Rereading this classic from Ernest Hemingway reminded me of why I both love and dislike his writing. On the one hand, I love its simplicity and elegance. As a technical writer, I think he's one of the best. He's able to communicate so much in so few words and such clear sentences. He really is an author that I think aspiring authors can learn a lot from, based purely on his mastery of the English language in its written form. On the other hand, I have a hard time with the subject matter of his books, which are often not my thing... and particularly this one. World War I is just not a period of time that I find particularly interesting to read about, so much of the things that I love about Hemingway's style tend to grind a bit in this book because those skills are focused on details of a subject that I'm not really into.

Looking back at his whole bibliography, I wonder if I should read (or reread; I've forgotten which of his works I've actually read) some of his other titles like The Sun Also Rises or The Old Man and the Sea. There's no question that he was a brilliant writer, but like many works of classic literature, I have to be in the mood for them. I spent so long reading "classics" in school that I really need to want to read them now, or they end up just feeling like a slog.

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Created Apr 27, 2025 at 2:55pm • Submit your own review...