A Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway.
The individual scorings for this session ranging from 2 to 5 demonstrates clearly the controversial reception of this, Hemingway's best or is it his worst? book!
For starters nobody liked or believed in Catherine (in what someone described as a 'man's man book')
most of us feeling she was presented as a fantasy woman who even had a baby who died thus letting Henry off the hook....
we had a lively discussion around the improbability of a nurse having sex with a patient - on the ward (!) a view which was countered by ' there was a war on, these things happen' .
It was pointed out quite rightly that this was a good example of how relationships do and don't develop in difficult circumstances such as war.
The fact that the book was neither pro or anti-war was acknowledged however this journalistic style of writing - the polar opposite of Dickens, gave us,
it was suggested, one dimensional characters with whom we could not connect nor could we warm to.
In fact there was little agreement about the writing style because for some the scant descriptions were considered to be 'brilliant' the reader being able to fill in the blanks and feel as if they were there -
for example the soldiers concentrating on the mountains in the build up to the battlefields ahead.
Having started and failing to 'get into' the story on previous occasions some readers showed their commitment to the book group (thank you kindly) by persevering this time and then found that they enjoyed the book enormously -
and there was a majority view that the second half was certainly a better read than the first - although a single voice supported the start having absolutely loved it finding it readable and a brilliant start to the story.
For most people the priest was well received as was the 'compelling' bridge scene.
Graphic childbirth and descriptions of snow were controversial with readers either loving or hating them.
'A book of its time' - written in such a specific journalistic / reporting style made it an 'unsatisfactory' 'disappointing' read / a 'brilliant read' ! ha ha
maybe it should be called a Farewell to Marmite a really wide difference in opinions which explains the rather middle of the road final score of three and half big ones.
SB
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