I’m slowly making my way through all of Hemingway’s novels and what a novel A Farwell To Arms turned out to be.
The description of Hemingway’s, excuse me Henry’s, surroundings were what made this book MAGICAL. Especially while the character Henry was at war. WW1 doesn’t get as much attention as WWII, but it seems way more brutal than the later. What really takes the cake though is the way Hemingway describes the hotel rooms. I loved when he changed locations because I knew when we got there, Hemingway would bring the readers with. I feel touched, changed, and am a little annoyed with the ending. It was dramatic and still leaves me feeling a certain type of way.
When thinking about this book, you can’t help but notice what other reviewers have also pointed out… the one dimensional, cliche bimbo portrayal of Catherine. Not telling anyone how to feel, but my personal feelings are taking in the understanding that the world was different, people were different, compliments were different… things were just so different. Okay, enough of that.
Overall, not one of his best-ever novels but you can really see how he inspired script writing and watch how his writing matured…. It still is a classic. It’s still beautiful. And it’s still very much so a wonderful example of writing and life in WW1.
cmacs paperbacks 
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