• Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms: War and love

  • Sep 17 2024
  • Length: 1 hr and 1 min
  • Podcast

Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms: War and love

Listen for free

View show details

  • Summary

  • Hemingway's 1929 semi-autobiographical classic tackles two big timeless themes: love and war.

    Two out of three of us can relate to the first one, but war feels pretty alien to us. How would the boys do if they were conscripted? What made WWI so uniquely dispiriting? What is it about this novel that so faithfully captures the experience of war?

    We also talk quite a bit about Hemingway's laconic characters and terse writing style. How representative is this of his broader work? What do we think of the 'iceberg method'? Why did he go with the most depressing possible ending?

    and MORE

    CHAPTERS

    • (00:00:00) first reactions and synopsis
    • (00:06:02) Hemingway’s understated style and the ’Iceberg method’
    • (00:19:10) What made WWI a uniquely dispiriting war?
    • (00:28:35) Catherine and Henry are the same person
    • (00:38:44) downer ending
    • (00:46:45) A catalogue of arbitrary and meaningless death
    • (00:57:34) Final thoughts and next book

    SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

    We wanna start reading listener feedback out on the pod, so send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our bad takes or share your own.

    NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

    My Struggle, volume 1 - Karl Ove Knausgaard
    Show More Show Less
Show More Show Less

What listeners say about Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms: War and love

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.