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A Farewell to Arms: 100th Anniversary Edition
294 pages, Hardcover
Published January 9, 2025
3 people want to read
About the author
Ernest Hemingway
2,180 books32.3k followersErnest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 3, 2025
This book is tough for me to rate. On one hand I wasnt a fan of the writing style, the story is mostly told through dialog between the main character and otherd that he interacts with. The dialog is hard to follow at times, and it gets confusing which character is speaking. Its also extremely simple. Especially the dialog between the MC and Catherine, his girlfriend/wife.
The story itself moves at a fairly slow pace, I found the most exciting moments were when the war events occurred. Outside of those moments the story moved extremely slowly and was basically descriptions of the MC living a relaxed life through Europe.
I did however how Hemingway conveyed the insanity of war and of life in general. How quickly it changes things, and how everything can be going fine and then all of a sudden its all gone to shit.
The ending in particular left me feeling extremely sad but also made sense in the context of the story, hoe you can have everything and be on top of the world in one moment and then have absolutely nothing. I think despite my dislike of the writing style and pace of the story, this book is one that will stick with me just off the strength of its final chapter.
The story itself moves at a fairly slow pace, I found the most exciting moments were when the war events occurred. Outside of those moments the story moved extremely slowly and was basically descriptions of the MC living a relaxed life through Europe.
I did however how Hemingway conveyed the insanity of war and of life in general. How quickly it changes things, and how everything can be going fine and then all of a sudden its all gone to shit.
The ending in particular left me feeling extremely sad but also made sense in the context of the story, hoe you can have everything and be on top of the world in one moment and then have absolutely nothing. I think despite my dislike of the writing style and pace of the story, this book is one that will stick with me just off the strength of its final chapter.
November 5, 2025
I love Hemingway, and this is a masterful work on the futility and loss experienced by an ambulance driver on the Italian front during World War II. It truly captures the voice of the lost generation. But unlike other Hemingway novels, the dialogue in some parts is so stilted it distracts from the plot. While this is not my favorite book by this author, it is still well worth reading. I definitely recommend the Hemingway Library edition, as it includes the alternate endings considered for the novel.
August 13, 2025
I can't believe I had never read this. I'm really glad I did. Not surprisingly, it's wonderful storytelling. If you've never read it, I say jump in. I was completely captivated. If you were traumatized at the thought of reading Hemingway by a high school english teacher, take the leap. It's really good.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews