A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
Year
1929
226
549
526
664
624
519
991
385
1824
614
596
548
820
456
702
524
377
575
1098
623
935
381
1095
402
1465
317
1455
1002
645
1997
553
291
600
1022
1117
545
1704
1330
323
591
2513
Description
"A Farewell to Arms" chronicles the journey of Frederic Henry, an American ambulance lieutenant in the Italian Army during World War I, as he navigates the brutality of war and an intense romance with English nurse Catherine Barkley. Set against the backdrop of the Italian front and the devastating retreat from Caporetto, the novel unfolds in Hemingway's characteristically spare prose, where what remains unsaid carries as much weight as what appears on the page. Through Henry's first-person narrative, readers witness his progression from a detached participant in a war he barely understands to a deserter who rejects abstract causes in favor of personal loyalty and love. As his relationship with Catherine deepens from a casual diversion to genuine devotion, they create a private world of meaning amidst chaos. Their escape to Switzerland offers a temporary idyll before the novel's devastating conclusion, where Catherine dies in childbirth, leaving Henry to confront an indifferent universe alone. Hemingway's novel masterfully balances its dual focus on war and love while exploring themes of disillusionment, masculinity, fate, and the search for meaning in a world where traditional values have failed. Published in 1929, this groundbreaking work established Hemingway as a major literary voice and remains one of the most powerful literary responses to World War I, capturing both the specific historical moment and timeless human experiences of love, loss, and resilience.