Welcome back to the Ernest Hemingway club, everyone! This month, we are reading “A Farewell to Arms” by Hemingway, one of his best works.
This novel goes right to the core of Hemingway’s war trauma, views on women, and outlook on life, which is pretty bleak!
Throughout our Hemingway course/book club, we will view the novels through a loose framing of trauma. Hemingway’s works are a field guide for trauma and narrative repair, and if you’re new to analyzing trauma in literature, here are some things to look out for.
Delay
Repetition Compulsion
Retrenchment
Idee Fixxee
Death Fear
Death Impulse
Hypervigilance
Nightmares/Insomnia
Disassociation
Diversion
Narrative Repair/Talking
Anti-Narrative
Flashbacks
Numbing
Once you understand the signs/symptoms of trauma and the methods of narrative repair Hemingway puts his characters through, you will appreciate the genius of his work much more!
I would still encourage you to join if you can’t make the call because you can
Watch the recorded calls, which will be posted below
Lurk and listen to the call while it’s live if you’re busy with your family, commuting, working, or doing whatever. I am 100% fine with you popping in, saying your thoughts, and leaving if you’re super busy!
You can maybe make it to one of our other 10+ book clubs every month
FYI, beginners and expert readers are all welcome :)
We will meet on the date below at 9:00 AM PST on Zoom and talk for 45 minutes
July 19th - A Farewell to Arms