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A review by schinko94
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
2.0
I guess my feelings about Hemingway have changed, because I did not like this novel. I remember reading The Sun Also Rises in high school and liking it, but I now have the sensation that it was because it was a little *too* easy to read.
Henry's relationship with Catherine is utterly boring, and the main character (who is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical portrayal of Hemingway himself) spouts off dialogue in grunts. "Oh darling I love you" "I love you too" "I'm worried" "Don't worry" "When will the war be over" "I don't know" "Will you love me forever?" "Sure, forever." That's what the majority of dialogue between the two characters was like, and it doesn't make for interesting reading.
The ending was sad but I disliked the main character so much that I didn't feel bad for him. This novel would have been much more interesting if all of it were like Book 3, which is where the majority of war action happens. Usually, I expect the relationships to be the most exciting part of a novel, but with the way that Henry and Catherine spoke to one another all the way through books 2, 4, and 5, I was begging for anything else but that relationship.
This book was a long yawn. I wanted a deep reflection about war but instead, I got a milquetoast expression of Hemingway's own thoughts towards women and a side dish of food descriptions. Did I mention there are a lot of meals in this book? Meals are beautiful, but if they're included in a story, they have to mean something. And the majority of meals in this book were totally meaningless. He even managed to make the beauty of Italian cooking sound boring. 2.5 stars (because the ending was actually okay and it felt fitting--It was the most impactful part of the novel).
Henry's relationship with Catherine is utterly boring, and the main character (who is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical portrayal of Hemingway himself) spouts off dialogue in grunts. "Oh darling I love you" "I love you too" "I'm worried" "Don't worry" "When will the war be over" "I don't know" "Will you love me forever?" "Sure, forever." That's what the majority of dialogue between the two characters was like, and it doesn't make for interesting reading.
The ending was sad but I disliked the main character so much that I didn't feel bad for him. This novel would have been much more interesting if all of it were like Book 3, which is where the majority of war action happens. Usually, I expect the relationships to be the most exciting part of a novel, but with the way that Henry and Catherine spoke to one another all the way through books 2, 4, and 5, I was begging for anything else but that relationship.
This book was a long yawn. I wanted a deep reflection about war but instead, I got a milquetoast expression of Hemingway's own thoughts towards women and a side dish of food descriptions. Did I mention there are a lot of meals in this book? Meals are beautiful, but if they're included in a story, they have to mean something. And the majority of meals in this book were totally meaningless. He even managed to make the beauty of Italian cooking sound boring. 2.5 stars (because the ending was actually okay and it felt fitting--It was the most impactful part of the novel).