Monteiro, George, ed.  "Introduction." Critical Essays on Ernest Hemingway's
          A Farewell to Arms.  New York: G.K. Hall & Co., 1994: 1-27.

        Monteiro's introduction summarizes the history of the book, noting early and later critical reception, constant sales, reasons for early popularity compared with the several other war novels released in 1929--including play, movies, and radio versions--along with a debunking of the biographical correspondences seen in the novel and Hemingway's own war experience.  Monteiro notes that critics have focused on several aspects of the novel: the story's biographical origins, the realism of the retreat from Caporetto, rain symbolism, the stillbirth and Catherine's death, Frederic's distinction between words and actions in war, and the problematic ending, along with "the biological trap."  Reviewers of the era generally panned Hemingway's couple, though some saw Catherine's strength. 

        Whether war story or love story, many commentators have considered the novel to be a tragic story.  Protagonist Frederic Henry lives in a world of inevitable doom, but has often interested critics for his narrative style more than his articulation, even being considered in one famous commentary as a "dumb ox" [of course, an unfair and short-sighted characterization]. 

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