Classic Circuit's Lost Generation Book Blog Tour: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms is frequently touted as the semi-autobiographical novel of Ernest Hemingway’s life during World War I. While Hemingway was in the Italian Army in WWI and was an ambulance driver who was injured in combat, the similarities of Hemingway’s life to the events of the novel probably end there, however. Hemingway did court a nurse employed at the hospital where he recuperated, it seems no long term relationship developed, unlike the romance between characters Fred and Catherine.

While this novel does contain soldiers, shootings and sadness, A Farewell to Arms really isn’t a story about the war at all. This novel is about relationships with people and their reactions to impossible situations. A Farewell to Arms doesn’t glorify the exploits of an advancing army but rather focuses on the lives and challenges of the people caught in the grips of war.

Personally, I truly loved Hemingway’s stripped-down writing style. Hemingway didn’t fill the pages with flowery descriptions, but rather relied on sparse descriptions that were reminiscent of a newspaper account. Take, for example, when Fred returns to the front in Chapter XXV:

“The mulberry trees were bare and the fields were brown. There were wet dead leaves on the road from the rows of bare trees and men were working on the road, tamping stone in the ruts from piles of crushed stone along the side of the road between the trees. We saw the town with a mist over it that cut off the mountains. We crossed the river and I saw that it was running high. It had been raining in the mountains.”

This scene is clear without any unnecessary grandiose filler. The writing is hard-hitting and to the point which seems to mirror what the character Fred would have been feeling at the moment. At this point in the novel, Fred is returning to the front and leaving his love behind. Flowery poetic adjectives in the writing would have been terribly out of place.

Another aspect of this novel that was truly impressive was the character development in contrast to the war raging on everywhere. Fred and Catherine focus on hotels, food and what drinks are available, without much conversation and thought really given to the war at all. This irony is summed up in one of my favorite sentences in the book when in Chapter XXXVIII Fred muses, “The war seemed as far away as the football games of some one else’s college.”

True confession time: I had never ever read a single Hemingway book prior to reading A Farewell to Arms for this blog tour! I’ve been intimidated over the years to read one of the greatest writers ever. Now I’m sorry I put it off so long. I’ll definitely be reading more Hemingway from here on out.

So which Hemingway book should I read next? Is there a Hemingway book I should avoid? Have you visited http://www.timelesshemingway.com/ or any of the other many Hemingway sites on the web?

A special thanks is in order for the Classic Circuit for hosting America’s Lost Generation Book Blog Tour.  Check out other Lost Generation blog stops today!