Public reader discussion about A farewell to arms in the WeRead Catalog by Ernest Hemingway.
By Panther7
I started the book a few days ago thinking I’d end up loving it as much as all the hype made it sound, but the introduction spoiled huge parts of it for me. Posting this so hopefully nobody else does the same thing. Edit: wow, inbox is getting wrecked Thanks so much everyone! I hit the front page. That feels like a pretty big deal.
By listens_song1983
Late that summer we were staying in a house in this little village, right across the river from the plain and the mountains beyond. The riverbed had all these pebbles and big rocks—everything was dry and white in the sun. The water looked really clear and was moving fast, kind of blue where it ran. Troops kept going past our place and down the road, and the dust they kicked up turned the tree leaves all powdered. Even the tree trunks looked dusty, and the leaves started dropping way too early. We’d watch the soldiers march, dust in the air, leaves getting stirred by the breeze and then falling, and after they were gone the road was almost bare and white again, except for the scattered leaves.
By HiddenCricket
I’m stuck reading this for an English class, and honestly it’s probably the worst thing I’ve had to get through so far. Hemingway keeps leaning on “and” way too much, and when it’s not “and,” it’s just random commas. The description feels like it hits its best point in the first chapter, then after that everything gets kind of bland and not very imaginative. The dialogue is also a little hard to follow because he won’t say who’s speaking most of the time. On top of that, the romance pacing makes no sense to me. I get that war can mess people up, but this is too much. Around chapter three, Barkley talks about how her childhood sweetheart was basically wiped out in the war, and then the next night Henry is trying to kiss her? At that point it feels like the book should’ve spent more time on the characters instead of acting like she didn’t just lose the love of her life. Overall, I really don’t think Hemingway would’ve survived a middle school English class with writing like this.
By StampGlad5
I’m about halfway in. Does it actually get better from here, or is it pretty much the same the whole way through? Also, why did the first half feel so good? No spoilers though, please.
By SermentStanza14
I honestly don’t think I’m going to be over the pain this book put me through. This was my first Hemingway, and what the heck—this guy kind of wrecked me. I can’t even really explain it to myself when I try to put words on what I read. If you’ve read it too, did it hit you the same way? His writing feels like it has this kind of magic in it—like it’s addictive and also brutal and gorgeous and awful all at once. I’m still kind of mind blown.
By NinaInTucson95
I’m not totally sure I’m qualified to judge this one, but it sounds like the kind of “definitive” release that’s more about the behind-the-scenes stuff than just reading the story. The fact that it includes all the alternate endings, plus handwritten notes and whole sections that were crossed out, makes me feel like you’re getting a peek at how Hemingway was working things out. And I guess that’s the appeal—especially since it’s set on the Italian front with that whole romance + war heartbreak, and even the author supposedly rewrote the ending a bunch of times. I don’t know if it’ll actually make the book better for me, but I’m definitely curious, and the added intro by his family sounds like it’ll be interesting too.
By grandcamera
It seems like AFTR has a bunch of censored words in it. From what I can tell from a quick look online, it was mostly because it originally ran in Scribner’s Magazine and they didn’t want that kind of language in print. What gets me is I’d kind of gotten used to the censored parts showing up as those long dashes, but then near the end there are a couple of “n” words that aren’t censored at all. I get that this was a long time ago and lots of people didn’t see those words the same way back then, so I’m not shocked the publishers chose what they chose. I just don’t get why the book is still being published with these older standards. The copy I read was printed within the last 30 years. If they’re going to censor, why not just uncensor the curses in newer editions—or if we’re keeping the censorship, shouldn’t the slurs be censored too?
By BinaryMeadow
The classic wartime love story, this edition has all the different endings too. That’s kind of interesting, and the handwritten notes and crossed-out sections make it feel like you’re seeing how Hemingway worked on it. He wrote it when he was 30, and it’s about an American ambulance driver in Italy and his relationship with an English nurse, with the war getting worse in the background. The Caporetto stuff and the whole loyalty vs. desertion thing sounds pretty intense. Hemingway supposedly rewrote the ending 39 times, which is a lot, but maybe that’s what it took. This version also has his 1948 intro plus one from Patrick Hemingway and another from Seán Hemingway, so it seems like a pretty big tribute to the book.
By luckythread7
I kept hearing so much hype about Hemingway, so I went into this expecting to get hit with big emotions—some kind of intense war story, maybe a real love story too, and just really good language all around. Instead, I’m kinda disappointed. Honestly, I’ve read way more than a few books that feel better than *A Farewell to Arms*—like over 75% of what I’ve picked up so far. So I have to ask… what’s with all the fuss? Does anyone actually love it and can tell me what I’m missing? Also, some of his “cavespeak” moments totally threw me off.
By muddy1987
Well, that’s the end of it—I guess I’ll say goodbye to arms.
By teaplain
I’m a little worried this book might just end up as one of those “summer reading” picks that shows up because someone mentioned it’s a classic, not because it actually hits. But after finishing it, I don’t think that’s fair to it at all. I also keep getting stuck on the title. The original German “Im Westen nichts Neues” is basically “nothing new to report on the Western Front,” and it feels way more bleak than the more familiar English one. Like, it’s not hinting at calm or closure—more like everything is just continuing to go wrong, the same way it always has. And honestly, it’s kind of upsetting that we’ve gotten used to that kind of disaster. What really got me is how Remarque writes without trying to sell you anything. Even the opening sets the tone: he’s basically saying it’s not an accusation, not a confession, not some adventure story—just the story of a whole generation that survives the worst of it and still gets ruined. And then the book keeps doing that same thing. No big romantic feelings, no convincing you with speeches, just these brutal, plain statements that land hard. There’s this line about how the men are kind of numb to each other—like they’re already dead in a way, but still running around and killing. It’s not “debate club” war writing. It’s more like you’re shoved right into the mindset. I don’t read a lot of war books that feel like that, and it made me feel weirdly shaken. So I guess my question for everyone: what did you take away from it, how did it make you feel, and did it change how you think about anything after?
By keyblue
I’m in high school and read this for a choice American lit project. My teacher told me Hemingway’s writing would be slow and kind of a drag, but the second I started I was hooked and couldn’t stop. I really liked the way the characters talk—since they’re multilingual, the dialogue feels a little choppy in a way that honestly matches what it’s like to speak a second language that’s not fully there yet. And the parts where Frederick has to swap out English words for something more Italian—like when he can’t say certain things directly—hit way too close to home for me because I deal with that kind of stuff with my Spanish-speaking family. Catherine Barkley was another big thing for me. At first she came off kinda awkward, and I didn’t know what to think, but then she totally grew on me. She ends up being one of those characters you end up rooting for, not just Frederick. I also liked that the book has these moments that are genuinely light or even funny, but it still stays really dark the whole time. The deaths (especially Catherine, and then everything with Frederick) honestly got me emotional. Her death and the way the book makes you think about life and death put me in this mindset I haven’t really been in for a while. Overall, I love this book and I’d recommend it to anyone—it somehow made me feel the laughter, the sadness, the emptiness, the panic, and the tragedy all at once. Also sorry for the formatting—I’m on mobile.
By Sunny_Stamp2001
I ended up really liking this one, honestly more than I thought I would. It was my first time reading Hemingway, and I didn’t expect him to be my kind of writer. The writing is kind of plain, but there’s this quiet beauty to it. The plot itself doesn’t feel super “extra,” but I still found myself getting hooked and getting attached to the characters. A bunch of the scenes—especially the ones set in Italy or Switzerland—really stuck with me. I couldn’t put it down. I kept getting pulled into the story and just kept going. I think the simplicity helped it click in my head without it feeling boring or too basic. Also, I didn’t know much about the Italian front in WWI before this, so it was kind of eye-opening to see things from that angle. Overall, it’s been one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far.
By AcarusBrisk
I just finished Hemingway’s *A Farewell to Arms*, and I’m kind of stuck on whether it’s actually overrated or not. I can tell it’s a real classic and a solid piece, but I don’t really get why people treat it like the absolute best thing to come out of WW1. Still, I do like Hemingway’s plain, straight-to-the-point style, so it’s not like I disliked it. I’m just unsure if the hype I kept hearing was earned. What do you all think?
By draft_arch
I’m a bit past the halfway mark, and so far it’s been pretty awful for me. I’ve never really liked Hemingway before, and I’m still not feeling it. But my coworkers keep insisting it’s supposed to be amazing (I teach high school English, so they hear me complain). Does this one actually get better enough to make the slog worth it?
By Calm-Minnow
Just reread this for the umpteenth time and it still wrecks me every time I get to the end. Does anyone else feel like that about this (or other) books?
By EmmaReads51779
When it’s done right, it really ties everything up and feels like the last little finishing touch. Like, that final sense of closure you need so you can actually shut the covers for good. But what about you all? (Also—if you’re gonna spoil stuff, please put the title at the top so people see it coming.) I’m not sure it’s my absolute favorite, but Lolita’s closing line was good enough to get me hunting for other great last lines. Maybe I’m just on some kind of Russian lit kick. “and this is the only immortality you and I may share, my Lolita”
By JadeFinch
I liked For Whom the Bell Tolls, so I figured I’d try Hemingway’s other war book. But this one didn’t really work for me. The main guy was kind of obnoxious and all about himself, and the whole romance felt flat. They didn’t seem to have much in common, not much to actually talk about, and a lot of the dialogue just felt plain with nothing underneath it. By the end it just felt kind of bleak in a way that made me mad—like the point was that human life and love are basically pointless. I think it’s one of the most nihilistic books I’ve read, and it’s about two people who are super damaged from a stupid war, and then it just… stops. Also, I’m more into the Romantics, and this seems way removed from that, both in what it’s saying and how it’s written. Even Blood Meridian felt less hopeless than this, which might be why I didn’t enjoy it. Is there something deeper I’m missing here, or is it really just that “nothing matters” vibe? And if I didn’t like this one, is The Sun Also Rises worth my time?
By AcarusBrisk
I’m reading Susan Sontag’s “Notes on ‘Camp’” (the one from ’64), and she talks about Hemingway’s book as basically both “stubborn and full of himself” and also “so bad it’s funny, but not so bad it’s fun.” That note (number 29) really threw me. I’d always thought For Whom the Bell Tolls was one of Hemingway’s big-name, well-liked ones. And even some quick checking makes it seem like the critics around then mostly had positive reactions, even if people argued about the subject matter. It also made it to the Pulitzer finalist stage, just didn’t win. So now I’m wondering—did anyone actually rethink Hemingway’s reputation sometime mid-century in a bigger way, or is Sontag just not liking it on a personal level?
By FastSwan
Two that popped into my head right away: “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” — William Gibson “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.” — Hunter S. Thompson