welcome to...A FEBRUARY TO ARMS.

you know it, you love it. a bad month and title pun, an intimidating book, and me, at the beginning-ish of february. it's another installment of project long classics, in which every(ish) month i read a long(ish) classic in small(ish) chunks to make them less scary.

because i'm picky about what i read. unless you put it on a list titled "books you must read in a lifetime." then i'm falling for it every time.


CHAPTER 1
this entire chapter was about 2 pages long and made up of a) setting description and b) one quick crack about the military not caring about lives lost.

i am so locked in.


CHAPTER 2
i traveled through europe for a bit in the fall with my sisters, and it's like i invented the concept of europe. i have become the stereotype of Annoying Girl Who Visits Somewhere And Makes It My Whole Personality.

all of this to say i'm having fun just reading dialogue listing places in italy.


CHAPTER 3
the dialogue in this! snappy! we've got a bunch of yappers on our hands!


CHAPTER 4
the thing about the authors i love, like hemingway and fitzgerald and steinbeck and salinger, is that everyone says it's a red flag to love them because they're super Male and Sexist.

so what is wrong with me for thinking they write the most interesting women.


CHAPTER 5
a hemingway romance moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.


CHAPTER 6
okay never mind about what i said. this girl is crazy.


CHAPTER 7
i was reading an ebook copy of this but enjoying it enough that when i found the same edition in a bookstore, i bought it. to which my boyfriend said, "is that the book bradley cooper throws out the window in silver linings playbook?"

correct.


CHAPTER 8
this chapter ends in hemingway's version of a cliffhanger, which is when he does one of his long paragraphs of scenery and then abruptly stops.


CHAPTER 9
hemingway has this way of making things that should be clichéd and trite feel totally new. having anti-war dialogue in which the protagonist is pro and then is shelled and the horrors come to him...i knew it was coming but i felt jarred and convinced by it anyway.


CHAPTER 10
dialogue city. i love it.


CHAPTER 11
this is one of those moments where you're like, "oh, i love this character so much and i can't wait for him to have his happy life at home...oh he is going to die isn't he."


CHAPTER 12
we come to the end of book one, injured, on a train, and at war.

it reminds me of my college days.


CHAPTER 13
if i had to deal with a grave war wound to my legs without the marvels of modern medicine, i'd sure like to do so in italy.


CHAPTER 14
"when i saw her i was in love with her. everything turned over inside of me."

they did instalove better in the old days.


CHAPTER 15
more doctors should be italian men who give you a little kiss on the forehead for being brave.


CHAPTER 16
closed door sex scenes have nothing on hemingway's. he doesn't even say, like, "time passed." there's just a vague implication pages later.


CHAPTER 17
i have to say, being wounded in a mostly empty hospital in the 1940s isn't sounding like the stuff of nightmares i expected it to be.


CHAPTER 18
all this "we don't need to be married by the state to be married in our hearts" stuff is nice and romantic until you remember it was the olden days and the punishment for unmarried women was like, being hung up by the toes or tested for witch marks.


CHAPTER 19
everyone is way too happy for the not even halfway mark. untold horrors await.


CHAPTER 20
catherine barkley being like "there's way too many people here...can't we just get drunk by ourselves and bet on stuff." she's just like me for real.


CHAPTER 21
three months pregnant and still getting offered cognac in a hospital room. it was a simpler time.


CHAPTER 22
whoever heard of a vacation getting canceled because you're having too good of a time? (read: our protagonist lost his convalescent leave because he dabbled in alcoholism)


CHAPTER 23
sam in the comments said "the scene in the hotel room is easily the most important and most impressive," so i was a bit starstruck to stumble across it.

it is damn good.


CHAPTER 24
and thus we end book two. melancholy as hell.


CHAPTER 25
we are told that war has been very bad while we were away, but mostly so far it's been spaghetti dinners and sex jokes. foreboding.


CHAPTER 26
i cannot stress enough how much i dread the certain death of the priest. they don't make characters this sympathetic to give them happily ever afters, i'll tell you that.


CHAPTER 27
today it occurs to me just how much better this book is than for whom the bell tolls. tell that to their respective goodreads average ratings, i guess.


CHAPTER 28
happy valentine's day! we're spending it in the front seat of a car on the way to war, where two girls just hopped in and now we're desperately trying to convey that we aren't going to do anything untoward through a language barrier via asking if they're virgins.

the most romantic celebration.


CHAPTER 29
well, we just shot at a couple of random sergeants who were hanging out with us for a while and i do believe were on our side, so. i am losing the thread a bit here.


CHAPTER 30
if there is one thing i feel qualified to say that hemingway loves writing about, it's bridges that may or may not be on the cusp of exploding.

now i feel bad for being cavalier about the bridge, considering our first truly evil act of war was witnessed at the other end of it.


CHAPTER 31
a train stowaway moment! man, the action came out of nowhere in this one.


CHAPTER 32
and so we end book three, cold, wet, hungry, miserable, and lonely. typical boston winter.


CHAPTER 33
there is a part in this chapter where the main character eats three sandwiches and drinks martinis and i know in my heart that i'm not a martini drinker but damn it sounds good.


CHAPTER 34
i can't stress enough that if my friend were pregnant and unmarried during world war i i would also scream at the guy who knocked her up and cry at a dinner.

oh wait is THIS the hotel scene...too many hotels. this one is good too.


CHAPTER 35
i bet i would be more into fishing too if it was on a lake in italy and they had a bartender who rowed out to you.


CHAPTER 36
we are well and truly on the run. and i want a sandwich again.


CHAPTER 37
in this chapter is where i decide forever that catherine barkley is an angel from heaven. she spends all night in some shoddy canoe in the cold rain, sometimes rowing, and the whole time she's thinking about rolls and jam and butter and when she gets to breakfast they don't have any of it. i can't stress enough how i would ruin everyone's day if i were her.

and thus we end book 5.


CHAPTER 38
there is truly nothing funnier in this whole book than catherine barkley saying she'll drink another beer because the doctor says it'll keep the baby nice and small. THAT is literature. THAT is history.

but catherine saying that she wished she'd known all of our protagonist's exes so she could make fun of them to him is also pretty good.


CHAPTER 39
everything is so romantic and happy here in switzerland. we have just enough time left for it to all fall apart.


CHAPTER 40
it is a marvel that there is a surviving generation of babies born in the world war i era. this level of drinking is flabbergasting me.


CHAPTER 41
I SEE WHY BRADLEY COOPER THREW THIS GODDAMN BOOK OUT THE F*CKING WINDOW.


OVERALL
this book has remarkably little to do with war, which is kind of a surprise considering 100% of its synopsis and marketing revolves around it being The Great American WWI Novel, but it does have some very memorable characters.

even if it does upset me a bit to think that the boys from All Quiet on the Western Front probably would've loved to spend the wartime drinking wine in italy. the best war novels convey the utter soullessness of it, and while this shows the brutal moments of life, it sure doesn't do that.
rating: 3.5

داستان «وداع با اسلحه» از یک روز عادی در جنگ جهانی اول در جبههٔ ایتالیا آغاز می‌شود و کم‌کم روزمرگی‌های افسری آمریکایی را روایت می‌کند که در بخش پزشکی و آمبولانس‌ها مشغول به خدمت است. پس از آنکه این افسر مجروح می‌شود، داستان از جبهۀ جنگ به بیمارستانی می‌رود که او در آنجا بستری است

علاقۀ این افسر آمریکایی به یک پرستار انگلیسی قسمت عاشقانهٔ داستان است که بر جذابیت‌های آن افزوده است. اگرچه شخصیت‌های داستان و ماجرا واقعیت ندارند، اما همگی بازتابی از تجربهٔ شخصی نویسنده از حضور در جبهۀ جنگ‌اند.توصیف‌های دقیق و بجایی که نویسنده از فضای جبهه، بیمارستان‌ها و حال‌وهوای سربازان ارائه می‌دهد بر ارزش این کتاب افزوده است.
بیزاری از جنگ و البته بیهوده‌بودن آن در مقایسه با ویرانی‌هایی که به بار می‌آورد از دیگر باورهایی است که نویسنده در لابه‌لای داستانش از آن‌ها سخن می‌گوید. اگر به مطالعهٔ داستان‌هایی علاقه دارید که تحت‌تأثیر رویداد تاریخی خاصی هستند، خواندن کتاب «وداع با اسلحه» خالی از لطف نخواهد بود.

It is a strong story, beautiful and sad at the same time. It is a war novel, a book of men who question, drink, go to the front brothel, fight, die, or are wounded, and try to understand where it leads them. It is a love story that lasts an hour, a night, and a life, filling the void of man's solitude with the horror of war, which grows in the face of the absurdity of great words such as "duty and honour."
A rich vocabulary, a particular rhythm of small sentences, and numerous repetitions give the Italian tone to this novel, yet very American. The author brilliantly uses the words for descriptions, especially fights, and modifies his style according to the nationality and character of the characters. It is a well-researched, compelling story, an actual novel where a man finds himself naked, facing her fears, facing his joys, a modern book in tone, a great novel!
The first pages disturbed me a little. I understood the meaning without understanding the style. However, I persevered well; it was well-written, and the story significantly moved me!

همیشه کتاب های معروف برای کامنت نوشتن کار عجیبی بنطر میان.
وداع با اسلحه بسیار ساده تر از هر روند داستانی عه ک میتونین تصور کنین.
داستان بحدی آرام و به نفع قهرمان داستان پیش میره که هر لحظه با خودتون میگید:ولم کن، اینکه واقعی نیست.این بی تفاوتی و بی حسی دامن قهرمان داستان رو هم گرفته این مرد حتی عاشق شدنش هم بی شور و حال عه . حتی دقیق متوجه نمیشین نظامی بودنشو دوست داره یا نه یا اصلا وسط اون کارزار چه کاره ست.حتی مرگ زن و فرزندشم همینقدر لوس پیش میره. انگار کلا مرده با اینکه خودش معتقده زمانیکه برای تیرباران دست دشمن میفته و فرار میکنه میمیره اما بهتون قول میدم شخصیتش همیشه مرده ست.

Damn. That ending. Even whilst still dusting off the cover (it's been lying around for ages) I already knew it's finale. It's simply been impossible to ignore. Even cropping up in three or four films I have seen over the years. Knowing it is one thing, but actually reading it is quite another. So, the big question is - did this in anyway tarnish the novel for me? In a word, No. As once I truly got stuck into Hemingway's compulsive narrative all was forgotten. His presentation of war was just as remarkable as his sincerity of presenting us with love. Both leading characters were simply two of the 20th century's most memorable - the all American hero Henry, a volunteer in the Italian Ambulance Service, and the sweet natured English nurse Catherine Barkley who adds a subtle feminine charm throughout the novel.

All the descriptions of life on the WW1 front and in the hospitals, the talk of the officers, privates, and doctors, are crisp, clear and so natural, making for a convincing narrative the whole way through, even though Henry perhaps felt a little too mature and experienced for a young man. Catherine I saw as the more credible character, she was most skilfully modelled as the eternal feminine in nursing dress. Difficult to work out at first, but oh God how I fell in love with her. It comes as no surprise to me it was a book I found easy to read like other Hemingway books, made even easier after the head scratching and exasperation at the hands of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury prior to this.

Hemingway dramatically intensifies the narrative after the halfway point, and the story deepens on an emotional level as Henry patched up from a war wound returns to the Isonzo front. The year has been a serious one for the Italian army, and a breakthrough for the Germans at Caporetto spells disaster. The Caporetto retreat, which forms the background for an entire portion of the book, and furnishes the action, is simply a masterly piece of descriptive narration. After escaping death by diving into a river, and later arrest by concealing himself in a gun truck till it reaches Milan, the novel really does showcase two people very much in love. It reminded me of the deep love shown in Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. I can't think of too many other novels I have read were I have felt a love so great and pure. Some of the scenes held such an atmospheric truth, whether in love or war, that it's easy to see why it's probably Hemingway's most read novel, even though it might not be his best.

The story of Henry and Catherine could have been overly polished with sentimentality (one of my pet hates), and probably would have been had Hemingway been around in the Victorian era. Thankfully, there is only as much as a slight echo. This no doubt deserves to be branded as a classic, and it didn't let me down. A Farewell to Arms was simply a most moving and beautiful thing. The reason for not dishing out the five stars is that I still preferred The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast. But that's just me.

Observational tragedy. Bloke falls for sub-moron during war. *petitions friendly bombs*
Hemmingway absolves language of beauty. And then the world.
His intent was to expose war's mundanity. His method rendered art menial.
*sarcastic applause*

An absolute masterpiece about love and war written by Hemingway at the summit of his powers. We follow Henry, American ambulance driver in WWI at the Italian front between Milan and Venice. He falls in love with Catherine, an English nurse and goes off to the front. While sharing cheese and pasta with his camarades in a trench, he is nearly killed by an Austrian trench bomb. Catherine nurses him back to health, but is pregnant when he is sent back to the front. As the Italians start to retreat after part of the front collapses, Henry gets separated from his driver, nearly gets executed as a deserter, and flees down the frozen river holding on to a branch. He ends up hopping a train to Milan, reuniting with Catherine and fleeing military arrest by crossing into Switzerland with Cat. The story moves so quickly that the pages just fly by.
Hemingway’s terse style and his realistic stoccato dialogues really breath life into the story and draw the reader in. I loved the fishing stories here, the descriptions of his mountain stay in Switzerland, his drunken talks with his friends like Rinaldi and the priest. It is an unforgettable book which exposes the brutality of war and juxtaposes it with the complexities of relationships and becoming a father (or not).

Don't miss my review of the Meyer biography of Hemingway: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

“Maybe...you'll fall in love with me all over again."
"Hell," I said, "I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?"
"Yes. I want to ruin you."
"Good," I said. "That's what I want too.”

اولین همینگویی که خوندم دو سال پیش بود، یادمه از نثر صریح و بدون احساسش خوشم میومد ولی توی ریویوم نوشتم که اگر بعد از هر فصل نمی‌رفتم توضیح و تم و موتیف داستان رو دقیق بخونم و اجازه نمی‌دادم به عنوان یه خواننده عام بهم توضیح بدن معنی و هدف هر قسمت داستان چیه، به چشم یه چیز الکی گنده شده میدیدمش و دیگه سراغ همینگوی نمی‌رفتم. ولی خب وقتی دقیق و با حوصله همه‌ی توضیحات رو خوندم خیلی باهاش ارتباط برقرار کردم و شد اولین و نه آخرین همینگوی زندگیم.

این دومین همینگوی زندگیم بود و دقیقا مثل قبلی، نیاز بود که برم مو به مو توضیح بخونم، نه حالا خیلی تفاسیر پیچیده و سخت، در حد یادآوری ک�� این پارت داره به فلان چیز اشاره می‌کنه و این حرکتِ هنری نشون میده شخصیتش فلان جوره و ...

ریویوهای منفی برای کتاب زیادن و ریویوهای فارسی که اینجا دربارش نوشته شده اکثرا منفی ان... ولی من هزار سال هم توی خودم نمی‌بینم درباره‌ی این کتاب چیزی غیر از هوشمندانه و عمیق بودنش بگم.
ازون کتابهاییه که بلد نیستم دربارش حرف بزنم، همه چیزش دور از من و دنیای منه و با این حال همه چیزش طوری نوشته شده بود که حسش کردم و فهمیدمش.

بیشترین دلایلی که این کتاب هیت میگیره اینه که ۱.درباره‌ی جنگه ولی هیچکس شجاع و سخت‌کوش نیست ۲.درباره‌ی عشقه ولی با آبکی ترین و سطحی ترین دیالوگ‌ها ۳.همه در همه حال مشغول نوشیدن و مست کردن و مست بودنن.
من با استفاده از چیزایی که خوندم و درحدی که فهمیدم دفاع خودمو اینجا میارم، بیشتر برای یادآوری خودم در آینده:

یک: 《جنگ یعنی شجاعت و ایثار.》 همه می‌دونیم که به اندازه کافی درباره‌ی سربازای شجاع نوشته شده و داستان "جوانمردی در میدان جنگ" کم نداریم، همینگوی با نوشتن یه رمان درباره‌ی جنگ به هیچ وجه قصد نداشته یکی دیگه ازون کتاب‌ها به دنیا اضافه کنه و پیامش هم خیلی صریح و واضحه: آدمها می‌ترسن و به زندگی و علایق و مهمتر از همه، جانِ خودشون بیشتر از ایده‌هایی مثل "از خود گذشتگی و ایثار" پایبندن، این ایده‌ها با اینکه ارزشمند و خوبن ولی تصویر واقعی نیستن، این کتاب جنگ رو گلوریفای نمیکنه، سربازهای جنگ رو گلوریفای نمیکنه، فقط به انسان بودنشون و مزخرف بودن جنگ اشاره می‌کنه. اینکه بگیم جنگ باعث میشه مردها شجاع و جسور بشن، زیبا نشون دادن جنگه و همینگوی نمیخواد جنگ رو زیبا و احساسی نشون بده، جنگ مزخرفه و آدم‌ها ازش میترسن و بیزارن، حتی اگه وسطش باشن.


دو: 《عشقی خوبه که آبکی نباشه.》 ولی ما کی باشیم که درباره‌ی رابطه‌ی دوتا آدمی که روان و احساساتشون توی جنگ له شده نظر بدیم‌. رابطه‌ی عاشقانه‌ای که توی این داستان بود از هیچ نظر منطقی و کامل نبود، نکته‌ش هم اینه که توی جنگ نمیشه از منطق و عقل حرف زد، دنیای بیرون انقد زشت و ترسناکه که هنری و کاترین "وانمود" می‌کنن عاشق همن فقط برای اینکه یکم از آلامشون کم بشه، انقدر خون و مرگ دیدن که حتی دلخوشیِ یه عشق هول‌هولکی هم براشون آرامش میاره. مثل وقتی که بچه‌ها از یچیزی خیلی می‌ترسن ولی چون میدونن راه گریزی ازش نیست (مثلا دعوای پدر مادر) الکی می‌خندن و وانمود میکنن خوشحالن...
و داستان ازین بهونه‌ی عشق به عنوان حواس‌پرتی شروع میشه و به مرور رابطه‌شون شکل می‌گیره و در پایان دیگه آبکی نیست.

سه: 《جنگ جای خوش بودن و نوشیدن و دختربازی نبوده، همه غمگین و خسته و بی‌پناه بودن.》 بله، نمی‌نوشیدن چون شاد بودن، می‌نوشیدن که فرار کنن. یکی از موتیف های اصلی داستان فرار شخصیت‌ها از جنگه، هر کدوم به نحو خودشون، یکی کله‌ش رو میکوبه به جایی، درحدی که جمجمه‌ش شکاف برداره و مجروح محسوب بشه و فرار کنه، یکی می‌نوشه تا فرار کنه، یکی با فاحشه‌ها سرگرمه تا فرار کنه، یکی خودشو درگیر یه رابطه‌ای میکنه که میدونه بهش آسیب میزنه تا درد چیزی غیر از جنگ رو حس کنه، همه‌ی اینها درحال فرار از حضور در جنگن. باز هم تاکید روی اینکه جنگ یه چیز حماسی هنرمندانه نیست، بیشتر ازینکه باعث پرورش شخصیت بشه، باعث دردای عمیق روانی و فرارهای غیر شجاعانه میشه.

ازون دسته کتاب‌هایی که نیاز داره "مطالعه" بشه تا "خونده"... و من همیشه حوصله و همت اینکارو ندارم، ولی وقتایی که دارم، خیلی حس خفن بودن بهم دست میده :)

آها، درباره ترجمه‌‌ی نازی عظیما، تا جایی که من نگاه کردم به متن اصلی نزدیک بود، چندتایی اشتباه و سانسور داشت ولی قابل خوندن بود و سانسورها قابل حدس زدن.

اون سایته که توضیحات روون داشت:
Sparknotes . com

"Classics" aren't necessarily good, people. And since I have to do academic writing on this and can't yell anywhere else...LET'S DO A ROAST REVIEW because that is who I am. When in doubt...ROAST.

Meet I. Our protagonist. Also known as "Tenente". Hemingway assumes that his average American reader knows that this means "Lieutenant" in Italian. News flash: the average American reader is unaware of this fact, and thus I spent the first 100 pages of the book thinking that "Tenente" was I's actual name. This is a technique that works in flash fiction, people. Not in actual novels. Cue the screaming. (Also, this guy's name is "Federic Henry", which is apparently an American name, and from which one can also derive the nickname of "Fred".)

Meet Miss Barkley (also known as Catherine), our Love Interest. She was the Angsty, Insecure, Clingy, Codependent girlfriend BEFORE IT WAS COOL. The only problem, of course, is that there is absolutely 0 backstory to explain why she's like this, and we never get an explanation. I lies to her once, and as a result, SHE WILL NEVER TRUST HIM AGAIN OR SOMETHING WHAAAAAAA except that's never stated. It's just IMPLIED. Like everything in this book.

The other characters? Who needs them? We've got Rinaldi, easily the most entertaining character in the book--except that we don't really know anything about him. All we know is that he's the Original Sassy Gay Best Friend. (Or at least, I'm assuming he's gay. He spends the entire book calling "I" "baby" and asking him for kisses and this does not mean cheek kisses, y'all). Except he's also very into women. So. Is he bi? Is he just really troubled? Is this a really bad impression of Italians? Hemingway either: 1) doesn't know or 2) doesn't care.

Speaking of Italians: Hemingway informs us that "I" doesn't know how to spell in Italian. This is a clever ruse to disguise the fact that Hemingway himself doesn't know how to spell in Italian. As someone who knows a bit of the language and definitely how to SPELL some of the common words, I cringed every time they spoke in Italian. Because. HE MISPELLED "HI" IN ITALIAN. How does one even do that.

I know Hemingway has been lauded as a brilliant writer and I know it's a different time period. I'm going to try not to bring Fitzgerald into this review even though I could sing about how much I love Fitzgerald's writing style for at least a year. THE WRITING STYLE SUCKS OKAY. It really does. It's flat and uninspired and this guy has no clue how to use commas OR DIALOGUE TAGS. So half the time I had no clue who was talking and I just skimmed conversations (which is fine, they're literally all extraneous) because I couldn't keep up. How does one get away with writing like that? HOWWWW????!!!!!

Also, can I just mention: I had no idea that Americans in the Italian army were as rich as they were, or that they had to do as little fighting in World War One as this guy did, because he'd never been in combat before getting his leg badly injured, and I swear he had so much money he never needed to work another day in his life. His girlfriend really just stayed with him for the money, I think. He literally bought a cabin in the mountains in Switzerland and drank to excess AT SWISS BARS every single day and he never worked and never got paid. Like...how.

I could write an entire review about Hemingway's characters' view of women, but for right now, let's just say: he writes women like they're the worst (probably because he only knew flappers and they were kind of troubled), and his male characters are so obsessed with women that I was embarrassed to the point of literal actual tears at one point. That's right, y'all. This book literally made me cry from anger. Because these men...MY GOODNESS. The women are objects. We're at war so that we can sleep with all the girls who come along. These two innocent, small, helpless girls who need help escaping the German advance in Italy? Man, I wish we weren't so busy retreating...if we weren't heaven knows we'd be cheering our luck about finding a couple of virgins on the side of the road. (Please note: these two girls were FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN.)

Also the romantic relationship was entirely built off codependency and cruelty and this is not love, people. It genuinely isn't. "Am I a good girl?" "Please tell me I'm doing well. I just want to please you." "The rain doesn't change how much you love me, does it?" "I'm so fat because I'm pregnant and I think you probably don't love me anymore because I'm not thin and exciting anymore" <----ACTUAL LINES FROM THE MAIN GIRL IN THIS BOOK. Please. Please. Someone bleach my eyes because BLARGH.

I will write about this in English class because I have to. But I'm saying this right now: I never want to have to read Hemingway again. And I can find NOTHING good about this story. You heard that. NOTHINGGGGGGGGG.

I could rant for a very long time, but oh well. We're doing great. 1 star and please, spare yourself from ever having to read this book. If you have read it: I pity you, poor soul. Better luck next time.

Faith out. Have a great day :D

I can't say I enjoyed reading this book, because I didn't. Nevertheless it's impossible not to marvel at Hemingway's aggressive prose filled with tender descriptions. (As for the dialogue, I'm with F. Scott Fitzgerald: It's too glib.) It was interesting to note the influence Hemingway had on some of my favorite writers, overt or subtle influence, huge.

It is very dismaying, however, that his heirs son Patrick and Patrick's nephew Sean assume the reader is so familiar with AFTA that they feel righteous entitlement to spoil the book entirely in their forewords. Shocker: Not everyone has read the book. Disgraceful. The forewords ought not to be forewords at all but afterwards, and you two smugly disrespect the reader in having it otherwise.

"Adio, arme!" este povestea autorului însuşi care, trimis ca "voluntar" pe frontul din Italia (Primul Razboi Mondial), se îndrăgosteşte de o asistentă a Crucii Roşii. Patosul cu care este descrisă iubirea în cea de-a două parte a romanului şi tragicul final al acestuia (care l-a făcut pe Hemingway să se retragă în singurătate) reprezintă o experienţă profundă, o experienţă a cărei urmare a fost încolţirea nimbului artistic.
Stilul lui Hemingway este succint şi arareori are fragmente în care să descrie stări, lăsând, deci, la latitudinea cititorului să interpreteze incertitudinea trăirilor atât de evidenţiată în scrierile sale.
S-a făcut şi un film, "In love and war", doar că e mult modificat subiectul, însă finalul filmului mi se pare mult mai copleşitor decât finalul romanului...