About this title: In FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, published in 1940, Hemingway explores his own conflicting emotions about heroism, the futility of war, and the value of human life--a theme that is exemplified by the book's title, which is taken from the 17th-century poet John Donne's famous sermon that begins "No man is an island" and goes on to say one should not ask for whom the funeral bell tolls: "it tolls for thee." The novel, which is set during the Spanish Civil War in the spring of 1937, takes place over the course of four days. It tells the story of Robert Jordon, a young American attached to an ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Book Club Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Blakiston, Philadelphia
Date Published: 1944
Description: Good in poor dust jacket. Price clipped. Shelf wear on lower boards and some on upper top binding. 410 p.; 21 cm. Copywrite 1940, unsure of publication date. Inside DJ fly say "This book has not been condensed. Its bulk is less because of government paper quota regulations restricting all publishers. " Imprinted author signature on cover, not signed. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Prentice-Hall, Inc
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780020518501ISBN:0020518501
Description: Acceptable. Cover very worn--1" top front corner missing; back top corner chipped; all corners & edges creased/chipped/rubbed; sm. closed tear base spine. Water damage--pages warped & curling. Spine cocked. Very clean, readable text. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
Description: Fair. No dust jacket. Ex-library. Library stamp on title page. Front end papers missing. Map taped on title page. Front cover held on with tape. Sticker on front cover. Shelf wear to covers with folds and rubbing on edges and corners. 471 p. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780020518501ISBN:0020518501
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Several reading creases on spine. No chipping. One partial crease on back cover. No other flaws. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 480 p. Scribner Classic. Audience: General/trade; General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 1940
ISBN-13:9780684717982ISBN:0684717980
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Some damage and wear. I ship promptly and package carefully. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 480 p. Scribner Library. Audience: General/trade. read more
"This book seems to have found some resurgence of popularity among my generation lately, and it is certainly well deserved. Having only read "The Old Man and the Sea" previously, I greatly enjoyed Hemingway's terse style and was impressed that, although written in English, he was able to so thoroughly capture the essence of the spoken Spanish. I must read more Hemingway.
On a side note, I read that Hemingway once won a bet with some of his friends who ribbed him for writing in such uncomplicated prose by composing a short story of only 6 words:
"I'm afraid that after reading this, I will be forever disappointed in all other novels. Rarely do I give such distinguished praise for a book, but Hemingway's is quite deserving. Hemingway writes in a way that makes other writers envious in that his story is so simple and strong yet human, complex, and fragile. Centered around a very small mission in a war most Americans (myself included) know/knew nothing about, FWTBT is really about the intracacy of relationships as they morph over stressful situation and regular life happenstance. What really sets Hemingway apart is that his writing is provokatively honest and insightful. At times, his reader has that persistent pit in their stomach in regard to the graphic nature of the material, and at other times, feels the red-wine-warmth of a truism that only he can articulate. It's the honesty of everything we want to admit about ourselves if we were to ever give ourselves the chance.
I big book, but one of the ones you'll regret to finish.
"Finished Christmas morning. Very sobering war story. I liked Robert Jordan's self-talk. Pilar has to be one of the best characters I have read for some time. I read somewhere that this is considered to be the most comprehensive war novel in scope ever written. While reading I couldn't help asking why would this be so comprehensive? The story is about one minor offensive involving only a handful of people and the story last only three days. Now having finished it I realize that I have been taken through the ranks of the Bureaucratic Spanish Rebellion, I felt compassion for the people caught up in the movements, I was horrified and mesmerized by Pilar's stories of mob violence, and I cringed for the characters that suffered wounds and crimes of war. I guess all of that makes this novel a pretty darn comprehensive war story. Robert Jordan's courage to be useful at the end of the story reflects Hemmingway's ideal virtue. Live to the fullest and make every moment count. Very ironic that Hemmingway shot himself when Robert Jordan chose otherwise."
"I can't understand how anyone would dislike this book. I loved "The Windup Bird Chronicle," but I understand how one wouldn't enjoy it. "For Whom the Bell Tolls," however, was one of those classics that was so perfect, so profoundly moving and yet just enjoyable to read, that I can't comprehend the negative review. Like "Anna Karenina," "Crime and Punishment," or "Native Son," its one of those cornerstones of literature that utterly justified its spot in the cannon. The characters were perfectly wrought, and achingly human, with each life being so significant and yet miniscule in the face of war.
It's true that Hemingway can't write a real woman to save his life (Pilar is fantastic, but really he writes her as a man), and Maria's adoration of Robert gets tiresome, but really that's the only false note in this entire epic. For everyone who complains about the stilted dialogue, the dialogue is one of the strokes of absolute genius. Yes, it sounds unnatural, but that's because Hemingway is perfectly capturing how people who don't speak the same native language communicate -- the dialogue is in actually in Spanish between the American Robert and the Spanish guerillas. It's brilliant."
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