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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
What an underrated book by Hemingway! An affecting commentary on the American Dream. Very well written. Love what Hemingway does with point of view throughout. Unjustly overlooked. Hemingway at his best.
Picked this up when visiting the Hemingway House in Key West. As one of the few of his novels I hadn't read yet, and as it was written and takes place in Key West, it seemed appropriate. Unfortunately the novel is a bit of a mess and a big step down from everything else I've read from him. The themes are obvious and clunky, the pacing and structure is uneven, and the characters are all universally dislikeable.
some beautiful language and interesting parts but I just didn't care about, relate to, like, or remember the characters... or the plot.
there’s a good story at the heart of it (illustrated by when Captain Morgan goes all John McClane on his boat) but but the rest is all too scattered and racist to really enjoy.
love that even Hemingway agreed it was his worst and yet we still got two great (and very different) movies out of it
love that even Hemingway agreed it was his worst and yet we still got two great (and very different) movies out of it
At least it's short. And now I have read Hemingway, which I hadn't before.
It starts off great. It looks like it's going to be a tight, close novel about one man and his environment. But then the third section starts meandering off to describe a group of histrionic, self-centred tourists and a bar fight. We get back to Harry Morgan, the main protagonist in whom Hemingway has made us invested, and whose life is at a critical point by them. But then we go poking around inside a load of rich people's yachts to get potted life stories for each of them, before finally getting back to Harry and a short piece at the end of his wife.
Harry Morgan is a good character and so is his wife, Marie. It would have been a flawed book even without the deviations, but they ruin it. I suppose I am supposed to forgive the racism on the grounds that Hemingway was a product of the time in which he lived, when use of the N word was normal. But it's worse than just the language (which is terrible. I mean, I thought Django Unchained had high N word usage, but it's nothing to this), black lives really don't matter in this book, and nor do their deaths. Morgan's probably supposed to be read as a bit of a liberal because he admits to liking one black guy and thinks one Cuban isn't too bad. He clearly isn't though, and all the descriptions perpetuate insulting stereotypes. White lives actually matter here. And men's lives mostly.
The historical period is described reasonably well, and so are the ports in Florida and Cuba. The really rich, loving descriptions, however, are for the sea. These point up how flat the rest of the writing is.
It starts off great. It looks like it's going to be a tight, close novel about one man and his environment. But then the third section starts meandering off to describe a group of histrionic, self-centred tourists and a bar fight. We get back to Harry Morgan, the main protagonist in whom Hemingway has made us invested, and whose life is at a critical point by them. But then we go poking around inside a load of rich people's yachts to get potted life stories for each of them, before finally getting back to Harry and a short piece at the end of his wife.
Harry Morgan is a good character and so is his wife, Marie. It would have been a flawed book even without the deviations, but they ruin it. I suppose I am supposed to forgive the racism on the grounds that Hemingway was a product of the time in which he lived, when use of the N word was normal. But it's worse than just the language (which is terrible. I mean, I thought Django Unchained had high N word usage, but it's nothing to this), black lives really don't matter in this book, and nor do their deaths. Morgan's probably supposed to be read as a bit of a liberal because he admits to liking one black guy and thinks one Cuban isn't too bad. He clearly isn't though, and all the descriptions perpetuate insulting stereotypes. White lives actually matter here. And men's lives mostly.
The historical period is described reasonably well, and so are the ports in Florida and Cuba. The really rich, loving descriptions, however, are for the sea. These point up how flat the rest of the writing is.
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely my least favorite Hemingway book. The character I felt were all very shallow and extremely difficult to find any redeeming qualities to them. I suppose it’s part of the books message but even then I don’t think Hemingway executed it in the way I enjoyed in a lot of the other books I have read by him.
I feel that the premise had a lot of potential and instead Hemingway decided to go a route where the meaning and the plot is very non-linear in ways but not in a Rulfo or Faulkner way.
I come away from this book feeling pretty disappointed. Hopefully the remaining of Hemingway books are better because this one made me question Hemingways position in the pedestal of my favorite author.
I feel that the premise had a lot of potential and instead Hemingway decided to go a route where the meaning and the plot is very non-linear in ways but not in a Rulfo or Faulkner way.
I come away from this book feeling pretty disappointed. Hopefully the remaining of Hemingway books are better because this one made me question Hemingways position in the pedestal of my favorite author.
Great writing. No plot. Miserable. And the language is dated and off-putting. The male characters have some depth. The females are valid runaway thoughts. Thumbs down.
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting concept that feels more average than other Hemingway.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence