For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

[Goodwell Mateyo]

Hemingway paints us a rich narrative tapestry in this novel. The tapestry is painted against the back-drop of the Spanish civil war.

Hemingway’s protagonist, Robert Jordan, is an American academic volunteering with the International Brigades. His mission is to blow up a bridge as part of a planned advance by the Republicans. Robert Jordan, like Hemingway’s other protagonists such as Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises, is a broken character - as his mission draws closer, he faces his feelings of shame at his father's suicide and compares himself to his grandfather - himself a military man of some accomplishment.

Jordan's singleness of mind in the mission is challenged by several factors - he finds love in Maria, a young girl rescued from the abusive Fasists; the questioned competence of a band of guerillas he needs to accomplish his task as well as the faltering loyalty and commitment of Pablo, the once heroic leader of the band with a fast waning appetite for the struggle.

Mr. Hemingway's characters are as rich as they are real. Take for instance, Pilar, the maternal woman of Pablo, who still has an unwavering belief in the movement and takes up a leadership role of the band in lieu of the ambivalent Pablo.

The narration is first class. The result is a frank and poignant war novel that teaches us volumes about the human condition. A novel for every generation.

[spicychipmunk]

I have always loved books from a very young age. This book was one of the very first "adult" books that I read. It completely cemented my love of reading! I have read several books in my time that tend to go overboard with descriptions and it really detracts from the story for me. I think that Hemingway did an amazing job of making the characters and the settings come alive without over doing it. I have read this book at least five times by now and see myself reading it many more times in the years to come. I think that Goodwell Mateyo did a great job of capturing how great a job of character development that Mr. Hemingway does. A must read for anyone remotely into reading

[Goodwell Mateyo]

thank you for a favourable "review of my review" spicychipmunk.

Regards

Goodwell

[Great_Novel_Review]

This is a book I have been wanting to read for a while. I have read a few of the first couple of pages. What I have read I enjoyed. I just got sidetracked on other books.

[MrsCatInTheHat]

I almost put this one back on the shelf but persevered, much to my eventual pleasure. The way Hemingway showed love and care while at the same time showing the wounds of war was well done, making me want to know more and what happened next. It has been quite some time since I read this story, and I may need to go back for a second reading.

[abdinajib]

I really appreciate the author for such great book which intends to increase my level of thinking.thumbs up.

[RebeccasReading]

I always preferred "A Farewell to Arms". It was hard to get through and the ending was so bleak, but it always stuck with me.

[Javier Campos]

Of my favorite books of all time, even though the pacing is just too slow for me. The way he paints such a clear picture of the Spanish civil way is just the kind of writing that the world needs so much, we need books that illustrate a situation or a point of view clearly and with detail.

[HRozean]

As a classic novel I was excited and intimidated with "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Usually my attention span for historical novels is extremely low. However there is a balance of action and drama with the historical content that allow the reader some reprieve. The large amount of thought processes which sometimes seemed irrelevant provided a more substantial ending to this novel not seen in many other books I've read.

[Sammy822]

I loved the book as it portrayed war times with perfect accuracy and the last scene of the book made me tear up. One of my favorite last scenes, I must say.

[drwcroaker]

Tolls is not my favorite Hemingway. There are parts I like and parts that I had to slog through. I loved the beginning. It's so clear and easy to follow. The politics were not so clear since I was not so familiar with the Spanish revolution. I had to do a little research, not a bad thing, to understand that a republican in the revolution was more of a liberal. The love story was sweet, but a little cringe-worthy because the girl was so young. I'm glad I read it, but I prefer The Sun Also Rises and Old Man and the Sea.

[Onyinyechi Obi]

I've had my eye on this book for a time now. I've perused a few of the initial pages. I have liked what I have read. I simply became distracted by other literature.