Shelves: classics
This is the most impressive book I have ever read. I can see why Hemmingway was such an revolutionary writer.

The language in this book is tough and clipped. However, it is still poetic, provocative and beautiful. I was completely awestruck by the treatment of the Spanish language in the novel. Hemmingway kept the Spanish colloquialisms and treatment of pronouns in the dialogue. In this book the spanish language is completely alive. It has stregnths and weaknesses just as any of the characters wi...more
David
Again Communism rears its head (Darkness at Noon was my last book), but this time in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), however, it's merely scenery (as are the facists) for the novel's main attraction: Love and War. As an aside, Hemmingway observes what comes as a hard truth to others eventually; that "Soviet Communism" was rotten in its core. Show-trials in Russia and inefficiencies of the Russian hand in the Spanish Republic are not overlooked. Hemmingway is absolutely brilliant in his descri...more
Mike Frost
This book seems to have found some resurgence of popularity among my generation lately, and it is certainly well deserved. Having only read "The Old Man and the Sea" previously, I greatly enjoyed Hemingway's terse style and was impressed that, although written in English, he was able to so thoroughly capture the essence of the spoken Spanish. I must read more Hemingway.

On a side note, I read that Hemingway once won a bet with some of his friends who ribbed him for writing in such uncomplicated p...more
Matthew Klobucher
This is the Hemingway novel that stands out the most for me. Filled with life, color, drama, and pathos, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" details a particular episode of the Spanish Civil War. With his characteristic spare but beautiful prose Hemingway draws people and places with striking individuality and beauty. A celebration of life at its most tragic and violent, this book manages to capture both the seeming utter futility and the great joy and promise of humanity. I don't personally hold with muc...more
Nathan
Hemingway was a name I had always known and associated him with some kind of highbrow literature. What I didn't know was that Hemingway writes in such a simple, elegant, sometimes biblical manner, but remains highbrow. This book was so dry, yet so rife with emotion. Hemingway leaves you to decide so much about how you feel without leading you down some path that he has created. "Blow thy bridge, Robert Jordan." That was interesting to me: He never once called the main character by his first name...more
Jennifer Patrick
Refered to me by someone I love, this is one book I understand why it is considered a classic. The love between Robert and Marie is so passionate for the brief time they had together it breaks my heart. Pilar was wonderful, I loved her stories about her days with the bullfighters. Loved everything about it!
stew
I obscenity your transmission. I obscenity in the milk of your ancestors. I, and always and forever I; wandering I, mucking I, obscene obscenity forever and always and milking and transmissing and mucking wandering amongst the forever and the always I; obscenity obscene, mucking milking milk ancestral forever and ever to have and to hold and to be and now and always and forever; this now, wandering now, transmissing now, mucking now, milking now, obscene obscenity now, ancestral now, forever to...more
Jeff
I'm afraid that after reading this, I will be forever disappointed in all other novels. Rarely do I give such distinguished praise for a book, but Hemingway's is quite deserving. Hemingway writes in a way that makes other writers envious in that his story is so simple and strong yet human, complex, and fragile. Centered around a very small mission in a war most Americans (myself included) know/knew nothing about, FWTBT is really about the intracacy of relationships as they morph over stressful s...more
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Does anyone agree with Gore Vidal's assessment of Hemingway as a Novelist. 91 443 27 apr. 19:54  
SPSV Mrs. Rodgers...: Dominic Chiabotti 1 3 12 ott. 08:23  
the ending 13 165 13 mag. 08:59  
For Whom The Bell Tolls (Paperback)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Paperback)
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For Whom The Bell Tolls
For Whom The Bell Tolls (paperback)

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Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collec...more
More about Ernest Hemingway...
The Old Man and the Sea The Sun Also Rises A Farewell to Arms A Moveable Feast The Complete Short Stories

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