The only thing a person can ask for when reading a book is for it to be good and I wouldn’t be an exception on this. A good book needs to have the reader wanting more and more. As a junior in high school reading isn’t my mayor attraction but to pass English I had to read this book called A Farewell to Arms when I first saw it I told myself “ Oh boy, here goes a waste of my time” but my perspective on the book changed completely when I read the first five pages. It was actually really good and easy to read. The author Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899. He left home to become a newspaper writer in Kansas City. In 1918, he joined the Italian Red Cross and he became an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I. During this time Ernest experienced a lot and it inspire him to write, A Farewell to Arms. The novel was first published in 1929.In 1954 he won a Nobel Prize for literature. Hemingway used his experiences during the war to writ his novels. What’s surprising about his life is that he committed suicide because he was scared of his future of any financial problems and health problems he might face.
The main characters are Catherine Barkley and Frederic Henry. Catherine was a nurse who fell in love with the main Frederic Henry. Catherine is a very wise, intelligent, sneaky, and beautiful girl. This attracts any man and Henry was completely attracted to her. Henry is an ambulance driver working during War World I. He likes the good life woman and parties are his type of thing. They meet through Rinaldi one of Henrys friend who saw Catherine and thought she was gorgeous. The Story takes place in many different places during War World I.
The story begins with small amount information about him. Then he is with hi fellow officers and they are making fun of the priest. After this we see that he talks to his roommate Ronaldi about traveling the world and he that loves pretty girls says that he no longer has to travel because he has found the one Catherine Barkley. They all go out to eat and Rinaldi wants to show to Catherine he is very wealthy.
The next day Rinaldi convinces Henry to walk with him to go see Catherine. Frederic is amazed at how beautiful she is. That’s how their love story begins. They were separated by the war many times but it only made their love for each other grow stronger. When Henry was away all he did was think of Catherine and how much she meant to him. Every time they found each other again they would have the most romantic times. They would spend every minute with each other because they know Henry needed to leave. From all of this Catherine becomes pregnant. How can she have a baby when he needs to go to war?
He comes back from war from where he asked a near death experience he comes to look for Catherine who has been transfer to Switzerland. He immediately taken a train over there and he finds Catherine in a hotel having lunch with her friend from that point they were inseparable.
By January Henrys bear had come out completely he looked very different. They spend 3 weeks in a hotel near the hospital where Catherine spent most of her time buying clothes for the baby. The time has come at 3'o clock in the morning but something goes wrong.
This is an amazing book with a great story. While reading it Catherine and Henry made me fall in love with their love story. It’s truly something good to read it will keep you coming back for more. It makes you scream at the book at times because things are so unfair but with all the love they have I think that the ending was unfair. Anyone that’s wants to read a great book should really pick this one.
