rosie has a change of heart (warning: don't read this post if you haven't finished the book!)

As before mentioned, I TRUDGED through the first 150pgs, or so. It felt Hemingway was establishing his dominance or something, I swear. The problem may be that I was reading it at the end of the semester so I was extremely busy and wasn't taking the time to really process what he was saying, and with him that is a problem because he didn't give an inch the first half of the book. I was constantly trying to decipher the emotions the characters were feeling and trying to read between the lines of their dialogue. This may be a problem, maybe you aren't supposed to read Hemingway this way. I'm not sure.Another problem may be I've been reading a lot of female authors lately and they are slightly more...I guess hospitable is the word, in their writing style. I maybe got used to having things wrapped up real nicely and Hemingway doesn't give a shit....In the end I guess the very thing that frustrated me in the beginning of the novel is what I began to love towards the end.I feel the book turned around for me when Henry returns to his unit. By far, my favorite narrative in the whole book is Hemingway's description of the Italian armies retreat after the German forces had broken through the front lines. (starting on pg.188 of the "new" version). I felt all wrapped up in the entire sequence. The description of the columns of people moving out in the storm, them drinking wine and eating cheese and apples for breakfast, the virgins, all the talk of Bonello and Piani being socialist and not anarchists, and when they shot and killed the 2 sergeants. Amazing. It felt as a defeat in a war should feel: raw and hard.Possibly my favorite quote is towards the end when Henry is describing his love for Catherine (after they flee to Switzerland) and he says, " Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt like that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. It has only happened to me like that once. I have been alone while I was with many girls and that is the way that you can be the most lonely. But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together." pg. 249. I can think of no better description of being totally comfortable with a person. I crave "alone" more than almost anything and the thought of having someone you can feel alone but not "lonely" with is genius and possibly one of the best ways I've ever had loved explained to me by an author. Good one Erney.Lastly, most of the book I thought to myself, "Hemingway can't write a woman." I did not feel a fondness towards Catherine. I soo wanted to, we are both women and she was a nurse, and yet often she felt flighty to me...and I blamed Hemingway. Until the tragic end when she says, "Don't worry darling, I'm not a bit afraid. It's just a dirty trick." I realized that she wasn't what I had thought she was during that last scene in the hospital. Life had just tired her out and made her untrusting and a little cynical; so she had learned to take things lightly. Maybe? Now, I'm not about to clear a spot in my top 10 female characters in literature or anything, but it made me understand her a little moreI loved it and felt it no one could have written a better and more appropriate ending.Well played, Erney.
-Rosie

May 4th Hemingway discussion anticipated

I trust April was wonderful for you with flowers and Earth Day to keep you occupied, among other events :) This Sunday we will be meeting to discuss Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. I imagine the conversation to be a good one. Here are the details:

WHEN: May 4th beginning between 1:30-2:00pm to allow for a leisurely drive from church, etc.

WHERE:
Derek, David and Nathan's house in Long Beach (check your email for address)

WHAT TO BRING:
- $5 for Derek as he will be making homemade pasta
- a hearty appetite
- a passage from Hemingway you most enjoyed, least enjoyed, a theme that piqued your interest, etc. to be read aloud and discussed if you so choose.

I am looking forward to Sunday and seeing (or meeting) your faces - please email or post any questions you may have.

Much love to you until we meet this Sunday,

Donia

Festival of Books!

There is one happening this weekend at UCLA. Information can be found at:
http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/booksigning.html#top

I am not exactly computer savvy so this isn't a direct link, but if you copy and paste it into your "browser" you should get to the right place. Otherwise, google UCLA festival of books. It's really easy, it's what I did.

Since we are in a book club and since we like books I believe a festival of books is right up our alley! You have to purchase tickets (only 75 cents!) on-line for the panels so if you are interested you should look at the web site and plan ahead. I am planning on attending Sunday, that is for certain. I may also attend on Saturday.

Leave a comment if you are going to attend and would like to try to coordinate.
-Amber

A Farewell to Arms

I just finished a farewell to arms and thought I'd get a thread going. I know a lot of you that I 've heard from are not loving it. Some of you actually made it sound like you wanted to assault old Ernie if you had the chance. So either way, love it or hate it, here is the place to begin a conversation about the exploits of one Lieutenant Frederic Henry.

-Tim

book club meeting #1, status: SUCCESS!!!

hey, derek here.  just wanted to let you all know that, like donia wrote in the email,  a few of us met yesterday to talk about The Road over some tasty foodies and great wine. it was a really great time and this was a good  book to start out with (good call tim).  i think that a once a month meeting (every first Sunday at one) is a great time to set.  so mark you calenders and just plan on it.  for you out-of-townees we want to try to make this blog a more frequently used thing so please feel free to get crazy on this thing.  

The Road

(this is Donia writing) We had a wonderful first meeting with Derek, Jessica, Nathan and myself. I'll be the first to admit I felt a tension/strain to transition into talking about the Road instead of casually chatting and eating Sun Chips, hummus, carrots, and drinking wine and coffee. Soon though, we not only embraced each other's inaugural points of the book (of course, once we refreshed our memory of what the book was about) but I also felt at ease and was able to share the meaningful moments I experienced with the book without much worry. Nathan jumped on Wikipedia to find out a bit more background information on McCarthy, his Oprah Winfrey interview, where he lives, etc. to try to help us contextualize the book - whatever the intention, the research added to the discussion. We then ventured into other topics of conversation inspired by themes, symbols and ideas found in the Road.

For me, I was catapulted into uncomfortable mental territory reading most of the Road. Its descriptive imagery was terrifying. I couldn't help but think, "what if"? I love drama, conflict, sad situations, stories of broken humanity, realism, etc. but I generally want things to be wrapped up nicely - I knew this wasn't going to be that type of book. One thing in particular that frightened me was how the father experienced what I would consider beautiful, joyous dreams as instead, nightmarish and something he wanted to divorce himself from as it meant death was closing in on him (one example of a vivid, colorful dream can be found on p. 272). I noticed this towards the latter half of the book. His 'nightmarish' dreams happened more frequently until his death but he had a difficult time acknowledging these sleeping memories because of their hopeless indication. I was also startled by a point Derek made about the interaction of the father and son when they found old train tracks. The son didn't understand the playful noises and actions of his dad while we the reader, assume the train was a remembrance of a potential play toy or something else happy from the father's childhood memory. This moment, coupled with a few others in the book, made me jump into the shoes of a man who had the experiences and hopes apart of an old world while presently living/dealing with a new world that was so near obsolete. What did you all think?