A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms, written by Ernest Hemingway and published in 1929, is the story of Frederic Henry, an officer with the Italian army in World War I, and his relationship with Catherine Barkley, a British nurse. Some have noted the similarities between the main character and Hemingway, who also served in the Italian army as an ambulance driver in 1918, and his nurse, Agnes Von Kurowsky, who cared for Hemingway after he was wounded.

The book opens in the summer of 1915. The Italians have just entered the war, and Frederic Henry, an American who had been living in Rome and studying architecture, has joined the Italian army, serving as a lieutenant in the Second Army. He is in charge of the ambulance drivers at the Northern Italian front. The early chapters do not provide specific details about battles or names. Hemingway’s terse, minimalist style of writing is meant to convey much deeper emotion below the surface. Although much is left unsaid, what is said is that the war is not going well for the Italians in 1915. Both war and disease have decimated the army.

The following year, the Italians have more victories; they have taken territory from the Austrian-Hungarian army, including the town of Gorizia, where Frederick is stationed.