To Have and Have Not

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Summary: no matter how you cut it an amazing read.
Review: in between the maserpoieces of for whom the bell tolls and the sun also rises there is the middele ground and in that middle ground lies the rest of his great novels. and in this many one of them is to have and have not. if you are looking to read hemmingway at his grittiest and definetly enjoyning the grand gift of story telling dont miss this. it is missed by many people so make an effort to read this. it will deefinettly have you thinking afterwards.

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Summary: Depression Era Perils In The Florida Straits
Review: This short novel was written when Hemingway was living in Key West and paying regular visits to Cuba, before moving, lock, stock, and barrel, to Havana in 1939. The author was a keen deep-sea fisherman himself, who craved a laid-back tropical lifestyle between bouts of high adventure. To Have And Have Not draws heavily on his intimate knowledge of early nineteen-thirties life in the Florida Keys, the north coast of Cuba, the Gulf Stream in between, the fishing boats that worked those waters, and the men who owned and manned them.

This was the time of the Great Depression. Harry Morgan has been bilked of his dues for a fishing charter out of Havana. Broke, he turns to smuggling - with its inevitable risks - in order to support his family while the author treats the reader to a simply told, suspenseful, and sometimes poignant morality tale. A tale with a rich share of characters ranging from down-and-out "rummies", Cuban revolutionaries, bar-owners, customs men, and an inevitably crooked lawyer, to the wealthy owners of luxury steam-yachts.

Interestingly if a little quirkily structured, the book is divided into three parts. The first is told in the first person, most of the remainder in the third. To Have And Have Not should be viewed as a product - as well as a story - of its time, particulary in respect of terminology that would be seen today as highly racist and derogatory. Not "Papa's" best work, but most assuredly a yarn that held this reader's attention throughout.

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Feast of Words
Review: This book was so decisive it was almost confusing. There's a surprise in the end for you and it's like the difference between being in the novel and not being there - you'll know what they mean when we get there.

Also, the beginning equals "real good." Lastly, if he didn't put it better, we'd be tanking it up in the hole all year long.

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Summary: Hemingway in Transition
Review: This is an interesting but seriously flawed novel written by Hemingway well after he had achieved critical success for his earlier novels, A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises. It is a fascinating novel in another way though, in that it shows the beginning of a dramatic change in the author's style, which would ultimately manifest itself completely in the magnificent For Whom the Bell Tolls, which came several years later.

The first part of this novel is about Harry Morgan, a Florida Keys resident, scraping by as first a charter boat owner, then a smuggler, and then eventually much worse. For some odd reason, Hemingway chose to write this with differing viewpoints. Part of his story is written in the first person by Harry, part of it is written in the first person by an acquaintance, and part of it is written in the third person. Why he did this, I do not know. It doesn't make any sense thematically or for any other reason.

About half way through the book switches gears, and suddenly Harry's story is interspersed with the stories of several wealthy people who come to the Keys to vacation in their expensive yachts. These stories are interesting and written with Hemingway's typically terrific ear for dialogue. Their problems are alcoholism, infidelity, and aging, and it dawns on us that this is the theme: the have-nots of Harry's world have more basic problems, such as getting enough food into the bellies of their children.

But even this doesn't work so well. Despite the fact that Harry lives in what can be a rather cruel world, he himself seems a little more vicious than is absolutely required, and it is difficult to sympathize with him. Here is one of his final howls, spoken in delirium: "One man alone ain't got . . . no matter how a man alone ain't got no bloody &%#@&%& chance." Yes, the poor depression-era man crushed by overwhelming and indifferent forces he can't understand. This is a theme which had been done both before and during Have Not, has been done since, will continue to be done, and is, frankly, a little tiresome.

To me the most fascinating aspect of the novel is that we see a change beginning to emerge in Hemingway's style. Along with the brilliant descriptive language and dialogue, we begin to see in Have Not an increase in interior monologues, which are fascinating, dramatic, and add greatly to both his characters' and the novel's depth. It is a trend which would continue.

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Summary: Spirit of the Keys!
Review: Hemingway creates yet another masterpiece, combining a thrilling tale of a broke sailor turned smuggler with the charm and beauty of the Carribean lifestyle. This books does an excellent job of pulling you into the very distinct lifestyles of the poverty-stricken sailors, their hungry families, and the radical Cubans being smuggled, fighting for a new way of life. An absolute masterpiece that will turn your thoughts to Highway 1, heading for Mallory Square.

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Summary: A man can be destroyed, but not defeated...
Review: Hemingway once said "A man can be destroyed, but not defeated... a man can be defeated, but not destroyed"

To Have and Have not is primarily a story about the destruction of a man... one of the 'have nots' (the conchs) of Key West. The central character, Harry Morgan, constantly struggles throughout the book defying the law, even killing those who stand in his way just trying to make a living. Hemingway peels back the skin of this entire society and shows the reader what lies beneath. This is the classic Hemingway tale of the central character encountering malevolent circumstances and fighting them one by one to the bitter end. I love this book! I wish the movie version had actually been about this book, instead of what it turned out to be. A "Howard Hawks" film with an "Ernest Hemingway" title.

Maybe the critics don't consider this to be his finest novel... but I've read most of his work now and I think its the best one in the bunch.

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Summary: Terse Examination of Human Nature
Review: Well, if you are expecting a parallel to the Bogart movie, you are looking in the wrong place. This book is an examination of the human character, and how the human spirit can become warped in extreme circumstances. At once a commentary and a warning, I found the harshness of the story a contrast to blind optimism. Worth the read.

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Summary: A Tale of Remorse and Falsely Maintained Human Dignity
Review: A word is warning is appropriate before going into the book. Most of the book speaks from the perspective of a person who uses highly prejorative terms about people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This use of the terms is consistent with the story, and advances the story, but will not be welcomed by some readers. I found this aspect of the book offensive and graded it down one star as a result. If the use of such terms is very offensive to you, I suggest you skip this book. It will cause you pain to confront this prejudice in undiluted form.

This lesser-known novel by Hemingway looks at what the cost of false pride in status is. The book has some of the most eloquent statements of remorse that you will ever read, in the context of a love story about two happily married people.

Be sure to understand that the novel is quite different from the movie. If you liked the movie, you may not like the novel. The book is much more complex and darker emotionally.

Harry Morgan has his own fishing boat, and makes a living taking wealthy people fishing off Florida's Keys until the Depression knocks the skids out from under normal economic times.

The book opens with Morgan in Havana turning down three Cubans who want him to smuggle them into the United States illegally for a very substantial sum. The negotiations are quickly followed by a hail of gunfire, and one of the Cubans is killed. Morgan is warned to keep his mouth shut by the survivors.

Like most small businesspeople, he wants to provide for his family, be respected for his profession, and enjoy what he does. All of this is put at risk when he fails to collect from a wealthy customer who skips out on him. Morgan had avoided dunning Mr. Johnson, his customer, for the money, worried about upsetting the customer. That false pride in pretending that Morgan isn't concerned for the money is expensive. The result is temporary economic ruin. He's left in Havana without even enough money to refuel the boat to go back to the Florida Keys.

Now, he has to scramble to do anything, and quickly takes on a job of illegally transporting Chinese. Survival comes before ethics now. In the process, Morgan tries to keep his morality intact as best he can, and does an immoral act to avoid doing a worse one.

Soon, Morgan is taking other risks and routinely operating as a criminal. His ethical standards keep slipping in order to maintain financial appearances. This trade-off proves to be his undoing.

In each case of economic hardship, Morgan has avoided taking other actions that would have solved his problem, at least temporarily. He owns his boat, so he could have sold it or borrowed against it. He owns his home, and could have sold it and rented. He could have rented other peoples' boats when he could get a charter. The government has subsistence work available for the unemployed, but he prefers to maintain his life style and appearances as though he has no problems. He also has tried to keep from getting caught in breaking the law, but that hasn't worked either.

Morgan ends up taking on more than he can handle. He feels remorse as a result. He's tried to be too self-reliant, as a way to reduce his risk. That was the wrong route. Getting help was the right way to get the risk down.

His wife, Marie, captures the challenge of the modern world this way, "You just go dead inside and everything is easy. You just get dead like most people are most of the time." This suggests compromising your pride and principles to keep up appearances, which is what most people do.

Hemingway makes good use of the "haves," those who charter and own the yachts, to show that they have compromised with self respect. They have money, but they do not have honor and decency. Often, they lose other benefits that matter to them, such as the chance for close human connection.

His "have nots" are crushed by the intent and the carelessness of the "haves." The "have nots" are also undermined by their willingness to let the ends justify the means, and abuse of alcohol. Those weaknesses compromise them, and they are destroyed as a result.

So the lesson is that you should uphold what is important to you (not appearances) and make the necessary compromises to guard the important (such as your family, your health, and your survival). The worse the conditions are, the more important this lesson is.

After you finish contemplating what you would have done, I suggest you also think about where today we find similar compromises occuring because of prosperity. Where do we sacrifice what is important to have more prosperity or to appear to do so? I think Hemingway's tale still applies. How should you change, as a result?

Get the right life for those you love and yourself!

Rating:
Summary: Another Hemingway Classic
Review: Considered by most literary critics to be one of his weaker novels, including 'To Have and Have Not' director Howard Hawkes who once bet Hemingway that he could make a good film from what he considered one of Hemingways worst books which he did starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. While the film adaptation of Hemingways' novel was a critical and box office success, it was anything but true to the actual novel and many liberties were taken in creating the final product; a rah-rah patriotic WWII flick starring the greatest actor in Hollywood. So, make sure that you differentiate between Hemingway and Hollywood when it comes to 'To Have and Have Not' at least in this case(His other novels were better adapted to film, most notably 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' and 'A Farewell To Arms.). The novel my not be Hemingways greatest work, but it is still a very entertaining story nevertheless. Written during his years in Key West, this like all of Hemingway's work draws on his own real life experiences which was transformed into the story of Harry Morgan a man who after falling on hard times is forced to be a rumrunner between Cuba and the Keys. In the movie Harry Morgan hunts Nazi U-boats, while not in the book Hemingway himself actually did do this aboard his boat Pilar while living in Cuba during WWII. A great and entertaining short novel that is classic Hemingway all the way.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Hemingway
Review: If you're a Hemingway fan, I'm sure this book is for you. I also think this book suits non-Hemingway fans as well. If you really pay attention when reading, you'll find it is a very interesting and deep tale. The narration in the book, which changes a couple times, makes the story interesting. A novel with more than one perspective should interest a lot of people.

The storyline is excellent. It is never dull and there's always something that Hemingway is trying to build.

If you want a relaxing, short read, check out this undiscovered wonder.