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Completed	14 December 2007
Title	For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author	Ernest Hemingway
Published	1941
Quote	"Robert Jordan pushed the cup toward him. It was a milky yellow now with the water and he hoped the gypsy would not take more than a swallow. There was very little of it left and one cup of it took the place of the evening papers, of all the old evenings in cafes, of all chestnut trees that would be in bloom now in this month, of the great slow horses of the outer boulevards, of bookshops, of kiosques, and of galleries, of the Parc Montsouris, of the Stade Buffalo, and of the Butte Chaumont, of the Guaranty Trust Company and the Ile de la Cite', of Foyot's old hotel, and of being able to read and relax in the evening; of all the things he had enjoyed and forgotten and that came back to him when he tasted that opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy."
Review	Yes, this is another gruesome war story, which no one can write as well as Hemingway. I just love it. And I confess, as I have before: Everything I know about the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), I learned from Hemingway. In For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway does such a great job of describing the war, what it was really like. You feel like you're right there. This book transports you. This is the story of Robert Jordan, an American who goes to Spain to fight. He fights for one year. In the beginning of the book, he is analyzing a bridge that he is supposed to blow up. He has his orders. He must blow the bridge. Blowing is his specialty. There is so much talk of this bridge, and yet, surprisingly, the bridge doesn't blow until page 463! So, for the first 463 pages, you hear of the life and lifestyle of the soldiers. Robert Jordan describes the war, and other things: "In a blizzard, a gale, a sudden line squall, a tropical storm, or a summer thunder shower in the mountains there was an excitement that came to him from no other thing. It was like the excitement of battle except that it was clean." I love the way Hemingway writes. I also enjoyed the manner of dialogue in the book. The characters use such words as "thee and thou and thy" and it is explained: "Anselmo was speaking old Castilian and it went something like this, 'Are thou a brute? Yes. Art thou a beast? Yes, many times. Hast thou a brain? Nay. None.'" Now how beautiful is that, to hear that kind of formal language, and the funny juxtaposition of that against the horrid backdrop of war? "'Que' puta es la guerra,' Augustin said. 'War is a bitchery.'" Well, no kidding. This whole book is about the horrors of war, the cold, the hunger, the fright, the rush. Throughout it all, though, Jordan takes comfort in Maria. Now we couldn't have a Hemingway war story without a little romance, eh? Unfortunately, though, their relationship is not to last a lifetime. And just when you thought the book couldn't get any better, it, of course, did. That's Hemingway for you. He's just cooked you a great meal, you've devoured it, you're totally satisfied and full. And then here he comes with dessert. The last few pages of the book were amazing, especially when the horse rolls on Jordan's leg and breaks it. Jordan cannot move. He must stay. The others, including Maria, must flee. But Jordan stays, and the whole selfless scene is without compare. Now you know how I am about war stories. I like to give you a little taste of the barbarism. Just so we don't forget how bad a thing war is. And case in point, let's read the following passage. "'Then let us kneel,' the first civil said, and the four knelt, looking very awkward with their heads against the wall and their hands by their sides, and Pablo passed behind them and shot each in turn in the back of the head with the pistol, going from one to another and putting the barrel of the pistol against the back of their heads, each man slipping down as he fired. I can hear the pistol still, sharp and yet muffled, and see the barrel jerk and the head of the man drop forward. One held his head still when the pistol touched it. One pushed his head forward and pressed his forehead against the stone. One shivered in his whole body and his head was shaking. Only one put his hands in front of his eyes, and he was the last one, and the four bodies were slumped against the wall when Pablo turned away from them and came to us with the pistol still in his hand."

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