Those bankers. They just can’t get enough Big Readin’. The staff of Missouri Bank’s downtown Kansas City branch catered in lunch and a librarian to chew over their thoughts, impressions, complaints and problems with A Farewell to Arms.

 This lively lunch bunch had all read the book and two readers waxed poetic over how much they enjoyed reading AFTA.  What is most remarkable is these two readers enjoyed what most other readers had difficulty with–the writing style.

All agreed the story had relevance to current events and societal norms but wondered how shocking these actions and topics might have been to readers in 1928.

Hands down the military portions of the story were of greater interest to this group of readers than the romance between Catherine and Frederic which they felt was forced and rushed at the end.

One reader polled the group for their favorite Hemingway novel and The Old Man and the Sea was far out in front.  Maybe the NEA will take note.

The very last Big Read book group met tonight. The Contemporary Thought discussion group meets at the Barnes & Noble on the Plaza and they have been following The Big Read since the first announcement last August.

Tonight, these six articulate and astute ladies delved into A Farewell to Arms with relish. One reader stated that she didn’t like the book at all, even though she had read it in high school. She did not care for the dated language and felt Catherine was poorly drawn. These comments led to thoughtful analysis of the relationship between Henry and Catherine and the group ultimately decided that neither truly loved the other, although it was felt that Henry must have felt something during Catherine’s death scene since he prays. One reader believed that while the tragedy of the story was well depicted, the two characters kept each other at emotional arm’s length, preventing any warmth in the story from bubbling to the surface.

Other topics discussed were the meaning of the title, homo-eroticism, and the theme of religion. One reader stated emphatically that the description of the Italian retreat and the aftermath of the Battle of Caporetto was some of the best writing Hemingway ever produced.  All were impressed withe the resonance this classic tale has today and pointed out the sex, romance and war themes as topics one can find in popular novels today, “but this is better writing.”

The Contemporary Thought book club kept conversation hopping by talking to each other about every point and nuance. A facilitator was hardly needed. All are looking forward to next year’s The Big Read.

And so we close the book on Kansas City’s The Big Read. Today’s lecture at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial was the final signature event in the month-long series. Ian Kennedy, curator of European Painting and Sculpture at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, turned his considerable talents to an illustrated examination of the Italian war-front in 1917, with particular emphasis on the Battle of Caporetto. During the course of The Big Read, the 90th anniversary of these significant hostilities passed.

Kennedy began his talk with maps of the region covered by the Italian front. He also provided astute analysis of the Italian leadership which led to the tragic defeat of the soldiers at Caporetto.  Kennedy pointed out that while Ernest Hemingway accurately depicted the debacle of Caporetto, he was not present to witness it for himself. Hemingway was still in Kansas City, working for the Kansas City Star and no doubt read the news reports as they came across the wire. From these,  his own wartime experiences, interviews and research, Hemingway was able to craft a perfect rendering of the bloody and confusing battle at a personal level for the soldiers involved.

Kennedy then moved on to discussions of the leadership styles of the Germans,  and Italians with particular emphasis on General Luigi Cardona and his successor, Armando Diaz.

Other dignitaries in the audience included David Kipen, Director of Literature for the NEA, who delivered appreciative farewell remarks for Kansas City’s participation in The Big Read; Steve Paul, senior writer for the Kansas City Star and local Hemingway scholar;  and Jane Wood, chair of the Park University English Department and partner in The Big  Read.

Let’s read another next year, shall we?

Bankers. They know how to cut through the malarkey and get to the bottom line. It’s no wonder the fifteen readers who shared their lunch hour with me, Henry and Ernest Hemingway appreciated A Farewell to Arms. They zeroed in on what they wanted to discuss and happily flipped pages to read aloud examples of points made.

Members of the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City spent the noon hour thoughtfully analyzing the relationship between Catherine Barkley and Frederic Henry; the perceptions of war at the time of publication as compared to perceptions today; and thoroughly discussed the theme of “love as religion.”

Staff members also found the humor in AFTA, particularly the drinking scenes of the soldiers and one reader mused aloud, “Do you suppose Hemingway wrote that passage while he was drinking or did he just remember what is was like to be drunk and trying to carry on a meaningful conversation?”

All attendees were happy to spend their lunch hour discussing a classic and encouraged KCPL to apply for another Big Read grant. Parting zinger from an accountant, “It’ll be Big Read: the sequel, “A Welcome Back to Arms!”

Who says government employees don’t have a sense of humor?

Over on the East side of Kansas City, where Ernest Hemingway never went (at least that we know of), the Big Readers are sinking their teeth into A Farewell to Arms, particularly into the characters of Catherine and Henry.

After lengthy discussion regarding Hemingway’s prose style, his Kansas City connections and the general activities of his children and grandchildren, someone slapped the table and said, “Okay, let’s get to this Catherine person. I think she’s a crazy, whiny floozy!”

And we were off to the races. Another reader countered the above statement by drawing attention to what we knew of Catherine’s background–her British roots, her time spent away from her family, the death of her fiance in France–and remarked that Catherine very likely transferred her emotions to Henry,  and Henry didn’t care since he was looking for a good time with a pretty nurse. This reader also went on to say that she believed that the two lovers probably didn’t like each other very much upon their initial meeting but did come to love each other.

The group continued to discuss these ideas and some held onto their initial belief that Henry was always in control and Catherine was scattered. However, there were other readers who felt that Catherine was manipulative of Henry while she was mourning a lost love, even though the two eventually fell in love with one another.

Watching the group profess one opinion and then walk themselves to another was a fascinating exercise in how and why book discusions enhance a readers’ appreciation for a title.

Here at Big Read Central–Midwest Division, we are doing something no other NEA Big Read grant recipient has ever done. We are charging into local businesses and demanding they join Kansas City Public Library, Park University and the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in The Big  Read.

Big Business has responded and they want to be Big Readers, too.  We’ve had overwhelmingly positive response from Kansas City mainstays Hallmark, Commerce Bank, Missouri Bank & Trust and our own Downtown Council.

Today the Big Read: Corporate Edition kicked off with two discussion groups, one for Commerce Bank and one for the Downtown Council. The DTC gang gathered in the sumptuous bar of the Muehlbach Marriott Hotel and sank their teeth into some great wine, hors d’oeuvres and A Farewell to Arms. Everyone had thoughtful analysis to offer and probing questions. Not the least of which was “honor”–who has it, who displays it and how, exactly, can one define honor during wartime?

Other issues raised were the character of Catherine–is she whiny, weak and malleable or crafty, strong and manipulative? Hemingway’s “affectless” prose–is it difficult or easy to read? How much work does Hemingway want his reader to do or is this pared down style the mark of a writer still learning his craft? This group was also intrigued by Hemingway’s use of imagery and description and his unique literary style. Comparisons were made with contemporary authors Charles Bukowski, Ken Kesey, and Cormac McCarthy.

The Downtown Council proved they were every bit as dedicated to owning a novel by one of Kansas City’s favorite sons as they are to reclaiming downtown and polishing this sophisticated jewel in the Heartland.

Thank you, DTC, for insightful questions and informed commentary on this classic of American Modern writing.

As one of the first members of the “Literati,” those writers whose personal lives were just as intriguing as their most recently published scribblings, Ernest Hemingway’s divorces and marriages made for scintillating conversation.

His second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, was the reason his first marriage dissolved. Pauline came from a wealthy family in St. Louis, MO. She attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and after working at a number of newspapers in Cleveland and New York, she decided to focus on feature writing for magazines.

Pauline and Ernest met in Paris where Pauline was working for Vogue. She became fast friends with the Hemingways and the other members of the “Lost Generation.” 

Pauline and Ernest had two sons, Patrick and Gregory. Pauline and Ernest were in Kansas City waiting for the birth of their first son together while Ernest struggled with the ending to A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway’s observation of Pauline’s troublesome labor provided the inspiration for the tragic ending that befalls Catherine in AFTA.

In 1931, Pauline and Ernest moved to Key West. Their stormy marriage ended in divorce in 1940. Three weeks later, Ernest Hemingway married Martha Gellhorn. 

I’ve been avoiding writing about this subject because it’s a bit out of my scope. Military maneuverings and their political ramifications go over my head. However, the Battle of Caporetto is a central plot point to A Farewell to Arms.

During this siege Henry deserts his company, is almost executed at gunpoint and escapes by diving into the Tagliamento River.

This wasn’t the first Battle of Caporetto, there were many, yet this most famous of bouts goes by different names–the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo or the Battle of Karfreit as it was called by the Central Powers. A bloody and tragic confrontation for the Italians, their losses totaled 11,000 dead, 20,000 wounded and 275,000 taken prisoner.  The resounding defeat lead to swift changes in Italian government and the replacement of the Chief of Staff, Luigi Cadorna.  

His replacement, Armando Diaz, gathered what was left of the Italian troops and led them into the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, a decisive success for the Italian army. Diaz later made the journey to Kansas City to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for Liberty Memorial.

Today is a holiday known by many names–Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Poppy Day, Veterans’ Day–and celebrated in many countries. In Canada, Australia and the U.K. Remembrance Day falls on the Sunday before Armistice Day, November 11. For two minutes at eleven o’clock in the morning, silence is observed to honor the almost 8 million casualties of World War I, both civilian and military.

2007 marks the 89th anniversary of the signing of the armistice to end the war on the Western Front. Only a year before, one of the bloodiest battles was being waged on the Austro-Italian border, the Battle of Caporetto or the twelfth battle of the Isonzo. 

In addition to recognizing the many ties Ernest Hemingway had to Kansas City and the ties his novel, A Farewell to Armsalso has to Kansas City, we must pay homage to the connection between Kansas City, World War I and a general in the Italian army at Caporetto.  Armando Diaz, was invited to the groundbreaking ceremony on November 1, 1921 of the Liberty Memorial.

On this somber holiday Sunday when we pay our respects to those who made great sacrifices for their countries during wartime, Kansas City sits up a little straighter. The “War to End All Wars” has a special place in our city’s history and our leaders fought their own battle for the National World War I Museum housed in Liberty Memorial, Kansas City’s premier landmark.

I’m not talking about Ernest Hemingway this time. I am referring to Norman Mailer, the inheritor of Hemingway’s literary laurels for our generation.  Norman Mailer, 84, died this morning from renal failure. He was most well known for his Pulitzer Prize winning fiction, The Exectioner’s Song (1979) and The Armies of the Night (1968).

Mailer used a journalistic prose style to tell his stories of war, human anguish, peace marches, the women’s liberation movement, the life of Jesus Christ and any other topic Mailer fancied required his singular viewpoint. He had many opinions on many subjects and was fearless in his sharing and defense of them.

Similar to Hemingway, Mailer was a literary celebrity, as known for his colorful life as his intriguing writings. “We all wanted to be Hemingway. …I don’t think the same thing can be said anymore. I don’t think my work has inspired any writer, not the way Hemingway inspired me.”

Mailer will be read for many years after his death. His books will continue to be taught in high school and college literature classes. Readers will both adore and loathe him, question his place in the literary canon, criticize his writing style and subject matter, and make great efforts to tie the events of his life to the passages in his books. Kinda like Hemingway.