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: 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: 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.
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: 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: 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: 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: Not one of his better novels
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: 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 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.
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