/lit/ - Literature

I agree.

>>15421746
It does have the best chapter he's ever written though

MAKE HIS FIGHT ON THA HILL IN THE EARLY DAYS

I'm reading through it too and I can tell you OP, once and for all, that your opinion is trash

>>15421746
Why? An opinion isn't much worth without some reasoning to support it.

>>15421746
I agree. With this book Hemingway firmly established himself as a hack, making the old man and the sea a lucky outlier.

>>15421746
he is an incredibly mediocre writer. all i remember from this one is a cardboard cut-out of a female character who is inexplicably in love with hemingway's corny protagonist.

two people I know enjoy him as an author. they haven't updated their literature taste since their teenage years, and show no signs of having a rich internal emotional life.

>>15421746
There’s a few good scenes
But too long

>>15421746
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee

"Classic writer" can mean a lot of things, the qualification is given out for a variety of reasons, historical or cultural importance, advancing the art, just writing really well etc.

In this case his work is considered classic because it's historically notable for being one of the first times an empty headed bruiser soldier man tried his hand at long form writing giving people an insight into the mind of an entire demographic of men (spoiler: it's dry like chicken meat). He would've been considered a fad and forgotten if not for America's desperate need for artists which pushed a ton of mediocre creators into the spotlight just so the entire nation doesn't appear cultureless.

>>15422515
That's pretty mean. Hemingway's short stories are widely regarded as some of the finest in the medium on an international scale.

you need to stop

>>15422621
He's one of my favorite writers, but I try to be realistic. Of course his dry style works best when it's not forced into a conventional book format that needs to be padded out with stories about fishing trips and whatnot. I like the padding as well, but it's not stellar writing.

>>15421836
I'd say it has a couple of his best chapters. The hill battle. The story of the execution of the fascists in the town. Robert Jordan recalling his father's suicide. The book is laden with emotion. Every chapter well-executed. The combat scenes are especially well-done. They are gritty and tactically correct. The backdrop of civil war is sobering. The annihilation of previous morals and norms has taken a toll on characters, all of them differently, but to all nonetheless. The foriegn intervention and the cynicism of the foriegn fighters (other than Robert) are an important contrast. Characters are not cookie-cutter as other anons claim. Anselmo's odyssey almost makes me cry. Maria is very believable. The physical and emotional trauma she experienced, the arrival of a foriegn soldier: of course she would fall for him, and fall quickly! A major aspect of the book is all about the imminence of death and 'living a lifetime in a week.' If the author takes any liberty here it is only to emphasize that theme. Robert's last words to Maria and her reaction...damn. The prose throughout makes me excited to the point of being nauseous. have read it numerous times and I imagine I will read it many more times again. You don't have to like it, but I recommend everyone at least give it a shot. In particular combat veterans and anyone who is thinking about enlisting.

Makes me wonder if we even read the same book.

>>15421746
Ive read most everything Hemingway ever wrote and FWTBT is by far his most overrated and tedious. I tend to skip it on rereads. He’s deemed classic because his short stories have been the gold-standard for the form up until this day.

FWTBT is a great book. Memorable characters. Maria, Pablo, Robert, the Gypsy, Raphael... it’s not usual for me to remember so many characters in a book.

Perfect balance of romance, battle, sharing of ideas and worries between characters, plot development...

How the very beginning contrasts the very end...

10/10

holds up pretty well today i thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeqGuaAl6Ic

Has anyone seen the film of it with Gary Cooper? I assume it's absolutely terrible.

>>15422759
Yes. Came here to post this
Mainly the execution of the fascists

>>15422026
>incredibly
Disregarded

>>15423932
It's not worth watching. It's like a more bland version of the book

>>15423934
>execution
I suppose you could use that word.

>>15423952

Yeah, it's interesting how Hollywood tackled Hemingway. He was really famous in the 40s and 50s so they made several adaptations but they almost always change them completely because no-one wants to listen to what he really wants to say.

A good example is The Short Happy Life of F.M. which they filmed with Gregory Peck (!) as the hunter bloke. They had absolutely NO IDEA what to do with it, so it's a complete mess.

>>15422139
dam...

>>15421746
I'm a fan of his, but yeah this should have been a short story or novella or something, it's 10x as long as it needs to be, and his writing is not in top form.

>>15424448

I agree it's too long but it doesn't need to be cut down that much. Just take a third of it out and it would still be a decent novel length.

>>15421746
>>15421753
>>15421946
>>15422026
>>15422138
>>15422515
>>15422651
>>15422776
>>15424448
>>15424851
filtered

Are there any other good novels written about/during the Spanish Civil War /lit/ can recommend?

>>15421746

Haven't read that one, but it is ok to not like classics. Just be aware of the reasons behind why some people like those books. I really dislike some of the best authors of my mother language, but it is my personal taste, I'm aware of that.

>>15421746

I've always thought that there are two kinds of Hemingway readers: those who like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and those who like "The Sun Also Rises." If you didn't like FWTBT, maybe try TSAR?

>>15424906
ahahaahahahah anon you're so funny!