A Farewell to Arms

De: Ernest Hemingway

Narrado por: John Slattery

The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse.

Hemingway's frank portrayal of the love between Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley, caught in the inexorable sweep of war, glows with an intensity unrivaled in modern literature, while his description of the German attack on Caporetto, of lines of fired men marching in the rain, hungry, weary, and demoralized, is one of the greatest moments in literary history.

A story of love and pain, of loyalty and desertion, A Farewell to Arms, written when he was 30 years old, represents a new romanticism for Hemingway.

©1929 Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright renewed 1957 Ernest Hemingway (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Not what I expected

John Slattery did an excellent job in narrating the book. I had read "The Modern Scholar: WW1" by John Ramsden and he Listed "A Farewell To Arms" on the reading list and said it covered the fighting between Italy and Austria in WWI. But I was disappointed because there was very little information about the war and was primarily a love story. I am not sure why Ramsden list this book on his reading list. I have enjoyed other Hemingway book so maybe my disappointment was in my expectations.

Easy listening

I liked the reader. He didn't drone me to sleep. It was very easy to listen along and he read at just the right pace. And his voice isn't obnoxious.

WWI Love Story

Narrator was excellent. HEMINGWAY'S classic profound metaphor of WWI told in narrators voice about his one true love, Kat.

Good until the end.

Great story until the end. The ending was greatly dragged out and boring, with much of it degrading the emotional ending.

Great novel; spectacular narrator

To say the story is good seems a superfluous waste: I mean, it's Hemingway at his best. Duh.
What blew me away was the narrator. John Slattery nails it: American accents, English accents, Italian accents, males, females -- unreal. At times, it was difficult to believe this is all one person.

Masterpiece

What a moving story. Loved every moment. Even the painful parts. This one will stay with me always.

Beautiful, heartbreaking

Would you consider the audio edition of A Farewell to Arms to be better than the print version?

Yes, it's important to read this novel carefully.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Catherine, she's sympathetic and thoughtful.

Which character – as performed by John Slattery – was your favorite?

Catherine, she comes alive in this reading by Slattery.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole novel is moving.

You will speak differently for days.

I hesitate to attempt a review of such a classic work. I shall only say that after listening to this book I attempted to speak for an entire day without using a contraction or passive voice. It was enlightening.

My god!

Loved the story. Lots of full characters and exceptional writing. And this narrator! Whatever I listen to next will be with his voice, he gave me a n

Dragged on, just like World War I.

What did you like best about A Farewell to Arms? What did you like least?

The love story and descriptions of life in WWI Italy.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting - how was the love story going to end?
Least interesting - detailed updates from the "front".

Have you listened to any of John Slattery’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Did A Farewell to Arms inspire you to do anything?

Reconfirm my desire to visit Italy.