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A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

3.80 · Rating details · 231,925 ratings · 8,226 reviews

In 1918 Ernest Hemingway went to war, to the 'war to end all wars'. He volunteered for ambulance service in Italy, was wounded and twice decorated. Out of his experience came A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway's description of war is unforgettable. He recreates the fear, the comradeship, the courage of his young American volunteer, and the men and women he meets in Italy, with ...more

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Paperback, 320 pages

Published January 1st 1969 by Charles Scribner's Sons (NY) (first published 1929)

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· 231,925 ratings · 8,226 reviews

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Nov 18, 2008 Meg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I feel like awarding the great Hemingway only two stars has officially consigned me to the seventh circle of literary hell. But I must be honest. By this website's criteria two stars indicates that a book is "okay" - and to me that describes this work perfectly.

Hemingway himself is undeniably gifted. I love his succinct style (though at times it degenerates to downright caveman-speak), his honest diction and his wonderful sense of humor. That being said, he gets away with utterly ignoring most r ...more

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Sep 11, 2008 Skylar Burris rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

The old joke proves itself upon reading.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A (Hemingway): To die. In the rain.

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May 23, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classics" for the first time, then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label

Book #17: A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (1929)

The story in a nutshell:
Published in the late 1920s, right when Modernism was first starting to become a ...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Matt rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I just finished it, and I'm disappointed. And not only disappointed; I'm also bothered by it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at Hemingway's one-dimensional, sexist portrayal of Catherine Barker, having read much of his other work, but somehow I still am. Put simply, Catherine is a ridiculous figure, and it's no fault of her own. Hemingway gives her no opportunity to sound like anything more than a half-crazy, desperate, fawning caricature with no real desires or opinions of her own. How many t ...more

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Jun 21, 2009 Ben rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: war, read-in-2009, good-fiction, romantic-love-and-hate, important-message, tough-guys-and-gals, transformative-experience

I'm not a Hemingway guy. I yearn for internal dialogue, various and ladened spiritual questioning, and deep psychology in my characters. I prefer writing that is smooth and philosophical. Hemingway gives me little of this.

But the settings of this book were beautiful, and the dialogue between characters, poignant. By the end, I found that Hemingway had craftily fucked with me to the point of my complete immersion into the novel.

It made me cry.

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Feb 11, 2014 Riku Sayuj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, ww1, war, history-europe, r-r-rs, nobel-winners

War is Boring

Hemingway’s narrator writes not as a soldier but as a journalist-soldier, channeling Hemingway himself, recording with precision and apparent objectivity the things that happen around him and to him - practical and prosaic and always pragmatic about everything. People die and bombs explode in the same paragraph as the one where breakfast was considered with equal interest, and he takes it all in his stride.

As best as I can tell, the action of A Farewell to Arms takes place from 19 ...more

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Aug 14, 2008 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, fiction, literature, novel, 1001-book, 20th-century

663. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I. The book, published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant ("tenente") in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele.
A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley against 663. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I. The book, published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant ("tenente") in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele.
A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley against the backdrop of the First World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway's stature as a modern American writer, became his first best-seller, and is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as "the premier American war novel from that debacle World War I."
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه اکتبر سال 1972 میلادی
عنوان: وداع با اسلحه؛ نویسنده: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: نجف دریابندری؛ تهران، سازمان کتابهای جیبی؛ 1340؛ در 276 ص؛ چاپ 1344 در 346 ص؛ چاپ 1362 در 410 ص؛ چاپ هفتم در 410 ص؛ چاپ نیلوفر، 1376، در 423 ص؛ چاپ دوازدهم 1382؛ چهاردهم 1387؛ شانزدهم 1392؛ شابک: 9789644480591؛ موضوع: داستانهای جنگ جهانگیر نخست - 1914 تا 1918 میلادی - قرن 20 م
عنوان: وداع با اسلحه؛ نویسنده: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: ر. مرعشی؛ تهران، پروین؛ 1354؛ در 224 ص؛
ترجمه ها دیگر: نازی عظیما؛ نشر افق؛ هانیه چوپانی، نشر آسو و نشر کوله پشتی؛ کیومرث پارسای، نشر ناژ؛
رمانی نوشته ارنست همینگوی نویسنده آمریکایی و برنده جایزه نوبل ادبیات است که در سال 1929 میلادی منتشر شد. داستان آن درباره جوانی آمریکایی با نام فردریک هنری است که با درجه ستوان در جنگ جهانی اول در بخش آمبولانس‌ها در ارتش ایتالیا خدمت می‌کند. عنوان رمان از شعری برگرفته شده که جرج پیل در سده ی شانزدهم میلادی سروده‌ است. ... ا. شربیانی ...more

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Dec 22, 2013 Warwick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, italy, slovenia, austria-hungary, switzerland, folio-society, first-world-war

In the fall of that year we rented a house in the mountains that looked down across the river to the village below. The water of the river was turquoise and the village had a pretty campanile and beyond it rose more mountains and beyond them still more. The man who owned our cottage lived next door and made his own dry cured sausage and we would go round and eat it by the fire and talk about how fine the sausage tasted. On the hills all around there were deer, and in the evenings we would sit on In the fall of that year we rented a house in the mountains that looked down across the river to the village below. The water of the river was turquoise and the village had a pretty campanile and beyond it rose more mountains and beyond them still more. The man who owned our cottage lived next door and made his own dry cured sausage and we would go round and eat it by the fire and talk about how fine the sausage tasted. On the hills all around there were deer, and in the evenings we would sit on the balcony of our cottage and wrap ourselves in blankets for the cold, and if we looked one way we would see the deer and if we looked the other way we would see the village down at the bottom of the valley.

The village was called Kobarid but it also had names in other languages. The Germans called it Karfreit and the Italians called it Caporetto and I said to Hannah that it was never a good sign when so many other languages had names for one little village. Sure enough we found a museum in the village dedicated to a big battle that had taken place there during the First World War. The people at the museum pointed at the mountain slopes and I don't remember exactly what they told us but I remember feeling sick and upset and thinking that I ought to know more about what had happened there and why.

The Italian army had gotten through a lot of ambulances during that war and one of the men who drove the ambulances at Kobarid was an American called Ernest Hemingway. Later he wrote a book about it and this is that book. The war parts are very good but gradually they recede into the background and a tragic love story comes to the foreground, and the tragic love story is difficult to enjoy because the woman is so old-fashionedly self-effacing and devoted to the hero that she seems either unrealistic or infuriating to modern readers.

The prose is direct and world-weary and often it sounds fine and ironic and cynical like this:

If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

But often it just seems gratuitously pessimistic and this is especially true for the way the book ends. When I went to Kobarid we were very happy. I remember the place very well because we were on the porch of our cottage there when I asked Hannah to marry me. She said yes and our memories of that mountain and that village are very happy ones. This book does not end in the same way and although it is strong and powerful I really wish someone had told me that I should not be reading this ending while my wife is nine months' pregnant.

(Dec 2013) ...more

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Apr 07, 2017 Diane rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, classics, war

Well, that was disappointing.

For several months I've been focused on reading more classic literature, mostly as a way to dig deep and enrich my life during these trying political times. Until now, it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. This Hemingway novel was my first dud.

I wanted to like this book. I've been reading more on World War I this past year and thought A Farewell to Arms would fit both my WWI interest and my goal of appreciating classics. But ol' Hem (as I learned to call h ...more

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Sep 01, 2014 Agir(آگِر) rated it liked it · review of another edition

این کتاب زاویه دید متفاوتی از جنگ را روایت میکنه
و البته باز قهرمان کتاب مردی است با شخصیتی خاص
افسری آمریکایی در ایتالیا و در بحبوبه جنگ درگیر عشق با پرستاری انگلیسی می شود

صحنه جنگی هم در کتاب کم نیست و همچنین نشان دادن واقعیت جنگ
سربازان و سرگردانی که دنبال فرصتی اند که از جنگ فرار کنند یا مرخصی بگیرند
حتی بخودشون ضربه میزنند تا در بیمارستان بستری بشوند

عشق زیبای فردریک هنری و کاترین بارکلی نقطه اوج داستان بود.این قسمت رو همینگوی عالی در آورده بود و سرشار از احساس بود
ولی از صحنه جنگ و تشریحش اصلا ...more

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Aug 01, 2008 Becky rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audiobook, 2011, abandoned, disappointing, reviewed, romance-y

Once, there was a time when I would have struggled through this one, convinced that since it was a "classic", there must be some redeeming quality to it. I'd have struggled to the bitter end, hating it more and more, and I'd have been disappointed by it even if there was something worthwhile at the end. Because getting there was tedious, boring, painful, and annoying.

This book has a lot of very varied reviews and opinions. Lots of people loved it, lots of people hated it. I can see why. It's a Once, there was a time when I would have struggled through this one, convinced that since it was a "classic", there must be some redeeming quality to it. I'd have struggled to the bitter end, hating it more and more, and I'd have been disappointed by it even if there was something worthwhile at the end. Because getting there was tedious, boring, painful, and annoying.

This book has a lot of very varied reviews and opinions. Lots of people loved it, lots of people hated it. I can see why. It's a book that some people will definitely like. Masculinity, heavy drinking, etc will naturally appeal to some more than others. The love story aspect will appeal to some that aren't so much into the other stuff, and the war stuff will do for still more, maybe. Usually, the war and the masculinity and stuff would be my thing - but this just didn't do anything for me.

I think that this was due to the writing, and the reading. I didn't like the reader at all. He had a kind of clipped reading style, and since the writing was full of short sentences, it made it hard for me to settle into the reading and listen. A good reader needs a quality that draws a listener in - but this one did just the opposite. I struggled on through about 3 discs and I just could not stand the reader enough to get into the story. And the story wasn't doing much to help. Staccato sentences, back and forth. Lots of pointless dialogue that, I suppose, in the end would have painted a full picture and come together, but I just found myself not caring at all.

And this featured my very least favorite writing trick ever: using dialogue to replace explaining action...
"Here drink this. No all of it. It will do you good!"
"I don't want it. Put it on the table."
"Here - you drink it all up! There's a good boy. You'll see. It'll do you good like I say. No, sit down. Listen to me now."
"Answer the door, I think it's unimportant person number 4 coming to tell us something unimportant. What's he saying?"
"Go sit back down, I'll tell you everything in a minute. Here, drink more of this. Good."

The romance aspects, what little I saw, were just as abrasive and annoying.
"Oh, I love you! Do you love me? Say you love me."
"Yes I love you."
"Oh, you're just saying that! It's the war. You don't mean it."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't"
"Yes, really."
"Ok, sure. Because I love you, but you don't have to lie to me."

BLAH! Shut up. Who cares?! I just struggled along, in this three-against-one uphill battle... And they won. I raised my white flag and gave up. No mas, por favor. ...more

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Oct 26, 2014 Luís C. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lisbon-book-fairs, on-my-own, 1001-done, us-canada-author, livros-do-brasil, 300-400, reading-the-world

It is a strong story, beautiful and sad at the same time. It is a novel of war; a novel of men who question, drink, go to the brothel of the front, who fight, who die or are seriously wounded, who try to understand where it leads them. It is a love story that lasts an hour, a night, a life; which fills the void of man's solitude with the horror of war; which grows in the face of the absurdity of great words such as "duty and honor".

A rich vocabulary and a very particular rhythm made of small sen ...more

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Jul 11, 2014 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

An American studying architecture in Rome, Frederick Henry, is transformed into a Lt. in the Italian Army, when World War I starts. He volunteers even though America doesn't enter , the Great War, for another 3 years ! Why? He probably can't say, himself , but young men want excitement in their dull lives. He joins the ambulance corps on the northern front , in charge of four drivers , and a few motorcars, picking up the badly wounded soldiers, when feasible, the dead are carried outside the veh An American studying architecture in Rome, Frederick Henry, is transformed into a Lt. in the Italian Army, when World War I starts. He volunteers even though America doesn't enter , the Great War, for another 3 years ! Why? He probably can't say, himself , but young men want excitement in their dull lives. He joins the ambulance corps on the northern front , in charge of four drivers , and a few motorcars, picking up the badly wounded soldiers, when feasible, the dead are carried outside the vehicles , no need now. Austrians are the enemy, but the high snowy mountains, freezing weather , make battles difficult, to fight, swollen rivers dangerous to cross , the artillery flashing in the night, screaming mortars above , and coming down no-one knows where, except the unfortunates, but too late for them. Rinaldi a very capable surgeon in the Italian army , getting better every day, putting back together the wounded bodies, saving lives, most of the time . Is Lt. Henry's affable roommate, always joking, and best friend, in a good house, in a mostly undamaged village, near the war, for officers. A man who loves women, to a certain degree ( lust may be the correct word), he has seen his latest enchanting female, but to his deep regret, not a mutual feeling between the two. The gracious doctor tells the lieutenant about the beautiful blonde, tall British nurse, Catherine Barkley, even introduces him. It doesn't take long for a romance, she lost her fiancee in France, last year, 1916, in the trenches, at first she , then he too falls in love , not wanting or expecting it, her best friend and fellow nurse Helen Ferguson , disapproves. Lonely people amid a terrible conflict somehow require something to continue their joyless existence. Shortly after, while waiting in a ditch at the front, for the bombardment to halt, a mortar shell hits, killing one of his men and badly wounding him, in both legs.The ambulance will take the driver for a ride not in front, this time, but in the back, he the young American, feels a warm liquid dropping from the top, the blood oozing out of another soldier, will not stop, Henry can't move, just endure, until there is no more. The vehicle ceases traveling, heavy rains pouring down, the dead man put on the muddy ground, and another victim carried inside. They finally arrive at the unsanitary field hospital, safely navigating the treacherous mountain roads and bombs. Catherine becomes the Lt.'s nurse and much more. Since Milan, is not far away and an American hospital has just opened (this is 1917), a better place for treatment. Catherine gets assigned there, never a difficulty, she says mysteriously. But the recovered Mr.Henry, must go back to the front when he is healed, their happiness is over. A novel based on Hemingway's experiences in the war, he was a 19 -year old ambulance driver, almost dying of battle wounds, and having an unhappy affair with an older nurse. ...more

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Aug 01, 2009 K.D. Absolutely rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)

Shelves: 1001-core

My second book by Ernest Hemingway. I liked this so much that I cried while finally closing the book.

It must be the way Hemingway used his magic: the vivid descriptions of his locale. The war torn Italian picturesque villa and the use of rain as metaphor for hardship. The ying-yang kind of story: the "man's man" virile American Tenente and the whimsical English-woman Catherine. The contrast between these two lovers is so opposite that's akin to the sun and moon that sometimes exist together in a ...more

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Oct 06, 2008 Siria rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, american-fiction

I've never read any Hemingway, so I thought to myself, 'Self, that is probably something you should remedy.' And now there are a couple of hours of my life that I will never get back. The macho posturing, the awful dialogue (if it were possible to have excised every word he put into the mouth of Catherine, I would have done so), the misogyny, the sometimes bizarre interactions between people... whatever the hell he was trying to do, for me it read as if everyone was either: 1) Certifiably insane ...more

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Nov 10, 2014 Jonathan Ashleigh rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Ernest Hemingway takes a lame story, and then he tells it in a boring way.

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Aug 19, 2017 Melki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, classic-fiction, war

"Tell me exactly what happened. Did you do any heroic acts?"

"No," I said. "I was blown up while we were eating cheese."

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Yes, the man/woman stuff is awkward as hell, with all the "Darlings" and "Say you love me" coming off as so much bad movie dialogue.

But, I loved hearing all the characters give their opinions on the war. The action sequences are compelling, and frequently disturbing.

And, Henry's repartee with Rinaldi is absolutely priceless!

Plus, cons ...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Matt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, world-war-i

A Farewell to Arms sort of gives you the inkling that Hemingway's death will probably involve a shotgun.

It's just that sad. Front to back, this is one of the more mournful novels I've read. It's about Henry, an ambulance driver in World War I. He is wounded and falls in love with Catherine, a nurse. They exchange odd banter. They fall in love in love during a summer in Milan (but who wouldn't?). He knocks Catherine up, then returns to the front. Unfortunately for him, he is fighting with Italia A Farewell to Arms sort of gives you the inkling that Hemingway's death will probably involve a shotgun.

It's just that sad. Front to back, this is one of the more mournful novels I've read. It's about Henry, an ambulance driver in World War I. He is wounded and falls in love with Catherine, a nurse. They exchange odd banter. They fall in love in love during a summer in Milan (but who wouldn't?). He knocks Catherine up, then returns to the front. Unfortunately for him, he is fighting with Italians, and, as the Italians are known to do, he is soon in full retreat. (I don't know why the French get such a bad rap, the Italians haven't won a war since sacking Carthage). Henry is captured by military police and in danger of being executed, but he manages to escape. He reunites with Catherine and, inexplicably, ends up living with her in Switzerland. Things are idyllic for awhile. The lazy, languid life reminiscent of The Sun Also Rises.

Then, of course, life intervenes.

The end is tragic. Heartbreaking. The writing is brilliant, such as in Hemingway's famous line about how the world breaks us all:

We were never lonely and never afraid when we were together. I know that the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started. But with Catherine there was almost no difference in the night except that it was an even better time. If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

There's no cynicism here, just bitterness. It's prototypical Hemingway. The sparseness and terseness interspersed with long, emotion-laden sentences. I place this in the middle of For Whom the Bell Tolls, which ends badly but is full of passion and love, and The Sun Also Rises, which is like an early 20th century The Real World.

...more

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Oct 04, 2007 emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I first read this book in high school. Maybe because I was young, maybe because it was summer reading, or maybe because I read it immediately following The Invisible Man (intense!), I more or less just slid through the book, enjoying the love story and not dwelling long enough in the war episodes to feel much of anything.

The second time I read it, I didn't make it past the time in Milan. I couldn't settle into the prose and, more importantly, I couldn't handle Catherine: "I'll say just what you ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Andrei Tamaş rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, literatura-anglo-americana

"Adio, arme!" este povestea autorului însuşi care, trimis ca "voluntar" pe frontul din Italia (Primul Razboi Mondial), se îndrăgosteşte de o asistentă a Crucii Roşii. Patosul cu care este descrisă iubirea în cea de-a două parte a romanului şi tragicul final al acestuia (care l-a făcut pe Hemingway să se retragă în singurătate) reprezintă o experienţă profundă, o experienţă a cărei urmare a fost încolţirea nimbului artistic.
Stilul lui Hemingway este succint şi arareori are fragmente în care să d ...more

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Apr 03, 2017 Marie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ww1, italy, classics, bvc

This book is incredible. I completely understand why it is a classic. Hemingway is a masterful writer. There is so much to absolutely love about this novel. Hemingway paints the landscape and setting like a painter. Each setting is so beautifully and carefully described, recalling such detail. The humor and wit involved had me laughing aloud. He so articulately characterizes and ascribes characteristics to those within his novel. You can feel the personalities and love them as he must have in cr This book is incredible. I completely understand why it is a classic. Hemingway is a masterful writer. There is so much to absolutely love about this novel. Hemingway paints the landscape and setting like a painter. Each setting is so beautifully and carefully described, recalling such detail. The humor and wit involved had me laughing aloud. He so articulately characterizes and ascribes characteristics to those within his novel. You can feel the personalities and love them as he must have in creating them. They are so alive and vibrant! They have characteristics and personalities we would typically think of per their nationalities. The war is seen as an absolute absurdity from any way you look at it, but he does not go over the top in driving this point home. There is so much else layered within this book. Yes, war is ridiculous. The whole endeavor is ridiculous. Who will win? The country that figures this out last. And the love story.. is to die for!!! It is so crazy at the outset, so real, so tender... so tragic. It has to be one of my favorite literary romances of all time.

This fictional novel is told in first person. Frederic Henry is an American studying architecture in Rome when World War I breaks out. He enlists in the Italian army as an ambulance driver, prior to America even entering the war. This mirrors Hemingway’s life in that he too volunteered to be an ambulance driver in the Italian army, years prior to America’s entrance into the war. In the novel, Lieutenant Henry develops close friendships with Rinaldi, an Italian surgeon, and a nameless priest. It is through Rinaldi that Henry meets Catherine Barkley, with whom he falls in love. The war is ensuing with Austria and Germany. The officers of Italian army at the beginning of the novel seem to be enjoying drink and brothels. Henry even develops jaundice during a prolonged hospitalized for a wound to his knee. Alcoholic hepatitis? Possibly. However, as war progresses, the men become demoralized. There is not enough food. They cannot stay dry. They might even be shot by their own army. Lieutenant Henry must navigate his men away from harm during the German attack on Caporetto. In case you have not read this novel and plan to, I will say no more.. as I do not want to ruin the novel for anyone.

I listened to the audible version read by John Slattery which I highly recommend. I know prior to this novel being originally published, the profanity was removed. However, in this audio version it seemed like there were gaps where the profanity should have been. I would have preferred to have listened to or read the unedited version. What an amazing book detailing a very important point in history, as well as an incredible love story.

This was read as part of Book Riot’s reading challenge as a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in the United States. It has been frequently challenged as a “sex novel” and due to “language and sexual references in the book.” This book was banned in Italy, in 1929 until 1948, by the fascist regime in part for its description of the retreat from Caporetto and in part for its anti-militarism. It was also banned in Boston at that time. It was burned in Germany in 1933 by the Nazis as it was felt to be anti-war as they were trying to drum up support. It was also banned in Ireland in 1939. ...more

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Jul 04, 2016 نعیمه بخشی rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

اگر فیلم سخیف
Silver Linings Playbook
را دیده باشید، یادتان هست که شخصیت اصلی فیلم ساعتها و ساعتها همین کتاب را میخواند و بعد که تمام میشود با گفتن جملهای که آوردنش در اینجا خوشایند نیست، کتاب را از پنجره پرت میکند بیرون. من از آنجا یادم بود که کتاب پایان تلخی دارد. ولی برخلاف شخصیت اصلی فیلم مشکلم پایانهی داستان نیست و حتا فکر میکنم این پایانه خیلی هم درخشان است.
در بین تمام کتابهایی که دربارهی جنگ خواندهام کتاب وداع با اسلحه نمیتواند جایگاه منحصربهفردی داشته باشد. بگذارید بهتان بگویم که در یک رت ...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Mary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2015

I finally read something more from Hemingway besides the damn fish book! For some reason I was prepared to be bored and/or annoyed, but other than some corny period dialogue and a doormat leading lady, I found this to be cynical, suspenseful and poignant. As in war, there can be no happy endings in life, and the catastrophic fall that I felt was coming for these people from very early in the novel came fast and hard and it got to me. In the end I felt as gutted as the aftermath of a battle.

That ...more

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Jul 16, 2010 Michael rated it liked it

Shelves: goodest-reads-2010, literature, meta-reviews, 1960s, 1900-1949

(Spoilers ahead.)

THE DOUBLE DATE

Dramatis Personae:

Henry, protagonist of A Farewell to Arms, ex-soldier.
Catherine, wife of Henry, an ex-nurse for wounded soldiers.
Michael, book "reviewer," handsome and devilish rogue.
Joy, Michael's wife. She'll cut a bitch.
The Waiter, self-explanatory.
Distressed Customer #1, Only has one line.
Dying Man, just proposed to his girlfriend.
Dying Man's Fiance, happy, but frightened her dude will croak before they tie the knot.
Harold Bloom, asshole.

SCENE 1: The Date

Cat ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Madeline rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-list

"British ambulance drivers were killed sometimes. Well, I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me. It seemed no more dangerous to me myself than war in the movies. I wished to God it was over though."

Frederic Henry (who, for all intents and purposes is Ernest Hemingway) is a volunteer in the Italian Army in World War I. He's wounded in battle and has to spend time recuperating in a hospital after his leg is operated on, and while there he falls in love "British ambulance drivers were killed sometimes. Well, I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me. It seemed no more dangerous to me myself than war in the movies. I wished to God it was over though."

Frederic Henry (who, for all intents and purposes is Ernest Hemingway) is a volunteer in the Italian Army in World War I. He's wounded in battle and has to spend time recuperating in a hospital after his leg is operated on, and while there he falls in love with British nurse Catherine Barkley. The novel follows them as they try to escape the war and start a life together. On the surface, this isn't really a book about war; it's a book about two people just trying to live a normal, happy life while the whole world goes to hell around them.

I was lukewarm on this one. For Whom the Bell Tolls is much better, first because it's about something bigger than just two people trying to get married (Robert Jordan struggled with the concept of heroism and how war changes people; Frederick Henry just wants to get laid), and also because the characters in A Farewell to Arms are significantly less complex and interesting than the ones in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Also, Catherine Barkley is just an absolute nightmare of a character - she has no discernible personality and exists just to gratify and worship Henry, to the extent that she makes Bella Swan look like an independent strong woman overflowing with self-esteem. Think I'm exaggerating? Here, have some lines of actual dialogue that Catherine says to Henry: "I'll say just what you wish and I'll do what you wish and then you will never want any other girls, will you?" "I want what you want. There isn't any more. Just what you want." "I'm good. Aren't I good?" "You see? I'm good. I do what you want."

Christ on a bike. That all happens in one single scene, by the way. Catherine isn't a person, she's a horrible Frankenstein's monster stitched together from desperation and male wish fulfillment. To Hemingway's credit, Henry really does love Catherine, so at least we can take comfort in the fact that her senseless devotion was reciprocated a little bit (not that Henry ever talks about his feelings with the same intensity that Catherine does, because that'd be gay).

The reason this gets three stars instead of two is because Hemingway is still Hemingway, and amidst all the bad characterization and plodding pace he manages to create these little bits of gorgeous writing that make everything okay, at least for a little while:

"Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. It has only happened to me like that once. I have been alone while I was with many girls and that is the way you can be most lonely. But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together. I know that night is not the same as the day: that all things different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started. But with Catherine there was almost no difference in the night except that it was an even better time." ...more

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Apr 08, 2008 Rebecca rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Observational tragedy. Bloke falls for sub-moron during war. *petitions friendly bombs*
Hemmingway absolves language of beauty. And then the world.
His intent was to expose war's mundanity. His method rendered art menial.
*sarcastic applause*

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Dec 09, 2017 Roy Lotz rated it liked it · review of another edition

There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity.

If Voltaire had read Hemingway’s famous war novel, I’d wager that he would pronounce that it is neither about war nor a novel. Compared to All Quiet on the Western Front, for example, the descriptions of war in this book are ludicrously tame. The vast majority of the time the narrator is not even at the front; and when he is, he is far behind the front lines, driving an ambulance. The bulk of the book is taken up, instead, by a love story. The war forms the backdrop—though admittedly a very conspicuous backdrop—and is not the main thread of the book.

What of the novel? Hemingway is a writer of conspicuous strengths and weaknesses; and the longer the book, the more apparent his shortcomings. Though the novel is slim, it still feels padded. Hemingway, for whatever reason, considered it dramatically necessary to narrate every time his characters ate or drank. Aside from telling us that his characters drank a lot (even while pregnant) and appreciated good wines, we learn very little from these frequent repasts, and the ultimate effect is to make the reader hungry.

The conversations, too, are repetitive—especially between the narrator and Catherine Barkley, his wartime sweetheart. While strikingly tender and frank, especially for Hemingway, the relationship between these two never sparkles with the interplay of personality. There is none of the mutual discovery we find in, say, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Instead, the two of them talk to each other the way people talk to their dogs—asking cutesie rhetorical questions never meant to be answered.

These two examples are just part of a larger fault: Hemingway’s tendency to get carried away into nostalgic, atmospheric descriptions. At his best moments, admittedly, he creates that wistful, bittersweet, melancholic tone that he is known for, and that forms such a beautiful part of his work. But too often the book becomes pointlessly autobiographical. Hemingway is, after all, one of the strongest proponents of the “write what you know” school of fiction. Though wise advice, there is a danger to this method: Since everyone’s life is interesting to themselves, it can be difficult to know which parts may be interesting to other people. This book definitely suffers in this way.

Of course there are many strong bits. Some scenes are unforgettable—the narrator’s injury, the long retreat, rowing across the Swiss Lake, among others. I also really loved the conversations between the narrator and Rinanldi. Unlike the love story, that friendship has true chemistry. Indeed many episodes, taken by themselves, are remarkable. But do they add up to a coherent book?

I ask this specifically in regards to the ending. Since I had just read A.C. Bradley’s book on tragedy, in which he insisted that tragedy requires that a hero create his own downfall, I was struck by how un-tragic was the end of this book. The fatal stroke is not the inevitable result of any personal flaw or a misguided decision, but pure misfortune. The final effect, therefore, is not tragic, but pathetic. In Hemingway’s novel, the universe itself is malevolent, even sadistic, and humans just confused defenseless creatures caught in its maw.

Thus I am a bit perplexed that some people see this as an anti-war novel. The narrator’s crushing blow is not caused by the war; indeed it is something that could have happened to anyone. You can argue that the novel’s bleak atmosphere reflects the fatalism and the pessimism engendered by the war: a nihilistic perspective that is carried over into every phase of life—even love. Yet the narrator himself is not pessimistic—at least not most of the time; if he were, he would not have embarked on his love-affair. It is neither his perspective nor the war, therefore, that dooms the narrator, but some mysterious malevolency of the world itself that makes lasting happiness impossible, in war or in peace.

Thus, aside from a few explicitly anti-war passages in the book, the general tenor has little to do with pacifism or any other political reflection. Instead, to paraphrase the book’s most famous passage, the final message is: Everyone gets broken in the end no matter what. And I don’t think this notion has any truth or value. ...more

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Dec 01, 2016 Jean-Marc Bonet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

There is something so fulfilling in Mr Hemingway's achievement in 'A Farewell to Arms' that one is left speculating as to whether another novel will follow in this manner, and whether it does not complete both a period and a phase.

The story begins with such beautiful mannerisms which is a subtle way to undertake a book where the centre stage is that of war, with the love-making between the young American hero, Henry, a volunteer in the Italian Ambulance Service, and Catherine Barkley, an English There is something so fulfilling in Mr Hemingway's achievement in 'A Farewell to Arms' that one is left speculating as to whether another novel will follow in this manner, and whether it does not complete both a period and a phase.

The story begins with such beautiful mannerisms which is a subtle way to undertake a book where the centre stage is that of war, with the love-making between the young American hero, Henry, a volunteer in the Italian Ambulance Service, and Catherine Barkley, an English nurse in the British hospital at Goritzia. There is sublime feminine quality in her response to the man, who, at first, is just amusing himself, but the affair soon develops into real passion.
Henry, whose good relations with the Italian officers in his mess are drawn with delightful freshness, is wounded, with a smashed knee in a night assault near Plava, and is sent down from the field hospital to the American hospital at Milan, where he is the first case, and here Miss Barkley gets a transfer to nurse him.

All the descriptions of life at the front and in the hospitals, the talk of the officers, privates, and doctors, are crisply natural and make a convincing narrative, though the hero is perhaps already a little too mature and experienced. Catherine (who might be a younger sister of the heroine of Fiesta) is most skilfully modelled as the eternal soul in nursing dress.
During moments spend in the Milan hospital, where love laughs at matrons and maids, the author increases his hold over us, and spells out that even with our worse fears the compassion of others can sometimes be enough to give hope in the darkest of days. The story appears to deepen in force when Henry, patched up, returns to the Isonzo front. The year has been a serious one for the Italian army, and the breakthrough of the Germans at Caporetto brings disaster.

The last 50 pages of book three describe the Italian army in retreat, the block of transport on the main roads, the bogging and abandonment of Henry's cars on a side road, the Italian privates' behaviour and their hatred of the war, and finally the shooting of the elderly officers in retreat by the Italian battle police at the Tagliamento - these pages are masterly and devastating.
The American hero escapes death by diving into the river and, later, arrest by concealing himself in a gun truck till it reaches Milan. Thence in mufti he gets to Stiesa and meets Catherine, and the lovers escape to Switzerland by a long night row up the lake. The scenes on the Italian plains hold more atmospheric truth than those of the mountain roads, but all are admirably wrought.

The impartiality of the presentation of war is as remarkable as the sincerity of the record of love passion. With remorseless artistic instinct Mr Hemingway proceeds to match the horrors of human slaughter by his final chapter of Catherine's agony and death as, "a maternity case".

Here he rises to his highest pitch, for Catherine's blotting-out is but complementary to the massacre of the millions on the fronts. Henry's coolness of observation in its detailed actuality is perhaps too stressed in the last pages, for in hours of great emotional strain material fact seems to detach itself as a separate phenomenon, and Henry remains too set; but the author's method prevails and triumphs in the last line. Hemingway's masterpiece, that touches in so many ways.

...more

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Feb 27, 2017 James rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is the story of an American serving as a non-combatant ambulance driver in the Italian army during the Great War, the injury he suffered, his lengthy convalescence, relationships and experiences of that war. A story which is inspired by (at least in part) if not exactly portraying Hemingway’s own experiences fulfilling the same role. Apparently this was a period which Hemingway viewed as one of the most formative experiences of his life.

This is the only Hemingway that I have read thus far a This is the story of an American serving as a non-combatant ambulance driver in the Italian army during the Great War, the injury he suffered, his lengthy convalescence, relationships and experiences of that war. A story which is inspired by (at least in part) if not exactly portraying Hemingway’s own experiences fulfilling the same role. Apparently this was a period which Hemingway viewed as one of the most formative experiences of his life.

This is the only Hemingway that I have read thus far and chose this one as I’d understood that ‘Farewell to Arms’ was generally viewed as Hemingway at the ‘height of his literary powers’. That being the case, I had cautiously high expectations – unfortunately most of which were not fulfilled.

The book I found to be generally and unfortunately disappointing on most fronts. I struggled to engage with the narrative or (for the most part) the characters. The prose I found to be generally verging on the disinteresting. Maybe it is a lazy comparison, but ‘Farewell to Arms’ came across to me almost like an earlier, weaker Steinbeck – but without his literary strengths, mastery and skill for storytelling.

The most effective and compelling parts of ‘Farewell to Arms’ I found to be the relationships and scenes between Henry, Catherine, Rinaldi and the Priest – these at least had a certain air of authenticity about them (in spite of Catherine’s occasionally bizarre depiction as ‘half-crazy’) as well as the closing passages – which in themselves existed as the result of the war, but in themselves are depicted as entirely separate from the war.

If there was any semblance of portraying the heroism, futility and savagery etc of war then this was for the most part lost or absent – at least for me.

Published in the same year as Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (sometimes cited as the ‘best war novel of all time’ – understandably) – ‘Farewell to Arms’ does not bear comparison and maybe shouldn’t be compared. Although both books were published in the same year and the broader subject matter of the Great War is the same – they don’t attempt to tell anything like the same story. However… whilst Remarque produced a staggering work of literary near/genius, Hemingway came up with a novel which is considered altogether more ‘modern’ in style and construction. The problem for me is that ‘A Farewell to Arms’ is ultimately neither moving, nor beautiful, nor harrowing, nor engaging, nor for the most part thought provoking.

Perhaps Hemingway readers out there can recommend some of his other works which might restore my hopes in Hemingway; based on ‘Farewell to Arms’ however, I do not feel inclined at this stage to explore the rest of his output.

Apparently the title; ‘Farewell to Arms’ is in itself a pun – although I think neither funny, nor clever nor ironic – perhaps I missed something?

Overall then – despite some engaging and effective passages, some memorable quotes and possibly ahead of its time terms of being ‘modern’ (?) – ‘Farewell to Arms’ is ultimately however, underwhelming, fails to engage and for the most part lacks a sense and feeling of any real authenticity.

I've generously given a three star rating...only just.
...more

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Dec 01, 2017 Nood-Lesse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

La saggezza dei vecchi è una leggenda. Non diventano saggi, diventano solo prudenti

Che stranezza la rilettura di questo libro. Dentro ci sono delle cose che avevo dimenticato, loro invece non si sono mai scordate di me. La pagina di cui parlavo nel precedente commento è ancora al suo posto. Per quella pagina cinque stelle sono poche, va aggiunta una cometa. Al libro non le avrei assegnate se questa fosse stata la prima lettura. Le confermo solo perché mi è vissuto dentro a mia insaputa. La prima La saggezza dei vecchi è una leggenda. Non diventano saggi, diventano solo prudenti

Che stranezza la rilettura di questo libro. Dentro ci sono delle cose che avevo dimenticato, loro invece non si sono mai scordate di me. La pagina di cui parlavo nel precedente commento è ancora al suo posto. Per quella pagina cinque stelle sono poche, va aggiunta una cometa. Al libro non le avrei assegnate se questa fosse stata la prima lettura. Le confermo solo perché mi è vissuto dentro a mia insaputa. La prima parte è assai lenta, altrove c'è un uso eccessivo del discorso diretto (di cui H. è l'indiscusso sovrano). La storia d’amore è senza scaramucce, Hemingway deve aver pensato che l’orrore della guerra fosse sufficiente come contro altare, inoltre c’è il fatto che quella storia condurrà in un punto preciso. Non ricordavo il finale, ma ho rivissuto uno stato d’animo. Ho scoperto che alcune di quelle parole mi si erano conficcate dentro.
Non avete mai letto niente di E.H.?
Mi verrebbe da consigliarvi di partire con l’introduzione a questo libro (che lui scrisse nel 1948) per capire se è un autore che può fare per voi
Il fatto che la materia del libro fosse tragica non mi rendeva infelice, perché ero sicuro che la vita è una tragedia e finisce sempre allo stesso modo. Ma il vedere sempre in modo nuovo che era possibile creare qualcosa, tanto veridicamente da ricavarne felicità nel leggere gli effetti della creazione, e ritornare a farlo tutti i giorni di lavoro mi dava un piacere superiore agli altri che avevo già conosciuto…
Il libro fu riscritto nell'autunno e nell'inverno 1928 a Key West e questa nuova stesura fu conclusa a Parigi nella primavera 1929. Mentre lavoravo alla prima stesura nacque il mio secondo figlio Patrick, a Kansas city, mediante taglio cesareo, e intanto che la rifacevo mio padre si uccise a Oak Park (Illinois). Non avevo ancora compiuto i trent'anni quando terminai il libro, e uscì nel giorno del crollo in borsa.
Ho pensato sempre che mio padre avrebbe potuto aspettare fino a quel giorno, ma forse aveva fretta. Non voglio mettermi qui a far il giudice perché volevo molto bene a mio padre.

Per una coincidenza ho letto di recente queste parole di Malamud
Per certi scrittori diventa difficile scrivere quando sono a fine ormai alla fine della carriera, specialmente se decidono di escludere elementi importanti legati alla loro esperienza personale. Hemingway non riusciva a parlare della famiglia se non attraverso rapidi accenni..
Ovviamente non tutto ciò che accade nella vita di uno scrittore deve divenire materia di narrazione, ma sono dell’idea che, se Hemingway avesse cercato, diciamo negli ultimi cinque anni della sua vita, di raccontare di suo padre, invece di continuare a parlare di tori o di un grosso pesce, magari non si sarebbe suicidato
In ‘Addio alle armi’ l’unico accenno al padre è questo
E tu? Hai ancora il papà? - No - risposi. - Solo un patrigno. - Credi che andremmo d'accordo? - Oh, anche tu potrai fare a meno di lui.

Infine un’annotazione per lo scrittore che, diventato mito, ha reso mitiche numerose delle cose che ha toccato.
M'incamminai verso l'Iles Borromèes, con la valigia, sotto la pioggia. Vidi una carrozza e feci segno al vetturino, perché era meglio d'arrivare in carrozza. Ci fermammo dopo aver attraversato il giardino, il portiere uscì con l'ombrello e fu molto gentile. Mi accompagnò in una bella stanza, molto ampia, con le finestre sul lago.
http://www.borromees.it/
Camere: HEMINGWAY SUITE

------1994-----
Io vi consiglio di leggerlo "Addio alle armi" perché nessuna recensione gli renderà mai giustizia. Vi è scritto di dolore e amore, di amicizia e di guerra, della vita, lontano dalle favole buoniste troppo spesso raccontate dal cinema americano.
Un informazione valida? Fra la pagina 250 e quella 300 ce n'é una che da sola vale il prezzo del libro. ...more

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About Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

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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 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 collections and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of these are considered classics of American literature.

Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. In 1922, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent, and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s "Lost Generation" expatriate community. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway's first novel, was published in 1926.

After his 1927 divorce from Hadley Richardson, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from Spanish Civil War where he had acted as a journalist, and after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. They separated when he met Mary Welsh in London during World War II; during which he was present at the Normandy Landings and liberation of Paris.

Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952, Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in two plane crashes that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961. ...more