For Whom the Bell Tolls
First published 1940 · English · 484 pages
- Novels
- Historical fiction
- War
A novel set during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Robert Jordan, an American volunteer and explosives expert, is sent into the mountains to work with a band of guerrillas fighting for the Republic. Over a few days he must prepare to blow up a bridge, while living among people with their own loyalties, fears and rivalries. He also meets María, a young woman marked by the war. The book explores duty, courage, comradeship and the cost of political violence, and it is among Hemingway's most ambitious works.
Quotes
"Just kiss me." She kissed him on the cheek. "No." "Where do the noses go? I always wondered where the noses would go." "Look, turn thy head" and then their mouths were tight together.
If every one said orders were impossible to carry out when they were received where would you be? Where would we all be if you just said, "Impossible," when orders came?
'But are there not many Fascists in your country?' 'There are many who do not know they are Fascists, but will find it out when the time comes'.
I am no romantic glorifier of the Spanish woman, nor did I ever think of a casual piece as anything much other than a casual piece in any country. But when I am with Maria I love her so that I feel, literally, as though I would die and I never believed in that or thought that it could happen.