27 out of 27 people found this review helpful.
launching an offensive with irregular forces aint all its cracked up to be
Date of Review: Jul 29, 2001
The Bottom Line: Love, War, Issues of trust.. what's not to like?
This is a story about a young man on a mission. Sent alone to meet up with a bunch of "peasants"- resistance fighters in the Spanish Civil war.. They are taking on the superior force both in technology and in numbers, and things aren't looking too good. But they keep going despite the odds.
In the meantime our young hero, Robert Jordan, finds love, or something close enough to it (She loves him, anyway- what else do you need when you are marching into certain death?) All the while he has to deal with the personalities of this very animated group of civilians that have agreed to help him destroy a bridge that has proven to be a key point on the success of the offensive about to unfold. They are of various levels of competance, and sometimes their lack of ability makes them even funny at parts. But this is realistic, not all people are good at war.
His faith is constantly tested, he is constantly reminded of the mortality of his comrades and that damndable Pablo seems to constantly be a let down, once the greatest rebel in the land but now turned soft and hasn't the spine for war lately, only the love of the taste of wine and the desire to aquire horses of a good stock. He proves to be a hard man to trust, and his selfishness makes him a dangerous person to either side of the war.
Meanwhile there is a young woman that has fallen for him amongst his new allies. He must tell this naive that everything is going to be allright although he is certain failure is imminent. He has to delve between what she wants to hear and the way it is, and he is constantly fighting a war inside his head between the truth and the right thing to say at the time.
You could easily picture yourself in this situation, the way Hemmingway illustrates the situation makes it very beleivable and easy to follow. It isn't necessary to lend any credibility to a work done by Hemmingway- the name speaks for itself. This work is no exception. It is timeless work that will grow on you untill the end and you will enjoy every page in between.
After reading it you will have the urge to blow something up. I know I did.
