Rating 3.5 ⭐s
You can buy For Whom The Bell Tolls....here
Immerse yourself in the poignant and powerful world of war with Ernest Hemingway's timeless novel, "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, this gripping narrative delves into themes of love, sacrifice, and the stark realities of conflict.
As the story unfolds, follow Robert Jordan, an American dynamiter, who is tasked with blowing up a bridge to aid the Republican cause. What drives a man to risk everything for a cause greater than himself? Hemingway's masterful prose invites you to explore the complexities of loyalty, honor, and the bonds forged in the crucible of war.
But here’s the question that lingers: In a world marked by chaos and uncertainty, what does it truly mean to be human? As Robert grapples with his mission, he encounters a cast of unforgettable characters, each struggling with their own demons, hopes, and dreams. The haunting realities of war blur the lines between good and evil, challenging perceptions and provoking deep introspection.
Experience Hemingway's exquisite writing style as he paints a vivid picture of love amid the horrors of battle. The evocative imagery and rich character development create a reading experience that resonates long after the last page is turned.
For Whom The Bell Tolls (FWTBT) follows Robert Jordan an American demolition expert over several intense days in the Spanish Civil War. Jordan is fighting on the side of the Republicans and is tasked with blowing up a bridge behind enemy lines before a forthcoming offensive. However he needs the help of the local Guerilla fighters led by the experienced, surly Pablo, his robust and capable woman Pilar, Maria a young women suffering PTSD from being sexually abused by the fascists. and a cast of other fighters. Encouraged by Pilar, Jordan and Maria fall madly in love during the intense prep for the demolition of the bridge. All the while Pablo is becoming more withdrawn, knowing full well the Fascists retribution will destroy his small happy band who had been enjoying the war in a sleepy little backwater.
I chose to read this book because I had seen two very prophetic Hemingway quotes about "listening" and "darkest moments" (I will put them at the end of the review after about the author) I thought that both both were accurate and insightful facets of what it is to be human. The style clear and concise.
While I enjoyed the book, I felt the signature conciseness and clarity was lost with the archaic use of thee and thou in the dialogue. It drew the reader out of the story..
The characters of Pablo and Pilar are very interesting. Pablo is an instinctive, ruthless tactician and killer who has lost his hunger for the fight and now just wants to survive and enjoy his freedom and beloved horses. He battles within himself to decide whether his longing for life in obscurity is enough to tip the balance to betray Jordan and his former republican idealism. While Pilar is the experienced, bullish woman of the world. Lover of a semi famous bull fighter back in the day. She still believes in what they are fighting for even though she has seen atrocities committed by both sides. She acts as a mother figure and matchmaker for the troubled young girl Maria. She tries to help Pablo keep the faith in what they used to believe but she knows she is fighting a losing battle. In addition she acts as facilitator to ensure Jordan's mission is successful. She is the hero of the narrative just as much as Jordan.
The section where Pilar describes surrounding her home village courthouse and dragging the fascists out one by one to be murdered in various ways and thrown from the cliff to be very harrowing. These fascists once being her friends and neighbours. It put me in mind of a war between say Brexiteers and Remainers in UK. It would be horrific. Civil War is in reality the least civil war. It may be my imagination but this felt as if this part of the story had the ring of truth about it. Hemingway was a journalist and was in Spain at the time. Who knows what tales he picked up with his ear to the ground..
The narrative deals with all the big juicy stuff of life...Love, honour, duty, death, politics, corruption, right and wrong. All the stuff I look for in a novel. I think I will read more Hemingway. Probably his short stories.
As an aside I read The Secret Hours by Mick Heron in parallel with FWTBT. While FWTBT is very "American" eg the handsome American faces overwhelming odds and gets the girl. I suppose what you would call an All American hero.
The Secret Hours is all cynicism, sarcasm and sniping from the side, which adds flavour. I know I'm comparing different genres from different times. But at the time it struck as good example of the difference in UK v USA writing.
So if you love this girl as much as you say you do, you had better love her very hard and make up in intensity what the relation will lack in duration and in continuity.
Your nationality and your politics did not show when you were dead.
How could the ‘Inglés’ say that the shooting of a man is like the shooting of an animal? In all hunting I have had an elation and no feeling of wrong. But to shoot a man gives a feeling as though one had struck one’s own brother when you are grown men.
Dying is only bad when it takes a long time and hurts so much that it humiliates you.
- If You Liked This Then You May Like.
Homage to Catalonia by George OrwellThe Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Rope Burns by FX Toole
Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899. His father was a doctor and he was the second of six children. Their home was at Oak Park, a Chicago suburb. In 1917, Hemingway joined the Kansas City Star as a cub reporter. The following year, he volunteered as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, where he was badly wounded but decorated for his services. He returned to America in 1919, and married in 1921. In 1922, he reported on the Greco-Turkish war before resigning from journalism to devote himself to fiction. He settled in Paris where he renewed his earlier friendships with such fellow-American expatriates as Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. Their encouragement and criticism were to play a valuable part in the formation of his style.
Hemingway's first two published works were Three Stories and Ten Poems and In Our Time but it was the satirical novel, The Torrents of Spring, that established his name more widely. His international reputation was firmly secured by his next three books; Fiesta, Men Without Women and A Farewell to Arms.
He was passionately involved with bullfighting, big-game hunting and deep-sea fishing and his writing reflected this. He visited Spain during the Civil War and described his experiences in the bestseller, For Whom the Bell Tolls.
His direct and deceptively simple style of writing spawned generations of imitators but no equals. Recognition of his position in contemporary literature came in 1954 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He died in 1961.
Hemmingway Quotes....
When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.
In our darkest moments, we don’t need solutions or advice. What we yearn for is simply human connection—a quiet presence, a gentle touch. These small gestures are the anchors that hold us steady when life feels like too much.
Please don’t try to fix me. Don’t take on my pain or push away my shadows. Just sit beside me as I work through my own inner storms. Be the steady hand I can reach for as I find my way.
My pain is mine to carry, my battles mine to face. But your presence reminds me I’m not alone in this vast, sometimes frightening world. It’s a quiet reminder that I am worthy of love, even when I feel broken.
So, in those dark hours when I lose my way, will you just be here? Not as a rescuer, but as a companion. Hold my hand until the dawn arrives, helping me remember my strength.
Your silent support is the most precious gift you can give. It’s a love that helps me remember who I am, even when I forget.”
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