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shobnob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jhale42's review against another edition
4.0
This book is widely considered Hemingway’s worst book. While I do not agree with that, I also believe that it’s not his best work. Having said that, this book tells a good story about a man named Harry Morgan, who begins to run contraband after falling on hard times. The story is much deeper than that however and in classic Hemingway style, he shows his mastery in the indirect exposition of a character. As this story goes on it switches from first-person to third-person and then to different characters all together. This is not Hemingway’s best work, but it is sandwiched between two of the greatest books ever written and it does well enough in telling a thrilling and sad story.
rcthomas's review against another edition
3.0
I think I've come across several sections of this book in the large collection of uncompleted works and short stories of Hemingway that I have purchased and read in the past. It was nice to see them fit together in a larger narrative, but some parts of the book could have been cut entirely, as they go unresolved or diverge greatly from the main focus of the book. If you haven't read the collection of stories by Hemingway about Cuba and the Keys then you should pick this up. Otherwise you can probably give it a miss.
obscuredbyclouds's review
2.0
Less of a novel and more loosely connected short stories. I thought this was a plague of modern fiction but this is from 1937. I liked the writing style, some themes (economic inequality for one) and occasionally scenes. I didn't like the "plot", the machoism, the overt racism (funnily, "fuck" was a no go but slures were fine), the main characters.
I was glad this book was so short, but the sparse writing style was good enough that want to read more Hemingway. I read "A Farewell to Arms" ages ago and didn't like it, but I'm curious about "The Sun Also Rises".
I was glad this book was so short, but the sparse writing style was good enough that want to read more Hemingway. I read "A Farewell to Arms" ages ago and didn't like it, but I'm curious about "The Sun Also Rises".
lianamathias's review against another edition
1.0
I had to give up-probably the 3rd or 4th book in my life that I haven't been able to finish. It just didn't grab my attention.
kendallsuckss's review against another edition
Too many n words
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
joshmcnally's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sashas_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
A book club pick ;)
The only Hemingway I’ve ever read was The Old Man and the Sea, and as a school assignment besides. So I voted yes with enthusiasm when my book club suggested we read this one.
I enjoyed the writing from the start. The descriptions of fishing were magnificent. And yet, why would you fight a beautiful creature of the sea, just so that you may win and it may die?
The dialogues are alive, rich and colourful, you can taste them.
“What happened to your arm?” the lawyer asked Harry. Harry has the sleeve pinned up to the shoulder.
“I didn’t like the look of it so I cut it off,” Harry told him.
I liked how Hemingway lets you catch glimpses of a different time and place, with a word here, or just a hint of a scent, a colour there.
Despite all this, I felt annoyed and bored. The women were mostly very silly and ridiculous. In general, there was a lot of “of its time” stuff in here, and I am still not sure how I felt about that. Also, I have seen this story before; I’ve met all these people before, in various reincarnations, in other books. Had this very short novel been better constructed, I would have been willing to overlook this. The POV changes and jumps between first and third person jarred, I felt. The cacophony of characters by the end added nothing to the narrative and just felt chaotic. They were not people, either, they were more like bugs under a magnifying glass – watch them crawl, oh, look, they picked up a piece of shit and are eating it, such weird bugs. I mostly just wanted the book to be over.
P.S. There might be better Hemingways out there. Recommendations, anyone?
mortfungus's review against another edition
4.0
A very macho book, rum soaked smugglers aren't hard to find, a good read for sure