Summer Reading

Looking back on this past summer, I realized that I have spent much more time reading than many high-school students would like to admit. In fact, some of my fonder memories of the past few months came from reading on planes, on road trips, and on days where I simply did not want to leave the comfort of my own bed as a means to escape reality for a short time. On such occasions I was able to complete the following books:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Old School by Tobias Wolff

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks

Volk’s Game by Brent Ghelfi

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In my mind, however, Ernest Hemmingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls stands out simply for one reason: I was unable to put it down. That sentence is not entirely true; I did stand up on one occasion, but only for the purpose of turning on the lamp beside my bed. After finishing my grueling day-long reading marathon, I could only wonder why I had spurned the invitation of a sunny California day in order to focus on what would be considered by some as a chore.

The answer was actually purely circumstance which enabled my mind to be engrossed by Hemmingway’s tragic story. The first of these circumstances stemmed from my visit to Spain following my freshman year. Hemmingway’s descriptions were able to come alive in my head when combined with my mental pictures of several of the areas mentioned in the story. The trip also supplied me with a basic appreciation of Spanish culture and customs, which allowed me to understand the actions and treatment of many of the characters. This understanding was especially invaluable concerning the character Rafael, the Gypsy in Pablo’s guerilla camp. It was, however, most helpful in providing me with knowledge of the background of the story: The Spanish Civil War. The other event, which was the basis of my choice for reading the book in the first place, was reading The Sun Also Rises last year in English III. I had almost immediately fallen in love with Hemmingway’s style and had become determined to read another of his works. For Whom the Bell Tolls did not disappoint me in terms of the distinctive style I had come to expect from The Sun Also Rises, including incredible alcoholism and constant use of “obscenities.”

In truth, these circumstances were only necessary in order to increase my appreciation of the story and help me struggle through the opening chapters. In the book, Hemmingway creates stunning images of war and the horror it brings, such as Pablo’s actions against the fascists in their home town, as told by Pilar, and El Sordo’s last stand on top of a hill surrounded by fascist troops and aircraft. The realism of such scenes drew me right into the fray, just as Hemmingway was during the war. The story’s characters, however, are in no way out-staged by these scenes and although many pages are spent purely on character development, none of it comes remotely close to being dull. I soon found myself being attached to certain characters and drawn into the romanticism of the Republican cause. In fact, I began to delude myself into thinking that the love story between Robert and Maria would have a happy ending, even though there was constant foreshadowing of Robert’s fate, and was utterly shocked upon his getting wounded and deciding to remain behind. I encountered a similar moment of shock when Anselmo meets a seemingly unnecessary end when being struck by shrapnel from the bridge he and Robert had destroyed. Now, having but the book down nearly a month ago and having regained control of the emotions that were caused by it, I would definitely recommend it, and will probably read it a second time hoping for a happy ending (666).