A review by sunset22
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
4.0
The book tells a story of an american dynamiter during the Spanish civil war and of the days leading up to his task and, along other heroes, contemplating the necessity of killing, the brutality of war and the cynical contrast between the "guerillas" (partizans) and their believed "famous figures and leaders of the revolution" drinking and partying in fancy hotels. The language is constructed in a way to imitate a translation from Spanish to English.
Altough the book contains a lot of vivid images, scents and desriptions, there is one scene that stood out for me, where "the smell of death" (as carried by a man who is about to die) is described by the old woman-leader of the guerillas. The scene is disgusting and beautiful at the same time leaving a strong impression.
A common complaint on Hemingway's work is his approach to female characters. It didn't really feel that way giving that the whole 2 of them are pretty complex characters and the old woman being one of the most interesting ones in the whole book in addition to it being clear that a lot of things being shown trough narrator's personal lense and his eyes, however, the dialog of the younger girl (Maria) in times did feel like it was taken from a high school boy's fantasy. It's hard to believe that in creating the character it was impossible to portray the same emotion in a less dull and cartoon-ish way, so it leaves the impression of being just lazy.
All in all it was a good story worth being told.
Altough the book contains a lot of vivid images, scents and desriptions, there is one scene that stood out for me, where "the smell of death" (as carried by a man who is about to die) is described by the old woman-leader of the guerillas. The scene is disgusting and beautiful at the same time leaving a strong impression.
A common complaint on Hemingway's work is his approach to female characters. It didn't really feel that way giving that the whole 2 of them are pretty complex characters and the old woman being one of the most interesting ones in the whole book in addition to it being clear that a lot of things being shown trough narrator's personal lense and his eyes, however, the dialog of the younger girl (Maria) in times did feel like it was taken from a high school boy's fantasy. It's hard to believe that in creating the character it was impossible to portray the same emotion in a less dull and cartoon-ish way, so it leaves the impression of being just lazy.
All in all it was a good story worth being told.