For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ratings235
Average rating3.9
For Whom The Bell Tolls **The Snows Of Kilimanjaro **Fiesta **
The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber Across The River And Into The Trees **The Old Man And The Sea ***
So on average 3.5, rounded up to 4
Hemingway is capable of a near perfect style but he doesn't seem to be aware that if he just let it be, it would be sufficient. So he ruins books by having too much plot. This one in particular had, imo, (it's all imo), a butchered ending, one that turns the whole story into propaganda of sorts, a book with a thesis.
But that's just the last 10 or so pages, so still many many pages of great reading.
I remember liking parts of this book, but like most Hemingway, it's long-winded and a little boring in spots. I need to re-read it so my post-highschool brain can reinterpret what happens...
Really wanted to like this more, but I just struggled to become enthralled by the story. There were parts of this book that were gripping, suspenseful, horrifying, inspiring, etc. but they were few and far between. Aspects seemed to drag and perhaps that is what emphasized the parts that were intense.
I will say that Hemingway produces one of my favorite quotes where I least expected to find it. "Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today." I read this book about four years ago and to say I have changed and grown since then would be underselling it. I imagine it entirely possible should I go back to read it again, I might enjoy it more.
Slow burn. I was growing frustrated by the slow pacing, and maybe I would have given up but it's the only book that Nick has read twice so I stuck with it and, god, I'm glad that I did. Goddamn.
Bello. Personaggi interessanti e contesto storico realistico. Un pelino lungo 7
Forced myself to finish this but only by listening to the audio at 2x speed.
There is a part of me that wanted to enjoy this book (which it did), and there is a part of me that had made up my mind that I didn't care much for Hemingway based on my impressions as a teenager reading something assigned to me 25 years ago. I am glad I stuck it out and finished this one.
Starting the title and the allusion to Donne, the theme of connectedness is woven into the narrative skillfully. I mean that sincerely. There are times when Hemingway is overt about it, with the characters openly acknowledging the connectedness of the world. Yet, much of Robert Jordan's personal reflections deal with this theme, and his musings connect him to his past and the future in interesting ways.
The theme of death also appeared constantly. Hemingway dealt with it squarely and effectively, though the characters can come off as callous to it. Is that because they're fighting a war? Possibly, yet the scene of Anselmo's death shows the reader that these characters, particularly Jordan and Pilar, are capable of being deeply affected by death. In step with the connection theme, the loss of Anselmo dims Jordan's outlook on their mission.
Readers really need a basic understanding of the context in which the narrative occurs. It was not difficult to obtain. A quick review of the Wikipedia entry on the Spanish Civil War, though not acceptable for those embarking on serious academic study of the text, will suffice for the casual reader.
I cannot close a review of this book without commenting on the language. Hemingway's use of thee, thou, etc. is distracting but easily managed. I have read that it was a deliberate attempt to represent the types of broken English spoken by non-native speakers as well as how English can accommodate the multiple second person verb forms found in Spanish. Either way, the language neither adds nor detracts from the text for me, but it could be a stumbling block for other readers. The deliberate avoidance of expletives was another such literary decision.
Would I recommend this one to all of my friends? No. However, for those looking for an accessible, enjoyable classic, this one is an option.
Obviously, this is a very famous book but, to be honest, I found it long winded and over-long and I was exhausted but the endless dialogues and monologues that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the good parts when I finally got there, and there are plenty of good parts.
It's been a good week since I read the book but I still can't stop thinking about it. This is my first Hemingway book, I'm excited to read more.
I liked it.
There is the “basic” story of guerillas hiding in the mountains in spain and the dynamiteer who has come to blow up a bridge. That story is rather good and interesting, although somewhat lengthy. However the inner monologues and the amount that isn't said in the intercharacter dialogue makes for a look into the intricacies of one side of the Spanish Civil War. The various beliefs, the hopes and dreams and the stark reality that meets in the various characters that this novel encompass.
Take it for what it is, but there is no doubt (in my mind) that Ernest Hemingway was an idealist that fought in the Spanish Civil War, and in that war was forced to face a stark realism that contrasted with his ideals. Furthermore he also witness how others saw the war and the ideals they fought for. And that's what the story is ultimately about.
Will maybe return to write more about this great book once it's settled in my mind.
Classic Hemingway. Years later I was luck enough to go on a hike for several days in the mountains of Northern Spain and be constantly reminded of this book - this is a testament to how well Hemingway paints his imagery.
This was the fifth Hemingway novel I've read this year, and by far the most ambitious in length, scope, topic, and style. This classic follows Robert Jordan, American Spanish professor turned Republican Demolition officer in the Spanish Civil War as he leads a small guerrilla band to destroy a bridge that will play an important tactical role in an upcoming battle (as will its destruction). This classic has been analyzed, reviewed and studied far more intensely and deeply than I do around here, so I'll stick to some general impressions/observations.
First, this took me a long time to read – sure, it's chock-full of Hemingway's deceptively simple prose, but something about this one took forever to slog through. I'm not sure why – and what it says about the quality of the book – but this took 4-5 days longer than I thought it should to read.
Hemingway didn't pull any punches at all with foreshadowing, pretty much every plot point is predicted within the first 50 pages or so. And then you're hit over the head with them for the rest of the book.
Even though this is a third person narrative, it felt far more personal and intimate than his previous novels – even those that were told in first person.
The part of the book where Pilar describes how she, Pablo and others took over their hometown from the Fascists? Horrific, totally believable and it'll stick with me far longer than any of the shenanigans regarding the bridge will.
Oh, hey, finally know where the silly phrase, “the earth moved” (and the interrogative form) comes from. Speaking of that, is it just me, or does it take people longer to fall in love in a Nora Ephron script than in a Hemingway novel? Sure, whatever, it's war . . . things are more intense, things happen faster, yada, yada yada. Not buying it. Forever and ever, amen love should take more time than it does to brew a cup of coffee.
Robert Jordan, the protagonist of For Whom the Bell Tolls epitomizes manliness. His character is my favorite part of the book. Everything about him makes me just a little envious. For example, he is decisive but human. He doesn't always act on what he knows best but he quickly recognizes his mistakes and self-corrects, wasting little time on pity or punishment.
“I am going to keep away out of it, he thought. I made a fool of myself with him once tonight and I am perfectly willing to liquidate him. But I am not going to fool with him beforehand. And there are not going to be any shooting matches or monkey business in here with that dynamite around either. Pablo thought of that, of course. And did you think of it, he said to himself? No, you did not and neither did Agustín. You deserve whatever happens to you, he thought.”
He smelled the odor of the pine boughs under him, the piney smell of the crushed needles and the sharper odor of the resinous sap from the cut limbs... This is the smell I love. This and fresh-cut clover, the crushed sage as you ride after cattle, wood-smoke and the burning leaves of autumn. That must be the odor of nostalgia, the smell of the smoke from the piles of raked leaves burning in the streets in the fall in Missoula. Which would you rather smell? Sweet grass the Indians used in their baskets? Smoked leather? The odor of the ground in the spring after rain? The smell of the sea as you walk through the gorse on a headland in Galicia? Or the wind from the land as you come in toward Cuba in the dark? That was the odor of the cactus flowers, mimosa and the sea-grape shrubs. Or would you rather smell frying bacon in the morning when you are hungry? Or coffee in the morning? Or a Jonathan apple as you bit into it? Or a cider mill in the grinding, or bread fresh from the oven? You must be hungry, he thought, and he lay on his side and watched the entrance of the cave in the light that the stars reflected from the snow.
For him it was a dark passage which led to nowhere, then to nowhere, then again to nowhere, once again to nowhere, always and forever to nowhere, heavy on the elbows in the earth to nowhere, dark, never any end to nowhere, hung on all time always to unknowing nowhere, this time and again for always to nowhere, now not to be borne once again always and to nowhere, now beyond all bearing up, up, up and into nowhere, suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all nowhere gone and time absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped and he felt the earth move out and away from under them.
Well, I don't want to be a soldier, he thought. I know that. So that's out. I just want us to win this war. I guess really good soldiers are really good at very little else, he thought. That's obviously untrue. Look at Napoleon and Wellington. You're very stupid this evening, he thought.
Usually his mind was very good company and tonight it had been when he thought about his grandfather. Then thinking of his father had thrown him off. He understood his father and he forgave him everything and he pitied him but he was ashamed of him.
“You see,” Sordo said. “In that there is no problem. But to leave afterward and get out of this country in daylight presents a grave problem”
“Clearly,” said Robert Jordan. “I have thought of it. It is daylight for me also.”
“But you are one,” El Sordo said. “We are various.”
“My name is Roberto.”
“Nay. But I call thee Inglés as Pilar does.”
“Still it is Roberto.”
“No,” she told him. “Now for a whole day it is Inglés. And Inglés, can I help thee with thy work?”
“No. What I do now I do alone and very coldly in my head.” “Good,” she said. “And when will it be finished?” “Tonight, with luck.” “Good,” she said.
I was expecting to loathe this book. It was nothing like I expected.
Yes, For Whom the Bell Tolls is about war. There are all the horrors of war in this book. But nothing was extraneous, gratuitous, undeserved. And the book was about so much more than just war. Hemingway delves into relationships and honor and courage and heroism.
It is a great book.
