I struggled with how to rate this book. It is intimate, brutal, slow, and powerful. While the characters sometimes seemed like types, they were each evocative and hypnotic, if not wholly realistic. Pilar resonated with mystic strength, Pablo provoked consistent disgust, and the humble Anselmo never faltered; each was a beautiful expression of the best and worst of the Spanish people during a complex and gruesome period in its modern history.
I wish I'd read this before studying abroad in Madrid. It really helped me understand a key part of Spanish psychology and identity rooted in the first half of the 20th century. Even the writing felt more like literally translated Spanish than English, which was fantastic to me.
Things that will remain with me:
~Hemmingway's descriptions of bullfights as a sensory struggle between the forces life and death.
~Anselmo's personal integrity. How he does not like killing humans, even though hunting animals does not bother him. How he states that even though they must fight in the war and he believes in the cause, that there will have to be a way for each man to atone for the killing he has done in war. How he doesn't leave his post, even in the snow. How he comes with tears on his cheeks after shooting a fascist sentry.
~The final moments of the book, in which Robert Jordan contemplates death in all of its stark reality. Haunting, yet very calm and utilitarian.
Cleary one of the great novels, but emotional difficult. I would not call it enjoyable, but it is one of the greats.
“If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.”
Set in the middle of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), For Whom the Bell Tolls tells the tale of one Robert Jordan, an American who is given an assignment to work with a republican guerrilla unit to blow up a bridge during an attack on the city of Segovia.
The story explores various wartime sentiments such as thoughts of mortality, the possibility of suicide to escape torture and execution at the hands of enemy, camaraderie, betrayal, different political ideologies and bigotry.
Ernest Hemingway (center) in 1937 with Ilya Ehrenburg (Russian author, left) and Gustav Regler (German writer, right) during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
The book garnered much attention for Hemingway's incorporation of a strange semi-archaic form of English to represent text translated from Spanish. Several real-life figures of Marxist background who played a part in the war are mentioned in the text as well. The book was unanimously recommended for the Pulitzer back in 1941 but the decision was controversially reversed by the board and no award was given that year.
Side-notes:
Hemingway himself was involved in the Spanish Civil War as a journalist. In 1937, Hemingway agreed to report on the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA), arriving in Spain in March with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens. Ivens was filming The Spanish Earth, a propaganda film in support of the Republican side. He wanted Hemingway to replace John Dos Passos as screenwriter, since Dos Passos had left the project when his friend José Robles was arrested and later executed.
Hemingway (center) with Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens and German writer Ludwig Renn (serving as an International Brigades officer) in Spain during Spanish Civil War, 1937
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" follows American Robert Jordan as he prepares to blow up a bridge as part of the war in Spain. However, most of the warfare and strategy in the novel went over my head, as I was instead choosing to focus on the characters and their individual journeys.
Pilar, especially, was a fascinating character, and the tale of what happened to her village was heart-wrenching and made me feel for both her and the real-life people who went through something similar.
This was my first Hemingway, and I didn't really know what to expect in terms of writing style. However, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought it was just brilliant how the first and last sentences of the book mirrored each other- thus the novel both opens and closes on the floor of the pine-needled forest. In the future, I think I would like to explore more of Hemingway's works.
Hemingway, so ungodly boring and dry, made this a difficult read. I expected more ACTION! This long-ass book took place over 4 days! Mediocrity! Anytime we were away from Robert Jordan was a respite.
I read till the end hoping and praying that we would see his death. SpoilerI'll unhappily settle for his leg being torn and torqued, I guess.
There wasn't even good romance! Sure, there was sex. Maybe even good sex, who knows? But Maria pretty easily left Jordan for her own safety. In a novel, a character can only SAY so much, but their actions show you their real motivations. She wanted to live. Marriage be damned. Plot be damned!
I can't believe this was recommended to me by a friend. We truly have differing tastes in what makes a good story. Historical relevancy or no, do not read this book if you don't have to. Now that I'm finished, I'm glad to be rid of it.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Misogyny, Body shaming, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, War, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Murder, Classism, Ableism, and Death
SpoilerNobody...Nobody developed. Not at all. And the plot is what you would expect after reading, like, the first three chapters. Don't waste your time.
