For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

When a friend suggested I read this book I thought I had a fairly good idea of what to expect. I had never read any Hemingway before but I had seen some film adaptations of his novels and I knew enough about his life (the love of bullfighting, the big game hunting and general 'macho' pursuits) to assume that it was going to be a 'boys own', rip-roaring adventure. I wasn't expecting much in the way of characterisation (especially for female characters). How wrong I was! BACKGROUND The story focuses on a pivotal period in European history, the first confrontation between the major ideologies of the twentieth century Fascism and ...  Read the complete review

"No man is an Island ... and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." The epilogue of Hemingway's novel For Whom The Bell Tolls taken from a poem by John Donne. For whom The Bell Tolls is a novel purged in emotion, the writings and interpretations of an American on the Spanish Civil War. Laden with action, thrills and historical scenes, For Whom The Bell Tolls leaves the reader gasping for more and more. One finds themselves fully emerged in the writings and perceptions of Hemingway concerning the civil War and the events that flourished from it. The beginning of the novel dawns; Hemingway's ...  Read the complete review

Last summer I decided to tackle a few books I had been meaning to read. Among these was a novel by Ernest Hemingway. At the time, I wasn't particular about exactly which Hemingway novel I wanted to read. So I stood in the bookshop reading the back cover of a number of novels. I walked out with For Whom the Bell Tolls. Little did I know it would take me over a year to finish the novel. This was partly due to enrollment in UNI. The rest was due to the short descriptive prose staggered in a number of sentence combined with paragraph long sentences Hemingway uses when writing. Matched in difficulty to read only by Clockwork Orange, Hemingway became an ...  Read the complete review

A few unkind souls have described Hemingway as a 'macho-man' writer, who churned out masculine drivel whilst high on testosterone. But others (to whom I am indebted) recommended For Whom... to me without a prejudice over the author. Glad am I that I took their advice. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Hemingway relates, in a lengthy but rewarding read, the small part played in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) by an American volunteer and a group of Republican Guerrillas, trying to blow up a critical bridge to block an enemy counterattack. I cannot say how it pans out, but it is worth the wait. In his tour de force of modern warfare ...  Read the complete review

I've never read anything by Hemmingway, and i probably wouldn't have, but i live in Italy and when i went to the the local library searching for English or American novels "for whom the bell tolls" was the only one there, and i was not dissapointed. The story is about an American called Robert Jordan who goes to spain to fight for the Republicans against the fascists in the spanish civil war, his job is to blow a bridge which could very well in the near future determine the outlook of the war. Whilst there he meets a group of banditos who are to aid him in his task, this is were the story begins really. It is full of emotion, sadness, ...  Read the complete review