A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms is often referred to as a war novel, which is true enough. There is certainly blood and gore, along with a measure of dark humor, but the novel is more a love story than an account of battles between soldiers. Hemingway introduces us to Frederic Henry, an American volunteer serving in the sanitary services of the Italian Army in the north of Italy during World War One. He is a Lieutenant supervising ambulance drivers and is often near the front lines. Badly wounded by a shell, Henry passes through a number of surgeries and, while convalescing, meets Catherine Barkley with whom he begins an affair. Their story follows them from Gorizia, to Milan, to Stresa, and, finally, and ironically, to Switzerland, a neutral nation. A Farewell to Arms was first published in Scribner's Magazine across some few months in 1929. Its publication was the source of controversy because of its subject matter and strong language. (8 hr 21 min)