A Farewell to Arms

I doubt there is single simile in this novel. I can't remember one. For me, a judicious use of similes is one of the best ways a novelist can bring events and personalities into sharp, three-dimensional focus. Hemingway's genius here is to achieve that clarity and depth using the bluntest of tools. But the surface realism is an illusion: A Farewell to Arms is more like a dreamscape. The only time you are conscious of reading a novel is during the (few) instances when characters make philosophical statements. These are like road markers on the trip through the dream.