A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway · 1899–1961 · USA

Why it matters

Love and desertion on the Italian front, ending in the rain: Hemingway rewrote the last page thirty-nine times 'to get the words right.' The war novel and the love story fused, both stripped to the bone.

At a glance

Plain, declarative prose keeps surface difficulty low despite the war's brutality.