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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
2.75/5
Hemingway approaches some intriguing topics in "To Have and Have Not", namely communism and the contrast in the lives of the "Haves" and the "Have Nots", but they never feel fully realized. The novel feels jumbled, likely due to the fact that it's comprised of two short stories. This scatter leads the characters to never feel fleshed out. We get pieces of a story that then ends abruptly and jumps in time, often to a new character, or one that has only been seen in a few pages. Still, it's classic Hemingway, portraying the attitudes of the time through a plethora of racism, alcohol, and nihilism. And even when Hemingway is underwhelming he is still impressive.
I'd recommend this book to fans of Ernest Hemingway, but not to readers who aren't too experienced with the author's work. To put it succinctly, this isn't the novel that will convert those apathetic to his work into fans.
Hemingway approaches some intriguing topics in "To Have and Have Not", namely communism and the contrast in the lives of the "Haves" and the "Have Nots", but they never feel fully realized. The novel feels jumbled, likely due to the fact that it's comprised of two short stories. This scatter leads the characters to never feel fleshed out. We get pieces of a story that then ends abruptly and jumps in time, often to a new character, or one that has only been seen in a few pages. Still, it's classic Hemingway, portraying the attitudes of the time through a plethora of racism, alcohol, and nihilism. And even when Hemingway is underwhelming he is still impressive.
I'd recommend this book to fans of Ernest Hemingway, but not to readers who aren't too experienced with the author's work. To put it succinctly, this isn't the novel that will convert those apathetic to his work into fans.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Featuring one of Hemingway's most famous characters, Harry Morgan, To Have and Have not takes place between Key West, FL and Cuba during the Great Depression. Caught between the need to provide for his family, lack of economic opportunity, and being at the mercy of the wealthy and powerful, Harry turns to illegal smuggling, first of alcohol then people, the stakes rising until disaster inevitably strikes.
The first half of the book is almost completely about Harry, his brushes with the criminal underworld, his surprisingly strong marriage, and the circumstances that continue to keep him down on his luck. The second half splinters off between Harry and other characters who inhabit different social and economic classes. It took me a while to figure out what Hemingway is getting out, but as the title suggests, he's setting up a comparison between the wealthy and the poor and all the strata in between. Harry is jilted by a fishing client at the beginning of the novel which forces him to take on less legitimate business but Harry is the only one considered a "criminal." Harry's friend Albert has tried to stay on the up and up but cannot afford to feed his family.
Hemingway doesn't just focus on financial wealth. We read about several other couples, some highly educated, some rich that are much more dysfunctional than Harry and his wife Marie who are still deeply in love and more or less in sync despite (or maybe because of) their ignorance and poverty. While most of the characters are at best morally gray, a couple stand out as being grounded in principal, but they fare no better than anyone else.
Most if not all of the main characters are deeply racist and/or sexist which doesn't seem to serve much purpose other than to further muddle their moral standing. A character seems likeable until they drop a racial slur or hits their wife. Maybe Hemingway is making the point that we're all the same in our lack of morality, especially in the face of destitution or just losing a small piece of what we think we're entitled to and the sometimes subconscious sometimes very open belief that the only way to elevate ourself is to oppress someone else.
I learned that this book was written in a fractured way, parts as standalone stories and novellas that were eventually melded together, which I felt as I was reading. It's fitting that the writing and construction of the book reflect it's cobbled commentary on the social issues of its time.
The first half of the book is almost completely about Harry, his brushes with the criminal underworld, his surprisingly strong marriage, and the circumstances that continue to keep him down on his luck. The second half splinters off between Harry and other characters who inhabit different social and economic classes. It took me a while to figure out what Hemingway is getting out, but as the title suggests, he's setting up a comparison between the wealthy and the poor and all the strata in between. Harry is jilted by a fishing client at the beginning of the novel which forces him to take on less legitimate business but Harry is the only one considered a "criminal." Harry's friend Albert has tried to stay on the up and up but cannot afford to feed his family.
Hemingway doesn't just focus on financial wealth. We read about several other couples, some highly educated, some rich that are much more dysfunctional than Harry and his wife Marie who are still deeply in love and more or less in sync despite (or maybe because of) their ignorance and poverty. While most of the characters are at best morally gray, a couple stand out as being grounded in principal, but they fare no better than anyone else.
Most if not all of the main characters are deeply racist and/or sexist which doesn't seem to serve much purpose other than to further muddle their moral standing. A character seems likeable until they drop a racial slur or hits their wife. Maybe Hemingway is making the point that we're all the same in our lack of morality, especially in the face of destitution or just losing a small piece of what we think we're entitled to and the sometimes subconscious sometimes very open belief that the only way to elevate ourself is to oppress someone else.
I learned that this book was written in a fractured way, parts as standalone stories and novellas that were eventually melded together, which I felt as I was reading. It's fitting that the writing and construction of the book reflect it's cobbled commentary on the social issues of its time.
Sad man tells wife he is going to risk his life doing illegal things, she disapproves, he gets drunk
I really love the way Hemingway writes and the way he tells a story. It's entirely up to the reader how you want to interpret the story and what symbolism you want to draw in to it.
How far will you go to support and provide for your family during extreme poverty? What is it all worth? An intense novel that is certainly a good starting point if you want to see Hemingway's writing style.
How far will you go to support and provide for your family during extreme poverty? What is it all worth? An intense novel that is certainly a good starting point if you want to see Hemingway's writing style.
medium-paced
this fluctuated between “wtf this is crazy” and “wtf i’m so confused” a lot
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not much care for Hemingway when I first read him at 19 years of age. This time was quite different. Must be because of having seen more, being more experienced now? It was very interesting to get to this work of fiction in the days after the death of Fidel. What is going to happen now? I wonder.