Reviews

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

fabianstartedreading23's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

sadly only really got into it around the halfway point ... gotta organize my thoughts on this one ... might rank higher eventually 

nandin_rhodes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jack_mcc's review

5.0

Easily one of Hemingways best.

gdil's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

eschwartz1's review

adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

4.0

The writing style was hard to get used to, especially much of the dialogue in the beginning. As the book went on, I learned to appreciate and enjoy the style of writing. This was my first Ernest Hemingway book. I’d heard he often has weak female characters, and a bit of a sexist perspective, which was true in this book and it did bother me. However, considering the time it was written, I could look past it to appreciate the book as a whole. This book left me wanting to reread the early chapters and left me feeling unexpectedly fulfilled. 

dellaposta's review

4.0

Read this once when I was probably too young. It made more of an impression this second time, especially in the way that Hemingway depicts both the horror and absurdities of war. It’s darkly funny but very telling to have a “war novel” where almost every death is a product of someone’s stupidity or bad luck. When the book focuses instead on the main romance, it frankly stops working for me; probably because of how little evident interest Hemingway has in trying to make Catherine anything more than a paper-thin projection of some male fantasy. I found myself wishing for the comparatively more complex, or at least agentic, character of Lady Ashley from The Sun Also Rises.

iillianne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Catherine, my sweetheart, you were dear to us all. 

viktorlilja's review

4.0

damn, did not anticipate that ending

doods's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mkepper's review

3.0

Liked the humor, but overall the book was ok.. of course the ending was depressing.. “it was like saying goodbye to a statue”