Guns and Guts

Book Review: A Farewell to Arms

January 5th, 2009

A Farewell To Arms
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Scribner (April 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684837889
ISBN-13: 978-0684837888

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A Farewell To Arms is another book from my reading list. Ernest Hemmingway wrote this semi-autobiographical tale of his experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The story is told by Tenente (Lieutenant) Frederic Henry, an American, driving ambulances for the Italian army. Henry is a man’s man. He drinks a lot, but never seems to lose control of himself. He is tough, unassuming, and doesn’t think overly highly of himself. The man has a good sense of morality, while not being a religious person at all.

There are several other officers that Hemingway develops into interesting characters. There is the Italian surgeon, Rinaldi, who is a larger than life happy Italian that loves booze, women, and surgery. He is Henry’s best friend and roommate in the story. Then there is the often brooding captain, that is concerned with the future of his men, and his responsibilities. Another major fixture, especially early on, is the priest. He is an army chaplain, and is totally dedicated to God. The others consistently chastise him for this, but the Godless Tenente often takes up for him. Henry is not anti-God, so he is able to respect the dedication of the priest. At times one gets the feeling that the priest represents an ideal that Hemmingway would like to fulfill, but is not able to.

The life near the front for these gentlemen is rather comfortable. They are housed in a nice villa, always have some sort of wine or brandy to drink, and are well fed. Apparently the Italian military even maintains a brothel for the men’s use if they so desire. During the beginning of the story, Frederic Henry meets Catherine, a British nurse that works in the village’s hospital. He is quickly smitten by her, and she returns the admiration at first reluctantly. Her fiancé has died in the war, and she is reluctant to get involved with someone new, because she fears the same thing might happen to him.

Catherine is a wonderful character. She comes across as someone that is constantly looking for the approval of her mate, but not in an irritating way. Her and Henry fall in love fairly quickly, before he is sent to run the ambulances at the nearby front.

I guess I must pause to explain just what sort of book this is. It is an anti-war book to be sure, and it does a good job of illustrating the horrors of such an event. Hemmingway hated war, after he experienced it, as most do after being in the same situation. The love story between Catherine and Frederic ends up overshadowing the war however. We end up with a wonderful love story, written in a way, that is just beautiful, and totally interesting. I am no great fan of love stories, but this book contains enough manly meat to make it very worthwhile to read.

Actually, love stories can be very entertaining. The distinction between a great tale of love between two people, and a dime store romance novel could not be greater. The cheap fluff of the romance novel, is what I have no use for. There is none of this here. This is an intricately woven story, of love found in the midst of ugliness.

Alright, where were we? Oh yes, so Henry goes to the front . He and his crew are injured badly, when a trench shell goes off in their foxhole. Henry ends up convalescing at a hospital in Italy, were Catherine becomes his nurse. Their relationship blooms into something wonderful, and eventually Henry is sent back to his old post.

I don’t want to ruin the entire plot of the book, after having told much of the story already. Let’s just say, that things take a strange turn upon his arrival to his previous post, and leave it at that.

This story will not be forgotten by me, as so many often are. A person like myself, reads many books over the years. Most are fairly enjoyable. If they are not, they don’t get finished. This is one tale that will stick with me throughout my remaining years, and I fully expect to read it again at some point. Very highly recommended.

Categories: Books, Entertainment | Tags: military, novel, reading list