A Farewell To Arms

The word classic is easily used, but Farewell To Arms, written in 1929, deserves no lesser epithet.

Love and war - the two special ingredients any writer needs to put together a best seller, and against the mud and dirt of the Italian front in the First World War, Ernest Hemingway managed to tell a story of a love that overcame the dirt and misery of battle.

He formed the basis of this novel from his own harrowing experiences as a World War I ambulance driver in Italy, but if you have ever read an Ernest Hemingway novel, you'll know that he invented a new way of describing physical experiences in his writing, which, instead of overcomplicating the stories, made them easy to read, and brought them alive in your own imagination. He was once quoted as saying:- 

In late 2013, I wrote a short article about the Ford Theater adaptation of A Farewell to Arms, so I hope you'll forgive me for writing about this classic again in 2015.

I really wanted to include it in the RUSC Literary Challenge, as although this story is a magnificent romance it is also an unforgettable commentary on men and women at war. It's one of those unforgettable tales which truly touches your heart.

This faithful adaptation of the Hemingway original, tells the bitter-sweet tale of Lieutenant Frederic Henry of the Italian Ambulance Corps in the first world war. Lieutenant Henry finds himself romancing a young volunteer nurse, Catherine Barkley, working in a services hospital.

The backdrop of war-torn Europe is brought into vivid focus as we hear how the simple act of falling in love is diminished by the horrible reality of fighting a war. After an injury and a spell in hospital Lieutenant Henry receives visits from Catherine. Their love blossoms, and as it does the reality of the danger they live with drives them towards a doomed plan of survival which does not have room for war.

In the end though it is not war that is their undoing but life itself, and therein lies the tragic irony of this tale - that perhaps however far and fast we may run from danger, nothing is ever sure, and there are few paths that can guarantee safe passage.

The story begins in the thick of the action in an ambulance on it’s way to the field hospital. Clark Gable is up front with the driver and on arrival at the hospital he comes face to face with the brunette of his dreams.

There have been several other dramatizations of A Farewell To Arms which are available to download or listen to online. I have listed the links to these below:-

NBC University Theater 

Ford Theater  

Screen Guild Theater 

Studio One 

I originally posted this Lux Radio Theater adaptation to the RUSC site in 2001 - over fourteen years ago - but we didn't have commenting on the site then... I'd love to know your thoughts about the latest book in the RUSC Literary Challenge, so please, do feel free to comment below!

Happy listening my friends,

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