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amodestreader's review against another edition
this one was kind of boring... some more witty people on the internet have written that its like a parody of Hemingway and that is pretty spot on. Also: waaay too much fishing, commenting on/discussing/observing/describing alcoholic beverages, and being a stoic masculine alpha male. Oh wait, that's all of hemingway... Just joking actually. It was pretty good, Im just an uncultured reader i guess :)
kristyleunggg's review against another edition
3.0
This is like Ozark but old and with fisherman. Beginning had me pretty hooked, there's a lot of really good action scenes in this. Near the end, the plot gets a little lost in random people - like a tom buchanan style 4 way cheating mess for reasons I still do not understand. I liked it for the drama but only as a housewives viewer and not a reader of this damn story. There's another part before Harry's death reveal where the author pans across random people in the sea who in similar dire situations as Harry and from a literary POV I get it but I had to skip even though I rarely do this.
Also an uncomfortable amount of slurs in this, I know this man lived in a different time but it's still super jarring. Also Hemingway loves to emphasize how ugly and awful every woman in this story is. Like why. There was one chapter where a guy sees Harry's wife looking a little dishevelled as she's walking to the sheriffs office (because her husband was literally helping smuggle Cuban revolutionaries and DID NOT COME HOME) and the guy goes yuck did you see her boobs. That was the whole chapter.
Star allocation:
1 for all the times harry fights for life at sea despite his #2 almost always dead/dying or dead weight
2 for few scenes between harry and his wife, this man can write romance missed opp, should've just dropped the scenes about literal fish to make room
3 for when harry kicks the bucket and his wife closes the book by saying she doesnt a shit about her kids lmaoooo
Also an uncomfortable amount of slurs in this, I know this man lived in a different time but it's still super jarring. Also Hemingway loves to emphasize how ugly and awful every woman in this story is. Like why. There was one chapter where a guy sees Harry's wife looking a little dishevelled as she's walking to the sheriffs office (because her husband was literally helping smuggle Cuban revolutionaries and DID NOT COME HOME) and the guy goes yuck did you see her boobs. That was the whole chapter.
Star allocation:
1 for all the times harry fights for life at sea despite his #2 almost always dead/dying or dead weight
2 for few scenes between harry and his wife, this man can write romance missed opp, should've just dropped the scenes about literal fish to make room
3 for when harry kicks the bucket and his wife closes the book by saying she doesnt a shit about her kids lmaoooo
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
3.0
"They can't make it fast enough to keep you a good man."
This honestly was just an okay read for me. I can appreciate Hemingway's writing, but I didn't find the story particularly absorbing, nor did I really connect with any of the characters.
I found Richard Gordon's character had too many autobiographical implications and really took away the focus from Harry Morgan, whom I naturally found much more interesting. This whole book just seemed to read as rather autobiographical, and perhaps it was my perception of this, which I associated with a lack of creativity, that detracted from my enjoyment of it.
I did really like the ending, and found the language of those last few chapters absolutely beautiful. But much of the rest dragged, although overall I suppose this could just have been not my kind of book.
stefan01's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
constance24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
twilliamson's review against another edition
4.0
It may not be Hemingway's finest novel, but it is certainly a powerful one, and those giving the book low ratings or unfavorable reviews seem to stand out as not having really understood the premise of the book in the first place. It's powerfully written, and while the narrative comes up feeling a bit aimless in the last portion of the novel, this one doesn't seem to ever have been about plot as much as it is about characters and their human feelings.
And so while the plot ostensibly breaks down in the last third of the novel, it's also the space in which the human characters emerge most completely. Mixed in with the death of the protagonist, Harry Morgan, is a treatise on the lives of so many other minor characters; in one particular chapter, for example, Hemingway describes the lives and emotions of the occupants of a yacht club, contrasting their lived experiences starkly with those thoughts and fears and pains of the other characters of the novel, like Morgan's wife Marie. Because Hemingway is willing to do away for a moment with the very pulp-like plot and zoom in on character emotions, he's able to do something that literature needs to do in making a statement. The book is poignantly relatable to today, even in the same moments it is undoubtedly a memoir of the past.
Either way, it's a fantastic book, and while it won't top my lists of classic literature or even of the best books of the year, it's still memorable for the way it builds characters and demonstrates the conflicts of trying to live from day to day in a menacing world full of uncertainty and hunger.
And so while the plot ostensibly breaks down in the last third of the novel, it's also the space in which the human characters emerge most completely. Mixed in with the death of the protagonist, Harry Morgan, is a treatise on the lives of so many other minor characters; in one particular chapter, for example, Hemingway describes the lives and emotions of the occupants of a yacht club, contrasting their lived experiences starkly with those thoughts and fears and pains of the other characters of the novel, like Morgan's wife Marie. Because Hemingway is willing to do away for a moment with the very pulp-like plot and zoom in on character emotions, he's able to do something that literature needs to do in making a statement. The book is poignantly relatable to today, even in the same moments it is undoubtedly a memoir of the past.
Either way, it's a fantastic book, and while it won't top my lists of classic literature or even of the best books of the year, it's still memorable for the way it builds characters and demonstrates the conflicts of trying to live from day to day in a menacing world full of uncertainty and hunger.
zacktheguy's review against another edition
3.0
This is definitely one of Hemingway's weaker books, but if you read it without expecting something like "A Farewell to Arms" or "The Old Man and the Sea" you may enjoy it. I found I liked it, however many of the major themes associated with the leading characters echo exactly how Hemingway felt about life, love, and marriage. This is not a bad thing, but it can be quite draining. Overall, I did enjoy reading this book!
guycobra's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
robynmac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0