One of my favorite books. It may seem slow at first but it once you get to the end it's well worth it. I cant explain the feeling this book gives me. :D ( )

How in the world did Hemingway become a famous author? His style is crap! ( )

Brutal[Crítica a Xelu.net]D'alguns llibres em costa molt fer-ne una crítica perquè m'intimiden. Són clàssics o llibres que per una raó o una altra han passat a formar part de la història de la literatura, ja sigui per mèrit propi o per la trajectoria de l'autor. Em passa amb el llibre d'avui, A Farewell to Arms d'Ernest Hemingway. Aquest autor per a mi és poc menys que una llegenda, no perquè hagués llegit cap altra llibre seu abans de llegir-ne aquest, que no és el cas, sino per la manera, el respecte i la veneració amb que n'he sentit a parlar sempre, titllant-lo pràcticament de pare de la literatura moderna. El cas és que vaig sentir un podcast al que proposaven llegir aquest llibre per a comentar-lo més endavant, com si fos un club de lectura, i aquell mateix dia em vaig plantar a l'Fnac i el vaig comprar, i després el vaig llegir, i ara estic aqui i no se ben bé que dir perquè el llibre em supera i qualsevol cosa que digui no li farà justícia, i després algú em farà cas, el llegirà, i si no li agrada tant com a mi em sabrà greu perquè el llibre es mereix ser llegit per tothom, més d'una vegada, i comentat, i treballat, i aprofundit i després tornat a llegir. Tant m'ha agradat. I és que de vegades aquests clàssics s'han d'agafar amb cura, de vegades el seu valor és històric i vistos amb ulls d'avui és difícil valorar-los amb justícia, i està clar també que A Farewell to Arms no és un llibre tan vell, la primera edició és del 1929, però sigui com sigui és perfectament modern i vigent i fàcil de llegir sense deixar de ser subtil, poètic, enigmàtic i viu. El llibre viu i respira i palpita i al final és com una punyalada que et deixa sense alè i que a mi em va fer plorar. Així doncs si això que escric no és gens una crítica objectiva i racional és perquè aquest llibre ha destruït la meva objectivitat. Se suposa que una crítica ha ser un esforç d'anàlisi dels recursos, imaginari, argument, teixit, punt de vista, etc que donen forma a un llibre, per tal d'intentar determinar-ne el seu valor en tant que obra literària, obra d'art, retrat de la psique humana, però aquest llibre excel·leix tant en tots aquests aspectes que parlar-ne em vé gran. Així que ho sento, no en faig cap crítica i em limito a recomanar-vos que no deixeu de llegir aquesta meravella. ( )

Those who have not seen the elephant and lack the courage to go looking for it have no right to criticize Ernest Hemingway, who set out as a young man to find the elephant and get a good long look at the Beast, and then describe it for the rest of us. As a young man he did not yet realize that few people are as brave and as honest as he.

He went. He saw. He wrote. He told us all about it -- and scarcely anyone believes him. Those who don't tell the few who do that Papa was a fool and a bad man. So it is in life as it was in "The Old Man and the Sea." Now that the big fish is dead, the little ones come to gnaw on his corpse.

Nobody with anything to lose has a friend in this world. The person who has nothing may find one. Papa knew.

Of Hemingway's major novels, 'A Farewell to Arms' is the one I like least. That's not to say AFTA is a bad book, because it is in fact a very good book. It's just the one I like least. Fact of the matter is I find the end of it too heartbreaking, even as I rush to say that any other ending would have made less sense.

'A Farewell to Arms' is chick-lit written by a man's man. What a concept! You wouldn't think it would work, but it does. Highly recommended. ( )

Hemingway imbues his characters with exceptional courage and grace. They, Henry and Catherine (two main characters), are so very lonely and the reader is happy to see them find each other and a bit of themselves in the process of falling in love. Together they seem more capable of dealing with the world around them. They are no longer drifting and in many ways are fighting together and for each other.

Told through Henry's point of view, one gets to experience the tension at the front, the adrenaline rush that comes with running from the enemy, and the camaraderie of the men who are fighting for something they do not understand. All they know is that they would like for the war to be over so they can go home; a common refrain in war. Romance, while it may seem like an odd word to use when speaking of war, is pervasive throughout the story; in the descriptions of the men, the sadness and loneliness that pervade the lives of the individuals at the front, and people waiting at home for them to return.

While I have not read a great deal of Hemingway, there is something very different about this book that makes it stand out from the rest and that is the romantic nature of the piece. He shows in great detail the love between these two, constrained and confusing as it is for everyone. It is very natural and drawn in its most elemental state, almost raw. He seems to want to readers to be involved with these two characters on a very intimate level and he accomplishes that goal. ( )