text: Set in Venice at the end of World War II, Hemingway tells a romantic and touching story of the love affair between a gruff 50 year old American colonel and Renata, a young and very pretty Italian contessa.  Loss is a recurring theme--the death of many of the Colonel's subordinates in combat, the break-up of his earlier marriage to a career woman, and the severe injury to one of the Colonel's hands from which he suffers constant pain.  The Colonel may also be dying and his time left with his young lover may be very short.
  
  What gives the novel so much poignancy and resonance is the great devotion Renata and the Colonel have for one another.  Renata seeks to comfort the Colonel and implores him to relate to her the worst of his combat experiences so that he may relieve some of his bitterness.  The Colonel lovingly calls Renata, "daughter."
  
  Hemingway tells this tale in the deceptively simple, direct, and matter of fact style for which he is justly celebrated.  I could have done without the duck hunting sequences and some of the Colonel's more obvious macho behavior, but Hemingway, being Hemingway, understandably could not.
  
  This is a lovely and sad story, filled with the yearnings of its two lead characters
  