Rating: 
Summary: The haves and the have-nots
Review: Harry Morgan, the antihero of Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not," is a former cop from Miami who now works on the other side of the law. He owns a small yacht and charters fishing trips for vacationers, alternating between Havana and Key West, where he lives with his wife Marie and their three daughters. When times get tough, as they often do during the Great Depression, he supplements his income by running liquor and aliens between Cuba and Florida. For the remainder of his short life, he endures danger, violence, and great bodily sacrifice in his rather simpleminded pursuit of the next big score.
Early in the novel we see exactly what kind of operator Morgan is when he cheats and murders a Chinese businessman who has hired him to transport some immigrants. His motive is nothing more complicated than that he needs the money and doesn't value human life very highly, especially not a stranger's. He has little use for people who can't directly help him make money; it's not surprising that he has few friends, these being Eddy the drunk and Albert the sad sack who's digging ditches on a relief project. He is cold (but not abusive) even to his family and apparently doesn't care much whether they live or die even though he feels a vague obligation to provide for them.
Hemingway contrasts the impoverished Morgans with the more affluent tourists in Key West, most of whom do not interact personally with Morgan. The most notable subplot is the troubled marriage of the writer Richard Gordon, who is working on a novel about a labor strike, and his vixenish wife Helen; but their purpose in the novel is unclear except possibly to portray random marital discord. All these characters, from the surly, discontented Morgan to the wealthy residents with their facades of prosperity and happiness, have one thing have in common--they are people to whom an enormous amount of liquor is an anesthetic with which to numb their miseries.
That Morgan is an unlikeable man is not the problem with "To Have and Have Not"; he's little more than what he seems--just a guy on a boat getting into trouble and drinking away his aimless, empty life. Hemingway lived in Key West in the 1930s, and it can be assumed that he was inspired by the shady characters he might have seen on the docks, so I can appreciate where he was going with this novel; but it has only half a heart. His minimalist, descriptively sparse prose and punchy dialogue work best when his characters have desires and passions deeper and more complex than money, as they do in his better novels ("The Sun Also Rises," "A Farewell to Arms," "For Whom the Bell Tolls") and short stories. Like Hemingway's better heroes, Morgan is an adventurer, but his tragedy is that he lives only for the payoff.
Rating: 
Summary: It deserves more credit
Review: It's a common belief under critics that great writers have only about six really good novels in them. Because of his extensive journeys, Hemingway is the exception. Although he had one or two bad ones, this one is not of them.
'To Have And Have Not' revolves around Harry Morgan, a broke fishing boat captian willing to sacrifice his life and family for a few greenbacks. His mission: to safely smuggle a couple of immigrants from Cuba to Florida without getting caught. I admit, this is not my favorite Hemingway novel, but, it's still very good. Naturally, when Hemingway is at sea, it must be good. It just makes you close your eyes and clench your teeth every time you hear the cry of a gunshot on the boat. Off course, there's more than just that. Harry Morgan is deeply thoughtful for a fishing captain, and the way the author moves back and forth in describing his scenes makes for brilliant reading. That's how good Hemingway can be. Especially with a bottle in the one hand. Enough said. Everybody knows Hemingway wrote genius. Why he still don't get taught enough at colleges and universities is mind-blowing. Academics say there are nothing to teach about Hemingway. I disagree.
Rating: 
Summary: To Have and Have Not: It just doesn't have it
Review: Harry Morgan is a poorly developed charcter. It is difficult to really sympethize with him. He has financial problems but doesn't just turn to smuggling, but murder. Reading a book without being able to sympethize with any character can be tedious. Hemingway may have been trying to show what happens to a man when society pushes him into poverty. The problem is that Morgan has no virtue at any point. Probably Hemingway's worst character.
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: 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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