Welcome to the first installment of My Boyfriend’s Book Club!
This month we took a stab at the classic For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Let me start by saying that this all began as a way for me to manipulate Will to start reading more books while selfishly being able to expand on the types of books I read. Plus, reading rocks!
Here’s how this whole thing works:
- We alternate book selections and agree on a date to have it read…then change that date 2-3 times based on schedules
- Once we both finally finish the book, we set up a date to discuss it…then change that date 2-3 times because we decided to watch wrestling or New Girl or something instead
- To help keep discussions guided, we eat a themed-ish meal while we answer four extremely simple questions about the book
- A new book is selected for the following MBfBC (and will now stay around 300 pages based on our first attempt)
- I will write a blog post about the experience with a short plot summary, review of our questions, and summary of thoughts. I cross my fingers and hope this is somewhat exciting and help people decide if they want to read the book or not, or even better want to discuss their opinions of the novel!
Published: Oct. 1940 Pages: 480 Genre: War novel
****76 year old spoilers occur beyond this point ****
Food: BBQ Chicken Enchiladas – because nothing else says Spain more than a Tex-Mex classic – and a chocolate rabbit.
Drink: Spanish Wine
Why this?!: Will’s pick. He loves Old Man and the Sea and I was pretty excited because I really enjoyed A Farewell to Arms in high school.
Shae’s Short Summary: Somewhere in Spain the great Robert Jordan is told to blow up a bridge. Along his four day, 480 page journey, he meets a band of guerrilla fighters and the love of his life, Maria aka Little Rabbit **barf**. Fights, long-winded stories, and late night rendezvous’ ensue, I doze off about 75 times, and BOOM! Robert Jordan finally blows up the bridge and eventually dies – RIP.
Will’s Thoughts Shae’s Thoughts
Favorite Part of the Book: The massacre of the Fascists. Robert’s first night in the cave when you meet Pilar and the fact that Hemingway uses the words like obscenity, muck, or manure instead of actually cursing. My favorite example of this is, “‘Of course not. Do not talk such manure,’ he said, using a stronger, ugly word.”
Favorite Character: Pilar! Anselmo. We guessed each others before sharing, how cute.
I didn’t like…: The rambling middle and how fast Maria fell for Robert Jordan. Pages 110-307. Blah, blah, blah…blow up the damn bridge already!
Would you recommend this book?: Yes, to the right person. Yes.*
Real Talk: This book had its peaks and its deep, deep valleys. The first 100 pages had me pumped up for RJ, going on adventures and blowing up bridges…instead he was sitting in caves and being super creepy about Maria. I literally just Googled “how old is maria in for whom the bell tolls” and learned she is 19, Robert Jordan’s age is apparently unsearchable. I don’t know, maybe it’s because Maria has been through some tough manure in her life or maybe she just doesn’t give a muck anymore and thinks that RJ is cute, either way they fall in love obscenely quick. Also, what is it with him always being called Robert Jordan? It’s never shortened or abbreviated, I can’t decide if it’s annoying or just makes him seem cooler, because he is kind of a cool dude. I know that I give Robert Jordan a hard time, but all-in-all he is a good character; he’s reflective, fearless, and we watch him grow and change throughout his last four days alive. He is probably the type of man every guy aspired to be in the 1940’s: unflappable, capable, and someone even asked him to blow stuff up which is pretty sweet. But his character is only as strong as the ones around him, and RJ has some awesome help. Pablo, PILAR, Anselmo, and the list goes on. They depict the toughness it takes to survive hopeless odds and the scars that have been left behind. Throughout For Whom the Bell Tolls we meet characters who are deeply entrenched in the effects of war and are questioning their own values and morality as they recite their stories and come to terms with the acts they have already committed and witnessed. Despite all of these tragic events already being reality, they still decide to go along with this crazy white man’s plan to blow up some bridge and cause even more havoc. ¡Qué va! *Will and I both said that we would recommend this book to someone but it would have to be the right person. It’s safe to say that the major plot points weren’t necessarily exciting or fast paced enough for either of us, but overall this book is driven by the effects of war and it isn’t a light, afternoon read. So if you decide to start reading this novel, hang on to your hat because a steady, yet forceful, breeze is coming your way.
Rating: 
Next Read: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
And that concludes Volume 1 of My Boyfriend’s Book Club. If you have read For Whom the Bell Tolls let me know your thoughts on the novel, if not let me know if you’re racing out to buy or check out a copy soon. In the meantime here’s a cute picture of my dog Oliver, his pal Lilly, and my great 1960’s library edition.
stuffbyshae 