For Whom the Bell Tolls is the fictional account of a young American caught up in the Spanish civil war. Hemingway’s cast of characters—a small antifascist guerilla unit, hiding out in the mountains and plotting the demolition of a bridge--display a range of motivations for making war on their fascist oppressors, but most of them also have regrets for the killing. There are colorful characters: Robert Jordan, the idealistic American professor turned demolitions expert still fleeing the ghost of his cowardly father; Pilar, the eloquent, complex and strong-willed de-facto female leader of the band; Pablo, her disillusioned partner, who is weary of making war; Sordo, the deaf but deft strategist guerilla leader; Anselmo, the loyal old man who has never before killed and ultimately does so only after much soul-searching and prayer.


In one favorite scene, after a devastating battle, old Anselmo is praying to the virgin Mary while a few hundred yards away, Lieutenant Berrendo, his enemy, is also praying to the virgin. It’s an ironic and poignant reminder that frequently our enemies pray to the same God that we pray to, that we probably have more things in common with our enemies than we have things different.

Overall, For Whom the Bell Tolls is an insightful look into the minds and hearts of individuals who forsake the status quo to fight against their oppressors, often at great personal risk-- and as I was finishing the book, a remarkably similar drama was unfolding in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.