Rating: 
Summary: A Great Adventure From The Master
Review: Masterworks like For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises overshadow To Have And Have Not, but you should not overlook it. The novel is mainly about Harry Morgan, a depression-era fishing boat captain who has run out of luck. The book also has several of the trademark Hemingway stories within the story. Rather than a novel, I like to think of this as a bunch of short stories held together by one greater theme. When your reading, you feel as though Hemingway has let you in on a secret, and he is showing you his private world of Key West and Havana in the 1930's. I also believe that this book is the link between his early success from The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell To Arms to his later triumphs of For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Old Man And The Sea. Because of its high action and the constant sense of adventure, I would recommend this quick read to the first time Hemingway reader. This book is the perfect primer for For Whom The Bell Tolls. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because of Hemingways other great works. Had another author written this, it would be a better known book for sure. Excellant book and a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Very good Hemingway novel
Review: I read this because I liked the Bogart movie. The movie used the very beginning of the book then goes on to follow a completely different story line. The book is darker and more violent than the "feel-good" themed movie. The novel centers around Harry Morgan, a charter boat captain who does some bad things to make ends meet in 1930's Cuba and Key West. It appears that the book may have started out as a short story that was fleshed out into a novel-length work. The copyright page indicates publication in a magazine in 1934, three years before the book's publication date. This may explain the confusing change in narrators that other reviewers have mentioned. It also seems to me that the have versus have-not theme has been tacked on to contrast the lives of rich holiday-makers in Key West to the lives of struggling Key West natives. The parts dealing with the wealthy aren't particulary interesting or believable. I suspect they were added to give a simple action story more social consciousness. This fault is more than made up for by the scenes with Harry Morgan. He is a tough man of action who wont stop at killing if necessary. It makes for an exciting read; I read it through in one night. I must diasagree with those critics that feel this novel is one of Hemingway's worst.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of his better novels
Review: This is definitely not one of Hemingway's better novels. It just dragged on & on.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Ink on Paper
Review: Rough. Hard. Dirty. Physical. Tough. And also lyrical, simple, emotional, indelible. All characteristics of Hemingway's writing, all present in this book. A simple story of Harry Morgan, sometime fisherman forced into smuggling and illegal immigration just to feed his family, a man who spirals down the slippery road of 'the end justifying the means' till there is nothing left but survive at any cost. The story is told as three separate time-segments in Harry's life, which forces a certain disjointedness to the tale. But it also allows Hemingway to illuminate Harry's story with different segments of the Cuban and Key West societies at different times with changing social conditions. There are many character vignettes, people captured sometimes in only a few paragraphs, people who are desperate, silly, egotistical, idealistic, cynical, worn-out, greedy, dissolute, resigned, driven, and just coping. Albert, a man doing relief work for less than subsistence wages, is one of the clearest and most poignant images, hiring on as mate to Henry even though he knows the voyage is supremely dangerous. Within this short portrait of this man, we see not only the extremes that desperation will drive a man to, but also Hemingway's commentary on social/political organizations and economic structures that give rise to such desperation. This was quite typical of Hemingway, as he never beat his reader's over the head with his political philosophy, but showed the underpinnings of his reasoning through the circumstances of his characters. Throughout this work, there is the sense that there is more here than what the words on the page delineate, a theme of people from all walks of life and all economic circumstances who are caught in the implacability of fate. All of these people have their own dreams, their own methods of dealing with the vagaries of life, and each is limned by the ultimate depression of life limited to only a short span. Morgan's wife, though relegated to only a small part on these pages, shines through as one of the most engaging and durable people here, supportive of her husband's dreams, willing to forgo anything more than minimal material wealth, able to put aside her husband's foibles, and having the inner strength to continue when all her world collapses around her. The contrast between her and many of the other characters here is striking, a fine illustration of what really compromises the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. This book is not as powerful as For Whom the Bell Tolls, mainly due to its fragmented story structure and lack of any clear objective for its main characters, but is still a fine book with many nuances hiding within its simple story. This is not a book for those who like happy, uplifting stories, but it does much to illuminate both the best and the worst of humanity's fight with the curse of living and the insurmountable wall of dying. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rating: 
Summary: A story about surviving...
Review: This is an excellent Hemingway! Action packed from the opening, it is a real adventure story, filled with fight, fury and fishing. Harry Morgan is led into a desperate situation by a customer who doesn't pay up after a long fishing expidition in Harrys boat. This results in Harrys involvement in the smuggling trade between Cuba and the Florida Keys. He transforms into a uncaring, brusque and to-the-point man who only wants to reap the monetary benefits to support his wife and daughters. As the story unfolds, we witness Harrys involvment in various smuggles that lead to him losing an arm and to his eventual demise. Along the way we are introduced to a series of characters; some involved with Harry and some not, delving briefly into their personal stories, angsts and relashionships. The way the book was written was reflective of the times, where lower class races were called derogatory names and performed menial, servantry tasks. Hemingways usual use of descriptively simple language paints glorious pictures of the events that transpire. A great chapter is the one involving the vets getting drunk and fighting in the local bar. It depicts a manic scene of uncertainty for any fellow in the bar willing to pick a fight. Hemingways brilliance comes through further as he takes an aside from the main story (the main character returning home) to focus on the lives and situations of the people aboard the fancy yachts moored to the local pier. It shows the great divide between those the story has told about and those unknown floating in their impressive vessels. "To Have and Have Not" is a story about surviving love and loss; about being a man and about fishing. I thought it was great and had moments of satire and grisly noir to go along with the adventurous plight of Harry Morgan. This book would be excellent for those new to Hemingway and a treat for those more familiar with his style and brilliance. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of Hemingway's best
Review: This book reminded me of a horrid ride that you couldn't get off. At first it was fun, then gradually, you just want to puke. It's the story of a weak protagonist who spends the book carrying out a pathetic vendetta against authority in general. I was extremely disappointed with this novel since I usually love Hemingway's work. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless you want to read about the same recurring incident over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of his better novels
Review: This is definitely not one of Hemingway's better novels. It just dragged on & on.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Hemingway tale!
Review: I was inspired to read my first Hemingway novel by my upcoming trip to Key West, FL. Since the Hemingway House is on the "must-see" list for Key West tourists, I thought I should familiarize myself with the work of this renowned author. "To Have and Have Not" particularly caught my eye when I saw that it is the story of Harry Morgan, a man who is forced by economic circumstances and family obligations into smuggling contraband between Key West and Cuba. I wasn't disappointed! This is an amazing story about a many who does what is necessary for the well-being of his family. SURVIVAL is a main theme throughout this novel - Harry Morgan does what is necessary for his family's survival; Marie Morgan also learns to survive when she loses her lover and provider. There is also a vivid contrast made between the "Haves" and "Have Nots" when Hemingway discusses how the wealthy yachtsmen are unable to overcome their petty financial troubles while the struggling and often impoverished Conchs of Key West seem to endure against all odds. Reading this story has whet my appetite for more Hemingway and I am looking forward to spending time with some of his six-toed cats in Key West :-)!
Rating:
Summary: Disjointed
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I am not a big Hemingway fan. I remember a college professor saying that Fitzgerald would agonize over every word of his novels. He would be terribly angered that Hemingway would grab a bottle of whiskey, walk up to his writer's garrett and whip out a novel. My impression after reading this Heminngway work is that he did just that - grabbed a bottle of whiskey and whipped out a novel. The parts of the books are headed as seasons in Harry Morgan's life and much of the book that is devoted to him is okay. He is Florida Keys boat owner trying to get by with money-making trips - both legal and illegal - between Florida and Cuba. However, especially near the end, there are other characters brought in who have absolutely no relation to the book. The impression the reader gets is that these characters and their descriptioons were sitting on Hemingway's desk and he threw them in as filler. Most annoying were a series of character descriptions of people on yachts in a yacht club when the Coast Guard was towing in a boat - completely useless to the book. A freshman in college may cite them as some examples of class disparity, but I think that is giving too much credit. Unless you are completely enamored by Hemingway, I'd skip this one. Frankly, if it weren't by Hemingway I doubt it would have ever been reprinted - if printed at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Rougher than many of Hemingway's works
Review: I found To Have and Have Not to be the roughest of the Hemingway's works that I have read to date. The narrative is choppy, and the reader never really gets into the protoganist's head the way we do in even his earliest works ("The Sun Also Rises"). The progress of the plot is uneven, and unlike his many works set in Europe, we do not develop a vivid image of either Havana or the Florida keys. If you are looking for an introduction to Hemingway, I strongly recommend reading one of his great works such as A Farewell to Arms or For Whom the Bell Tolls. If you are working your way through all of Hemingway's works, then of course this belongs on your list.
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