...And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. - John Donne-
For Whom The Bell Tolls is first and foremost a war novel. Spanning a scant three days, the novel is the story of Robert Jordan - a young American professor - who is attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain. Jordan's mission is to blow up a bridge which is guarded by the fascists. He enlists the aid of a band of Communist guerillas, spending several days with them at a cave in the mountains.
Hemingway introduces a broad range of characters, including Maria - the beautiful Spanish girl with a tragic history - who Jordan falls in love with practically on sight. The novel has all the makings of a classic, and in fact has been called Hemingway's greatest work. Despite this, I found myself struggling to continue reading through the first half of the story. Hemingway spends a great deal of time inside his character's heads, repetitively showing us their thoughts and motivations. The dialogue tends to plod along, filled with 'thees' and 'thous' and odd phrases such as:
"Go and obscenity thyself," Pablo told him. -From For Whom The Bell Tolls, page 211-
I wanted badly to love this book. I have enjoyed other Hemingway novels (The Old Man and The Sea, for example), and have been captivated by Hemingway's short stories. But, I'm afraid I cannot recommend this one. Had I not been reading this for a challenge and a group read, I would have quit less than 50 pages in. If the reader is diligent and can wade through the dryness of the first half of the book, they will be tragically rewarded in the end.
I read this book April 7, 2007 and rated it 2.5/5.
Why Was It Banned?
For Whom The Bell Tolls was banned in Spain during Francisco Franco rule for its pro-Republican views.
6 comments:
The odd sentance using the word "obscenity" you refer to is actually a publisher's censorship in the printing of the book. This was a common occurance with Hemingway.
Ah, okay - that makes perfect sense now. Thank you for noting that...I hadn't realized there was censorship in this book...and it seems so odd being that the book was published in the USA (I know the book got banned in other countries)... what other books by Hemingway were subjected to this type of censorship?
The thous and thees are more clear if you understand some etiquette in Spanish speaking countries. You would only refer to a friend or an intimate as "You" or you. To a stranger, or in a business dealing you would address them as "Thou" or usted.
Yes there are formal and informal uses of "you" in Spanish, but what perplexed me was that even Maria and Roberto use the formal "thou" etc up until the very end.
Thanks Vaughn and Ellen - this is the kind of information that can help a reader to better appreciate a book :)
Funny, I didn't find the book ponderous at all. In my opinion, it is a great psychological portrait of the characters as much as it is a war book. It takes after the title, which comes from a philosophical treatise on the value of human life. How can we value the (lost) life of the characters if we don't know them well? And I also found the transliteration style of Hemingway very charming. I do understand if it's not everybody's cup of tea though. I'd give it 4.5/5 :)
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