Ernest Hemingway’s classic For Whom the Bell Tolls is a classic that had escaped my list and remained on the periphery of desired reading due to its “classical” classification. While classics are a typically, exceptional pieces of literature, I have hesitated to engaged due to a personal belief that the moniker of “classic” equated to a writing style and story composition that would take a significant level of commitment to complete, let alone understand or gain insight. I could not have been more wrong.
For Whom the Bell Tolls takes place in the mountains of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The story follows American fighter Robert Jordan, part of the international brigade fighting in support of the Second Spanish republic guerrillas. The story traverses the political frictions, guerrilla tactics, individual support from at the international sphere for national causes, love, and death. The themes and plot lines of days gone by are just as relevant today as they were in the 1940s.
This story traverses multiple themes that keeps the reader engaged. This is a must read for anyone interested in perspectives of the past by authors who lived the experiences from which they wrote.