This book contains 51 different articles, thesis', poems and rants about Madonna, by authors varied as Camille Paglia and Vincent Canby to Henry Rollins and Liz Smith. It includes various one page cartoons and strips from "Mad" magazine and the Village Voice, and also in the mix are Rolling Stone poll results, a David Letterman top ten list about "Truth or Dare", and Sandra Bernhard writing about her Madonna dreams from her book "Confessions of a Pretty Lady". This book is chock full of more useless information about Madonna that us fans crave, new and old...The information covers roughly the 1984-1991 era (her most active IMHO) and is very entertaining, though not for the average reader. Madonna fans will find this book a great resource and companion to "The Madonna Companion", also a collection of written works about Madonna, though it is more on the scholarly edge. So this book is recommended to Madonna collectors, and all others...Borrow it from your own "Madonna freak".

Maybe I would have enjoyed A Farewell to Arms more if I hadn't had such high expectations. This is Hemingway afterall. But I couldn't believe the dialogue. At first I thought it was awkward because Hemingway was literally translating Italian phrases into English (which was easy for me to notice having studied Italian for several years). But it eventually became apparent that this was not always the case. The characters' speech seemed fake throughout the novel, thus making the characters hard to believe.

If you're like me and sad endings ruin a book for you, don't read A Farewell to Arms. The romantic sections when Frederic and Catherine were together were wonderful. But the tragic ending lead me to want to create a different one for myself. Then there were the chapters describing the war which seemed to drag on at times. I found myself continuing to read just to get to the parts where Frederic and Catherine reunite.

It had it's moments, but I don't think it was consistently great.

It is World War I. the fighting between the allied and enemy forces throughout Europe has worn on for months. Almost everyone is tired of the fighting but continue to serve for the good of their countries. For an American serving in the Italian Army, who lacks the patriotism for the country he serves, it becomes quite difficult to focus on the importance of the cause at hand. The discovery of love by Fredrico Henry proves to be a major distraction that ultimately affects the remainder of his presence (or lack of presence) in the war and his subsequent lifestyle. Ernest Hemingway left A Farewell to Arms, although with many sub-themes, with a focus on the classic theme of love and war. The focus on these two themes is evident in the way the two affect each other and in the organization that Hemingway used in the novel. Because the main character narrates the story himself the reader has a keen insight on his true feelings on both love and war. We find in the beginning of the novel that Henry has no incredibly strong viewpoint on the war itself, he seems not to like or dislike it. It is not until the presence of a person who creates love and passion in his life that a true standpoint begins to form. It is the desire to return to love that gives him the inspiration to break from his present situation later in the story. The other major character that could be considered more static, as compared to the dynamic nature of Henry's character, is Catherine. With her love and dedication she produces the inspiration in Henry that creates the changes in his character. The presence of the conflict of war in the novel is used to show the changes that it too can have directly or indirectly on a person's outlook on life. The novel is organized in a manner that seems to separate the effects of love on a life and the effects of war on that same person. The primary chapters of the book deal with the terrible images and injuries that Henry encounters during the fighting. Hemingway does an excellent job at painting a picture of the horrifying aspects of war during a specific battle scene early in the story. He also does a great job in later parts of the story at relaying the way that Henry and Catherine feel about each other. He does this with detailed inner monologues on the part of Henry, and complex but easy to understand dialogues between the two lovers. At the very beginning the novel is somewhat hard to get into because the narration starts by trying to pull the reader into an event (the war) that has already started. There is though some action that pulls you quickly into the plot, and is then followed by the basis of Henry and Catherine's romance. The book is organized in to chapters within books one through five. This separation of parts of the book, and the flow of the writing proves to make A Farewell to Arms an easy reader. One difficulty that a reader may encounter while experiencing this reading may be the complex dialogues. Sometimes the dialogues carry on for so long that it becomes hard to keep track of who is talking at what time. At times it may be necessary to go and read back through the text to understand exactly who is speaking in order to retain its significance. The plot overall is not hard to understand or hard to follow and creates a quite rewarding experience in the end. While reading this book it became quite easy to get close to the characters. Characterization is utilized well by Hemmingway to achieve this true knowledge of both Henry, and Catherine at times. The message of the book can be looked at as one that stresses the importance of love in trying times of chaos. This novel also gives an insight to the softer sides of the war. Although brutal at times, it gives outlooks into the slower and less action pact parts of fighting that are not often seen in a war novel, such as time spent with other soldiers in the mess hall, strong friendships, time in the hospital and the bliss of residing in a country neutral to the war.

Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" is one of 20th Century literature's most heralded books. Essentially a story about love in the midst of war, this novel tells the story of an American (Lt. Fred Henry) fighting for (and in) Italy in WWI and his romantic relationship with English nurse, Catherine Barkley. Henry meets Catherine through his roommate and the romance begins rather quickly. The story follows this romance and is interspersed with carefully wrought (albeit brief) descriptions of battles, Henry's injury, his hospital stay, return to the front, retreat and desertion, and the standard Hemingway (i.e., miserable) ending.

Hemingway's scenic descriptions are as good as they get and the battlefield is vividly brought to life throughout the story. The major failing in this book is the dialogue and character development (this complaint is nothing new to Hemingway's work, but is most evident in this novel). Aside from some physical descriptions, little is known about what is inside the major characters in this novel (and even less about the surrounding cast--but make no mistake, this is a novel about Henry and Catherine). Psychological development is essentially non-existent. In other words, it is tough to figure out what makes these main characters act the way they act. The romance blossoms almost instantly and major decisions are often made with little indication to the thought process that led to them. Henry and Barkley aren't unlikeable, just difficult to get to know.

Perhaps more of a complaint rests with the stilted, brief dialogue (almost all conversation is of the one-sentence variety). Clipped conversation rules the day and again, reveals very little about the characters doing the talking. And this takes away from what is a very engaging story.

All in all, a good (and fairly quick) read, but not as emotionally powerful as it could have been and somewhat short on interesting dialogue. Recommended reading.