For Whom the Bell Tolls

By: Ernest Hemingway

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1937, Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving, and wise.

"If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

©1952 Ernest Hemingway (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is the best book Ernest Hemingway has written, the fullest, the deepest, the truest. It will, I think, be one of the major novels in American literature." (The New York Times Book Review)

Truly enjoyed!

I was completely hooked from the very beginning. The story is masterfully written and the narrators performance is exceptional. I was brought in by the action but ultimately found myself enthralled in the romance between the characters. Hands down my all time favorite. This performance is why I joined Audible!

incredible story engrossing

narration great
story engrossing
parts boring
overall five stars
my first Hemingway as an adult
much better than expected.
recommended highly.

enjoyable and moving

campbell scott does a fine job of narration and i enjoyed his subtlety in affecting a spanish accent.
the book itself was beautiful and strange and i didn't realize how quickly it would end because i couldn't wait to get back to it.

loved it

i loved this book it's a great love story full of twists and turns. There are many deceitful and truths to what war is at its core. I think the author captures the error in trust and distraction.

Gripping and Iconic

Would you listen to For Whom the Bell Tolls again? Why?

Yes: The storyline and character development is classic Hemingway, truly ageless. It easily transports one back to four tragic days in the mountains during the Spanish Civil War. Recounted through the great channel of one of America's best-ever authors, the tale becomes almost telepathic in its raw power. I found no point at which the story bogged down. Though many of us have read this long ago, to hear the book again in such fine narration was pure pleasure.

What was one of the most memorable moments of For Whom the Bell Tolls?

The pinnacle of plot resolution at the very end.

Which scene was your favorite?

Some of the interpersonal omteraction scenes between the main characters, especially the carefree "Gypsy".

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely

Any additional comments?

I'll start listening to everything in Audible's offerings concerning Hemingway's epic works. It was hard not to give this one carte blanche five stars all the way across, so I docked one star from the Story section only because the plot was a bit oddly resolved in a certain manner which I won't reveal here in order to keep the element of surprise fresh for others.

Touching

Laughed throughout , nail biting edge of seat action, embracing love story, emotional events with realism and devotion... best read.

Good but long

For me the drawback of this book is only the length. Hemingway has beautiful, poignant writing in several pieces of this story, but some of it is just too drawn out to the point where all poignancy is lost for me. I wasn't particularly a fan of the massively long Pablo back story chapter (or any of the back story chapters for that matter) or the amount of time given to the love story (Maria was a weak character in my opinion).

The story grabbed my interest in the beginning and was able to maintain it only because I wanted to know what happened with the bridge at the end. I really liked several of the characters and the ending was heart-wrenching for me.

The only real downside to me was what I previously mentioned as the overly lengthy aspects.

Powerful

I wish I had read Hemingway sooner as the impact of the words is hard to describe. I sat in silence for quite some time afterwords reflecting on the story. The characters are vivid and the plot is compelling. I found it hard to put down towards the end. Highly recommended, this story stands the test of time.

Glad I Didn’t Spoil the Ending

(Spoiler) Lots of foreshadowing from the reading of Jordan’s hand to the title itself. I didn’t look ahead and held out hope until the inevitable end. I was disappointed that he dies but the fact that I felt so heavily invested speaks volumes.

A Melancholy Story

Great book, it drags a little but I wish actor would yell at times :)