A Farewell To Arms

By Ernest Hemingway

Set in the waning days of the First World War A Farewell to Arms (1929) is the epic love story of American ambulance driver Frederic Henry and British V.A. D. Catherine Barkley, who are drawn together yet torn apart by the tides of war.

Drawing on his experiences as an ambulance driver in the First World War, A Farewell to Arms is considered to be Ernest Hemingway’s bleakest novel, depicting the futility of war and the cynicism of soldiers during wartime, but remains one of his best known and loved literary works. It has been adapted for radio, stage, television, and screen, most notably the 1932 Academy-Award nominated film starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781443425193

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. His novels include The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, he died in Ketchum, Idaho, on July 2, 1961.

Reviews for A Farewell To Arms

[jonfaith · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My least favorite of Papa's major novels. It merits mention fo rbeing a conversation starter. I was reading this in a pub and was approached by a guy. He proved to be a nutter. I didn't know that then. He approached, pointed to my book and began rambling about how Hemingway and Hunter Thompson understood the essence of things (this was years before Thompson's suicide) and that their lives of excess were a just a relief for their clairty. That is my paraphrase. I wound up talking to the guy for hours and drinking a deal of beeer. I have seen him twice since then. He doesn't appear to remember me.

[alisony-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Set in Italy during WWI, the narrator of A Farewell to Arms is an American lieutenant serving with the Italian army as part of the ambulance corp (echoing Hemingway's own experience). On good terms with the Italian officers he is stationed with, his love affair with a local English nurse deepens when he is badly wounded by a shell, but once his convalescence is complete and he returns to the front he discovers that the summer has been a difficult one for his compatriots, and his war turns a very different corner.Given Hemingway's first-hand experience of what he was writing about, this book felt very powerful on many levels. Less about the experiences of being in the middle of the fighting on the front-line battlefield (although at one point it touches on it in a hugely impacting way), it is more about the myriad of war experiences of the men involved in the Italian front in the border mountains with Austria-Hungary, especially while they were waiting for the bigger offensives to take place. As the protagonist is wounded, we experience the juxtaposition of life in untouched Milan, where normality continues to a large extent, and the difficulty of then returning to a much changed war. The depictions of being part of a losing army that is being pushed back were deeply moving and engrossing, and Hemingway puts us front and centre in the middle of the confusions, heightened emotions and dangers that arose during the chaos of a major retreat.At its core, this book is the story of a love affair being conducted in the thick of the war. The protagonist's lover is very much a woman of that time, so if outdated depictions of a woman's raison d'être being to keep her man happy then perhaps this is not the book for you. However, if you take it for what it is - a fictional account of a war relationship from a very different era - it's a terrific read. His sentence style is a little bizarre at times (on occasions he jumps around topics between commas requiring some rereading to get the flow of the sentence properly), but the occasional choppiness in style somehow fits the tensions of the time where one couldn't afford to think too deeply and long-term about anything.Overall, I'm surprised and delighted by my first Hemingway. It was a fabulous page-turner, and I'll definitely be back for more.4.5 stars - one of the most authentic wider war experience books I've read to date.

[viccavalli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An interesting text illustrating how Hemingway transformed his inner emotions and memories into art. His prose has the feel of hand-rubbed oil-finished oak wood grain, and the more the reader knows about Hemingway's biography, the more interesting this book becomes as a crafted surface displaying the objective correlatives of his inner life. From his difficult childhood, to his experiences in WWI at the age of 19, and his immersion into a literal landscape of corpses and ideological pointlessness, there touched by a flame of romantic hope only to have it blown out, all of these elements combine in A Farewell to Arms. Beauty, the possibility of meaning, bombs blowing limbs off, any second your life could be over, a glimpse of hope and then “War, death, or sickness, did lay siege to it, Making it momentary as a sound.”

[rsubber · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's been a long time since I read Hemingway. This is my first time for "A Farewell to Arms." It's a slow starter, but I learned to pace myself. The action is restrained but steady, and I realized gradually that a key element is the relentlessly realistic dialogue. The American protagonist, Frederick Henry, is involved in every scene. The life of the book is his life. His recurring, desultory involvement in his own life and his role in the Italian Army in World War I is the backdrop of his elaborately played out relationship with the nurse, Catherine Barkley. "A Farewell to Arms" doesn't really seem to be a war novel. On the other hand, except for brief interludes, the characters really don't seem to be at peace. For Henry, it's an ironic farewell.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Woof - what a depressing book in many ways. I had a love/hate relationship with this book while reading it. The writing style of short and to the point sentences was both appealing and frustrating. I felt that it made the characters a bit too one dimensional, but at the same time helped give a matter-of-factness to the war and the people living through it. I am glad I read this, my first Hemingway, and feel like I understand the point of the hopelessness of war and life of the time.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hemingways gaafste roman. Opvallend contrast tussen harde oorlogscenes en sweet talk tussen de geliefden. Hun relatie is onromantisch, maar toch zoet;

[pennma05-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I see so many mixed reviews about Hemingway's novels. This was my second book by Hemingway that I have read and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! It was by no means the perfect read but I really enjoyed the setting and the characters. There were a few times it got a little sluggish but for the most part I really liked this book.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hemingways gaafste roman. Opvallend contrast tussen harde oorlogscenes en sweet talk tussen de geliefden. Hun relatie is onromantisch, maar toch zoet;

[kamgeb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a classic I always meant to read and I'm glad I did. Most of it was fast moving and the plot was interesting. However, I didn't like the character development, especially of Katherine. She seems to be a stereotypic view of what "a man would want." Even when Katherine is in labor she talks about her "grand husband" and how she wants to be a "good wife." Also the guy is suppose to be so in love with Katherine, but I just didn't feel the connection.

[natek_23 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Made it to chapter twelve, decided I din't care about any of the characters. DNF

[catym_14 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Depressing. Bleak, unemotional and unengaging. I found Hemingway's prose style annoying and his dialogue worse, and I didn't like his characters. On the other hand, I thought that the plot was well-constructed - I'd have been very surprised if it hadn't been - and that the the book did a good job of conveying the bleakness and uncertainty of war. I made it to the end, but it was a struggle at times.I'm aware, though, that I'm in a minority and many people love the very things that made me dislike the book. If you like terse prose and depressing war stories, you'll love this book.

[janepriceestrada · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the book. It moves through different emotions and seasons seamlessly even though there are dramatic shits in action. I found myself very involved with the characters which seemed distant.

[sylak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Far be it for me to criticize Hemingway…I think I enjoy his stories so much because I am often so irritated by his writing style. But I keep reminding myself that ‘it is just a style’. At times it feel more like reportage (which shouldn’t be surprising). But it is easy to look past all this because, as much as I often don’t particularly empathize with the characters, I find myself invested in their story somehow!Don’t get me wrong; I had the ending pegged from the moment Henry met Catherine, and as soon as it began raining in the last chapter, on their way to the hospital, I recognized that not so subtil trope!There was only one loose end that I couldn’t work out, and that was about halfway through the book a nurse tells Henry that She’s his friend, to which he replies "I know". But she then responds ominously with something like "No you don’t. But you will!".I may have missed something. But I seem to have lost the thread of what this statement was leading up to.As I approached the end, I was expecting some sort of payoff which never came, or perhaps it did earlier and I missed the point.I never believed that Henry loved Cat. Not really.I also got the impression that Catherine needed someone to validate her life more than have genuine feelings for Henry himself.Perhaps that was the whole point. In war you take whatever you are given,I kept trying to imagine Henry and Cat living together, happily married with child. But it never felt real. Like the two of them were living in a dream, which most of the time is exactly how their dynamic Came across.That was actually where much of the tension arose for me. Like watching a train wreck in slow motion.I’ve got to say, contrary to how it sounds, I really did enjoy this book.Good, bad or indifferent, if you find yourself still contemplating the events of a story long after you have finished reading it, then I take that as a sign of a good book. As far as I am concerned, that is all that counts at the end of the day.

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A love story during war time. This story takes place during World War I an American driving ambulances for the Italians, meets an English nurse and love is in bloom. Once again for me , this is a classic that I do not know why it is. Maybe it is just me.

[pmtracy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great story, incredible imagery and absolutely horrible dialogue. The short, choppy sentences with constantly repeated words made the characters all sound like they had a third-grade education. I'm sure there was some deep literary technique here that I just missed, but it really hurt the book. It was saved only by the storyline.

[lunarreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic. Righty so.What a great novel! Man, woman, the war, friendship, respect, love, despair, cruelty .... All the big themes in a love story that in the same time is a powerful anti-war statement. A story of courage and of despair in the same chapter. A strong "wish i was here" feeling that in the same lines turns to an even stronger "i wish i was not here" sentiment.The very easy looking writing style reinforces this, the robustness of the story is in this very straight forward writing, empowered by the repeats of words, sentences and feelings which give the storyline in moments a kind of mantra-like voodoo-ism. I am lucky, i am so lucky, i don't know how lucky i am, please tell me we are lucky ... One can see from faraway that this "lick" is under heavy threats and the repeats try to give some strength to the idea.Amazing for me is that this story is still so readable, so attractive, whilst it is nearly a hundred years old.Hemingway is really one of the great writers of his time.

[schmerguls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this in June 1949. On June 7 I said: "Am half way through 'A Farewell to Arms.' It is just a story of a guy's amorous and boring life on the Italian front in World War One. Not very good." On June 8 I said: "Finished 'Farewell to Arms'--well-written, dull, and non-inspiring. Just tells of a couple who sleep together whenever they can, and how they go to Switzerland and she has baby and dies. Twas easy to read, though."

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is just something instantly recognizeable about reading a Hemingway story. A paragraph or two on the first page and you know what you have. I regret not visitng with one of my longtime favorite authors more often this past decade. I wanted to re-read this one for the WWI centennial where it seemed to be an appropriate time. I had slightly forgotten Hemingway's occasional affection for the very long run-on sentence that almost goes on forever. More often they run on just a little, which is what I remember. For some reason it never bothered me much with Hemingway unlike others. Maybe it is just because his writing is so direct that I don't get lost along the way. Then of course there are the very short ones to help create what is distinctly Hemingway.In any event I love this novel. I admire Hemingway's skill at sliding things into sentences, where he talks about one thing but lets you see another or get a glimpse of things to come. It is love in the time of war. It is a heartbreaker for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the end. There are a ridiculous number of passages in this book that I love to read and re-read. One can immerse oneself into this story. It is a memoir, a fictionalized journalistic type of account of Hemingway in Italy in WWI. I don't think it can be viewed any other way. The Italian war was not the same trench warfare of Belgium and France that comes to mind when one thinks of the Great War. The shelling was very destructive and deadly in the mountains. The story begins early during the war and is set in the mountains where the Italian army fought the Austrians. Our narrator, Mr Henry is an American, an ambulance worker. He meets a Scottish woman, Catherine Barkley. Catherine is a little crazy, but she loves Frederic Henry and he loves her even more. You can cry if you want to. I can see how some readers may not like reading this. I am not one of them. I think Hemingway is my Faulkner - he's not for everyone but for me he works.

[locriian · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The only thing I'll give Hemingway here is that he managed to convey my feelings about war stories in literary form: cold, emotionless, bored-out-of-my-mind...

Hemingway's characters are less of characters than the generic Sim I can make in 5 seconds

[leandrod-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A superbly written self-pity trip. Beautiful.

[cindyb29 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't like the way he writes--very wordy and repetitive, long run-on sentences--never sure who is talking. Didn't like the dialogue: very stilted;

[helenliz_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found this quite frustrating to read.At times the way he writes conversations are incredibly confusing, just lines and lines of speech, with no indicators as to who is saying what. It's OK for a few lines, but after a page and a half, it's very easy to get lost as to who is saying what. Especially when the conversation is a bit banal and largely pointless. There is an odd use of language as well. At times it feels a bit stilted, at others the word choice is strange. Describing something 3 times in the same sentence as "nice" isn't what I expected. At times the choice of language was simple, at others repetitive, it didn't seem to be elegant or well considered. The tale told is both simple and complicated. The central character is an American of (I think) Italian extraction who is serving in the Italian ambulance service on the Italian front. He's there because he's volunteered, not because he's been conscripted. He gets injured, treated and returned to the front shortly before the big breakthrough and collapse of the Italians at Carporetto. He gets swept up in the retreat and the way that the army degenerates is vividly told. However, it also sees the end of his involvement with the war. However this does not end neatly, his own life disintegrates, with the nurse he had met and fallen in love with escaping over the Swiss boarder with him, before failing to survive childbirth. At times I quite enjoyed this, but I failed to warm to Catherine, she was just so insipid as to be nothing that the narrator did not want her to be. She kept going on about being a good wife to him, if she wanted to do something he didn't she immediately changed her mind. I found her impossible to feel for or warm to. There's much that could have been good in here, but it didn't hang together and I found too much to not enjoy.

[garyseverance-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best novels of all time. On the first reading, I hated to turn the page to measure what I lost. From the dust on the leaves of the plane trees to the dialogue of the the two lovers as the train left for the front, a reading peak experience.

[doondeck · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found the dialogue between Henry and Catherine to be silly and inane. Despite depicting the horror of war, this book did nothing to make you root for the couple.

[mahallett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

hemingway appears to be so macho, i thought i wouldn't like his writing but i do. this is a very sad story both romantically and militarily. why would anyone want to go and fight?

[mariusgm-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Hemingway!

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written book as most of Hemingway's books are but the ending is just so sad! I didn't expect it to turn out well but at the same time I didn't expect it end quite so sadly either.

[rainpebble_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway; (4*)I found this to 'one' of Papa's best works. I know that it has been slandered and slammed but this reader appreciated the writing and the story lines.The characters incorporate the desperation of youth, the insanity and traumatization of war and the strategy of day to day living rather than striving for anything like achievement or satisfaction which is the effect of the madness of war upon the human soul. It is a profoundly sexual book. But it also presents a love story between two individuals that has more depth and sensuality than one would expect from Hemingway. In addition, insights into the behavior of the military, both the allies and the axis powers, are fascinating; marked by the idiocy of human beings caught in any dramatic effort. It is a war story that touches on the humans involved and the devastating effect of battle on the individual. It is a love story that ends in tragedy because it is a passion born of war not sincerity. It is a commentary on the madness of politics and the indulgence in mass slaughter in order to accomplish nothing. A very meaningful novel from an author in his prime.I DO recommend this one and found it to be a very satisfying read.

[amnesta · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a Hemingway fan, I'd put this one towards the bottom of the list of his novels. Read 'Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?' instead.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am not a fan of the minimalist, reporter that was Hemingway. Nor the amoral characters he populates his novels with. Still, I've read worse. Not all that it is cracked up to be.