false 46170 86 <I>For Whom the Bell Tolls</I> begins and ends in a pine-scented forest, somewhere in Spain. The year is 1937 and the Spanish Civil War is in full swing. Robert Jordan, a demolitions expert attached to the International Brigades, lies "flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees." The sylvan setting, however, is at sharp odds with the reason Jordan is there: he has come to blow up a bridge on behalf of the antifascist guerrilla forces. He hopes he'll be able to rely on their local leader, Pablo, to help carry out the mission, but upon meeting him, Jordan has his doubts: "I don't like that sadness, he thought. That sadness is bad. That's the sadness they get before they quit or before they betray. That is the sadness that comes before the sell-out." For Pablo, it seems, has had enough of the war. He has amassed for himself a small herd of horses and wants only to stay quietly in the hills and attract as little attention as possible. Jordan's arrival--and his mission--have seriously alarmed him. <blockquote> "I am tired of being hunted. Here we are all right. Now if you blow a bridge here, we will be hunted. If they know we are here and hunt for us with planes, they will find us. If they send Moors to hunt us out, they will find us and we must go. I am tired of all this. You hear?" He turned to Robert Jordan. "What right have you, a foreigner, to come to me and tell me what I must do?" </blockquote> In one short chapter Hemingway lays out the blueprint for what is to come: Jordan's sense of duty versus Pablo's dangerous self-interest and weariness with the war. Complicating matters even more are two members of the guerrilla leader's small band: his "woman" Pilar, and Maria, a young woman whom Pablo rescued from a Republican prison train. Unlike her man, Pilar is still fiercely devoted to the cause and as Pablo's loyalty wanes, she becomes the moral center of the group. Soon Jordan finds himself caught between the two, even as his own resolve is tested by his growing feelings for Maria. <p> <I>For Whom the Bell Tolls</I> combines two of the author's recurring obsessions: war and personal honor. The pivotal battle scene involving El Sordo's last stand is a showcase for Hemingway's narrative powers, but the quieter, ongoing conflict within Robert Jordan as he struggles to fulfill his mission perhaps at the cost of his own life is a testament to his creator's psychological acuity. By turns brutal and compassionate, it is arguably Hemingway's most mature work and one of the best war novels of the 20th century. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 2252079 book 1940 For Whom the Bell Tolls total:16609|5:4955|4:6323|3:3932|2:1021|1:378| 16609 64283 22366 928 1 8 false false Fri Jun 27 12:13:07 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 12:50:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 21 15:09:50 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 15 19:05:58 -0800 2008
This book was...more...]]> 5 5 false false Sat Dec 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 18:29:52 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 06:42:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 03 06:58:39 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 06:58:42 -0700 2008
“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 mi...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon May 05 16:12:54 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 16:03:48 -0700 2008
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 Amer...more...]]> 5 1 false true Sat Jan 24 21:42:09 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 05:24:13 -0800 2009
About this edition, this is an audiobook read in a matter-of-fact, almost Bogart-esque style, which fits the era perfectly. It's wry and heartbreaking and rubs like sand in an open wound. Perfect for a gruesome war story.
...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 06:59:53 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 13:38:39 -0700 2008 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 describ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 10:03:50 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 15:47:41 -0800 2008
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 ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 13:42:58 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 15:02:18 -0700 2007
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 o...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 25 11:15:05 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 22:08:07 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Feb 21 14:14:33 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 14:19:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sat Sep 08 01:44:14 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 01:51:15 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Mon Nov 19 14:57:57 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 15:01:29 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Sun May 13 20:22:27 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 19 16:45:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Tue Feb 12 05:30:10 -0800 2008 Wed Apr 02 05:40:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 27 14:45:54 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 14:51:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 11:11:41 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 11:39:24 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Dec 17 20:10:43 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 20:11:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 14:25:18 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 19:37:01 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 08:49:52 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 08:49:59 -0700 2009 more...]]>