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To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not is the dramatic, brutal story of Harry Morgan, an honest boat owner who is forced into running contraband between Cuba and Key West as a means of keeping his crumbling family financially afloat. His adventures lead him into the world of the wealthy and dissipated yachtsmen who swarm the region, and involve him in a strange and unlikely love affair.
In t...more
In t...more
ebook, 175 pages
Published
July 25th 2002
by Scribner
(first published 1937)
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Meh.
It starts very strongly -- good character development, definite Hemingway commentary tone -- lots of Hemingway Southern Hemisphere fun in Cuba.
But midway -- he just sort of wanders off and starts pointing his Hemingway at anything that moves. He introduces secondary and tertiary characters with incredible detail, but with no discernible purpose.
It's not one of his better books, and ends leaving you wondering how much better it would have been if the writing from about the second third on was...more
It starts very strongly -- good character development, definite Hemingway commentary tone -- lots of Hemingway Southern Hemisphere fun in Cuba.
But midway -- he just sort of wanders off and starts pointing his Hemingway at anything that moves. He introduces secondary and tertiary characters with incredible detail, but with no discernible purpose.
It's not one of his better books, and ends leaving you wondering how much better it would have been if the writing from about the second third on was...more
I've revisited this one after a few years and I have no idea what was going through my head first time around, but I have revised my rating to twice it was before. I remember being disappointed upon initial reading and being shocked that EH wrote this in his prime. All my confusion and dissatisfaction have been dissolved with this reading.
What inspired me to pick this up again is pretty lame: TCM was showing Howard Hawks' screen adaptation today. I know, my fellow readers must be shaking their...more
What inspired me to pick this up again is pretty lame: TCM was showing Howard Hawks' screen adaptation today. I know, my fellow readers must be shaking their...more
This is dark - but beautifully written. Hemingways style of short and to the point sentences with a few interesting details to fine tune, works fabulously to add grit at times and heart at others to Harry Morgan's character.
Set in the depression in Key West and Cuba and the waters between, it's full if contrasts: the revolutionaries of Cuba vs white Key West- American edge; the rich on their yachts thinking about suicide or treating their staff with noses stubbed vs the basic wholesome hardwork...more
Set in the depression in Key West and Cuba and the waters between, it's full if contrasts: the revolutionaries of Cuba vs white Key West- American edge; the rich on their yachts thinking about suicide or treating their staff with noses stubbed vs the basic wholesome hardwork...more
This is my first Hemingway, apart from several of the short stories. I read this (as seems often the case with other readers) because I was planning a trip to Key West (where, of course, Hemingway had a house).
It's a very 'experimental' novel in that it uses multiple narrative viewpoints and stream of consciousness. Hemingway uses the very spare sentence-writing technique that he is famous for and much, in terms of style, that is imagistic or poetic. In terms of story or plot it is very limited...more
It's a very 'experimental' novel in that it uses multiple narrative viewpoints and stream of consciousness. Hemingway uses the very spare sentence-writing technique that he is famous for and much, in terms of style, that is imagistic or poetic. In terms of story or plot it is very limited...more
I didn't think it was so bad.
Howard Hawks reportedly boasted he could make a great movie out of Hemingway's worst novel, & this was it. Then he changed it beyond recognition.
Elmore Leonard was starting to remind me of Hemingway (even before I came across a parody passage in"Up in Honey's Room"), & this was the only book the library had on the shelf. It could be a more upscale or existential Elmore Leonard novel.
~"You punchies make me sick."~
~The one thing that he hadn't understood right...more
Howard Hawks reportedly boasted he could make a great movie out of Hemingway's worst novel, & this was it. Then he changed it beyond recognition.
Elmore Leonard was starting to remind me of Hemingway (even before I came across a parody passage in"Up in Honey's Room"), & this was the only book the library had on the shelf. It could be a more upscale or existential Elmore Leonard novel.
~"You punchies make me sick."~
~The one thing that he hadn't understood right...more
В первую очередь стоит отметить, что книга написана красивым языком, который очень легко принимать к сведению, вследствие чего, это произведение Хемингуэя легко можно “проглотить” за один вечер, конечно, еще и сказывается его малый объем, но легкий язык тоже играет не последнюю роль.
Главным героем книги является простой американский рыбак Гарри Морган, которому пришлось убрать рыболовные снасти в дальний ящик и стать контрабандистом. Во многом эта книга похожа на другой шедевр автора – “Старик...more
Главным героем книги является простой американский рыбак Гарри Морган, которому пришлось убрать рыболовные снасти в дальний ящик и стать контрабандистом. Во многом эта книга похожа на другой шедевр автора – “Старик...more
This was my third time reading it. The first was in 1999, borrowed from the local library when I read/re-read a lot of his books for his 100th birthday. The second was when I bought a copy with a Border's gift certificate that my wife had given me in 2007. This time was when I brought it with me to read during a trip to Key West for my birthday because he wrote it there and it takes place there.
The highlight of reading it this time was reading it in our Key West hotel room on the Sunday that Is...more
The highlight of reading it this time was reading it in our Key West hotel room on the Sunday that Is...more
Feb 04, 2012
Frank
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-books-you-must-read
I thought this was an excellent novel by Hemingway as good as some of his best including "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Old Man and the Sea". It was a gritty story of Harry Morgan, a deep sea fishing guide, trafficker in rum and illegal immigrants, who struggles to make ends meet during the tough times of the Depression. Hemingway's descriptions of deep-sea fishing in the first part of the novel were great and this is about the only part of the story that ended up in the movie with Humphrey Boga...more
Oh I really wanted to love this book! I'm very aware that Hemingway is a literary genius and writes fabulous novels, but this book had me scratching my head. Basically I could summarize it in one sentence "A man drives his boat between Florida and Cuba and runs into violent and illegal happenings." And that. Is. It. I was really looking forward to reading Hemingway, as I never have before, and he is my Dad's favourite author but I just didn't get it the point of this novel. I'm not sure if there...more
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Motors out of the starting gate strong, with a craggy, taciturn Yank skipper and his rummy mate running cash-pocketed tourists on Marlin jigs out of a decrepit, oil-soaked marina on the leeward side of Cuba. Fishing lingo, Caribbean seascapes, diesel stink, smoky taverns with callused patrons and dames in the shadows all combine to portend of a mission out of the same that has the potential to go sideways—and it does, just not in the manner that seemed to be warranted and not one that I believe...more
Definitely not one his better ones. My cultural reference point to this was the Howard Hawks Bougart/Bacall movie - memorable largely for the "put your lips together and blow" line and the fact that Faulker co-wrote the screenplay. Anyway the movie has a completely different story give or take a rummie who get slapped around alot. This is about Harry Morgan (yes - I think Jeff Lindsay did steal/homage the name), a boat owner in the Florida Keys suffering hard times, who has to get involved in va...more
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Considered Hemmingway’s worst- To Have and Have Not is almost shocking to read with modern eyes. Either he was a racist pig- likely; or he was documenting the sad state of racial affairs in the 1930’s when this was written- unlikely- but true, however inadvertedly. Even if I give him the benefit of the doubt, he probably was showing his ass as well.
The first section of this decidedly short novel is told from Harry Morgan’s POV. I found the first section to be the most engaging, although this is...more
The first section of this decidedly short novel is told from Harry Morgan’s POV. I found the first section to be the most engaging, although this is...more
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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 s...more
This is an amazing s...more
Hemingway's punchy style comes at you from the first page and it's refreshing. It feels like you've just walked in on a story that's already started and everything's a little confusing but starts to make sense pretty quickly. The characters take shape from only a couple of boney words and the pace is quick.
But then before even the half-way point it drops a gear. All these boring characters wander in with drunken non-sequitor conversations and bar fights and marriages of people I don't care about...more
But then before even the half-way point it drops a gear. All these boring characters wander in with drunken non-sequitor conversations and bar fights and marriages of people I don't care about...more
This is a typical Hemingway book in many ways. It is about Key West, FL, and Cuba. It involves fisherman and catching of marlin. Women are portrayed as shallow stereotypes. There is also talk of suicide in the last sections. However, Hemingway was only 38 at the time of this book.
Harry Morgan is married to Marie and has 3 girls. He has trouble making ends meet after being cheated out of $1500 after a charter, so he begins a transporting illegals and other contraband between the two ports. He ge...more
Harry Morgan is married to Marie and has 3 girls. He has trouble making ends meet after being cheated out of $1500 after a charter, so he begins a transporting illegals and other contraband between the two ports. He ge...more
This book is problematic in a few ways, but there's something about Hemingway's writing style that I like in spite of those problems.
For one thing, the racism that persists in this book is a little much. Whether this is Hemingway's own way of speaking or the way of the culture that he's writing about, there are only so many times I can read "nigger" and "chink" in a book and not find it unnecessary. On the other hand, I have no idea how pervasive this was in Cuba in the 30's, so I'm not going to...more
For one thing, the racism that persists in this book is a little much. Whether this is Hemingway's own way of speaking or the way of the culture that he's writing about, there are only so many times I can read "nigger" and "chink" in a book and not find it unnecessary. On the other hand, I have no idea how pervasive this was in Cuba in the 30's, so I'm not going to...more
I'm all over the map on how to rate this one. It's better than 3 stars, but probably not worth 4 (but I'll round up). I was surprised to find that this was Hemingway's first "novel" in eight years. Is it a novel? On one hand, you could probably view this as a collection of short stories and a novella, with the connective thread being that Middled Aged Man of the Sea: Harry Morgan. But there are connective threads here (the Depression being the main one) where the reader can discern a beginning t...more
I always put the movie at the top of my favorites list, so I decided I should get around to reading the book. It's so different, I might almost say the movie is based on the title of the book, but even that isn't true.
There's some adventure here and glimpses of a life Hemingway seems to envy, a man making his living on the Caribbean. Then we get odd glimpses of life across the range of income and class among tourists and residents of Key West. Those are interesting but uncomfortable -- I know th...more
There's some adventure here and glimpses of a life Hemingway seems to envy, a man making his living on the Caribbean. Then we get odd glimpses of life across the range of income and class among tourists and residents of Key West. Those are interesting but uncomfortable -- I know th...more
I bought this book because I was on my way to visit his house in Key West and I wanted to get Hemingway's view of Key West around when he lived there; not to mention that as far as hits and misses goes, his hits have slaughtered the inexistant misses.
THAHN is a short novel that tells multiple disorganized perspectives of a strange and quasi-interrelated story. Our main protagonist, Harry Morgan, sometimes speaks from the first person, and other times is spoken of by a narrater. Interlaced into h...more
THAHN is a short novel that tells multiple disorganized perspectives of a strange and quasi-interrelated story. Our main protagonist, Harry Morgan, sometimes speaks from the first person, and other times is spoken of by a narrater. Interlaced into h...more
My great surprise with the reading of this book is the gulf between the book as Hemingway wrote it and the film of the same name as FS Fitzgerald Wm. Faulkner and his co-writer jiggered it for the screen.
To detail the differences would be a spoiler, but I can say that in the book there is no Lauren Bacall character and Harry Morgan in the book has none of the class, charm, or intelligence of the Bogart character. That was purely stuff for the movie, although it is pretty grand stuff.
Being Hemi...more
To detail the differences would be a spoiler, but I can say that in the book there is no Lauren Bacall character and Harry Morgan in the book has none of the class, charm, or intelligence of the Bogart character. That was purely stuff for the movie, although it is pretty grand stuff.
Being Hemi...more
Tahle Hemingwayova knížka mi trochu unikla, takže jsem byl moc rád už jenom tím, že se mi dostala pod ruku (za docela příjemných okolností). Stavebně trochu netradiční, jelikož vznikla z několika kratších povídek. Několik vypravěčských perspektiv je svázáno klasickou jednotou místa a času, jejich aktéři se však úplně míjí. Společně sdílejí jednak pohled na tragédii hlavního hrdiny a potom vlastně ztroskotání a bezvýchodnost obecně. Ti kdo přežijí jsou odsouzeni utopit se v lihu. A v tom je i jis...more
It was interesting to read more Hemingway, other than The Old Man and the Sea. This book takes place in Cuba and the Keys and is about a man, a commercial boat owner, who moves from one who is ethical and has integrity to one who is filled with greed and is willing to take any chance in order to get what he thinks he wants. It is intriguing and an easy read but I am amazed that Hemingway is so revered for his writing. A very simple stylist, so much so that it feels almost immature, yet the story...more
Harry Morgan is an interesting character, ucompromising and unsentimental; he does what he needs to do. His story is packed with action and I love Hemmingway's style, but it seems to me the book would've worked better if Harry had remained the focus of the book. Sadly, his story comprises only the first 2/3 of the book, and hardly plays a role after that.
Instead, Hemminway focusses on minor characters, and even introduces a few new ones that have absolutely nothing to do with the story. I am puz...more
Instead, Hemminway focusses on minor characters, and even introduces a few new ones that have absolutely nothing to do with the story. I am puz...more
Date of Publication: 1937
Genre: Fiction with real people
1.) The exposition of the story is when this group of Cubans try to buy Harry's boat. Harry won't sell it to them. They just kept on begging and begging, constantly nagging him about letting them buy that boat. Harry still says no. Harry had said, "I make my living with the boat. If I lose her I lose my living." So he never sold them his boat. Harry, Eddy, and the nigger (the nigger has no name, he was called, "the nigger" through the whole...more
Genre: Fiction with real people
1.) The exposition of the story is when this group of Cubans try to buy Harry's boat. Harry won't sell it to them. They just kept on begging and begging, constantly nagging him about letting them buy that boat. Harry still says no. Harry had said, "I make my living with the boat. If I lose her I lose my living." So he never sold them his boat. Harry, Eddy, and the nigger (the nigger has no name, he was called, "the nigger" through the whole...more
I read that Hemingway called this book "garbage" and said that he wrote it for a paycheck. Of course it isn't garbage, though; only the author himself could knock the book so easily. The structure is a little crazy, and the third act is a little weak--I believe this is due to the book being written originally as short stories and a novella, combined to form a novel--but the book is still exciting and the dialogue still draws the reader in, as it does in every Hemingway book (that I've read, of c...more
This is not at all the Nazi romp of Bogie and Bacall fame. There might be some external similarities, but they seem fleeting. If you put your lips together to whistle here, the likelihood would be that it would be to warn someone that the police were coming. Life can be tough in The Conch Republic.
Harry Morgan is a hard man in a hard time. He owns and operates his own fishing boat, out of Key West, catering to those who Have and want an ocean-going adventure. When Harry is stiffed out of almost...more
Harry Morgan is a hard man in a hard time. He owns and operates his own fishing boat, out of Key West, catering to those who Have and want an ocean-going adventure. When Harry is stiffed out of almost...more
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This book is widely considered one of Hemingways worst, and there's even a tale floating around that he told director Howard Hawks that he thought it was a pile of shit. It's not, though. It's neither his worst nor a pile of shit. Nor is it his best. But there is much to admire in To Have and Have Not, and those things are amplified by Will Patton's award worthy vocal performance in the audio version.
Patton's quiet, simmering rhythm, and his hushed tones -- even in the most violent moments -- b...more
Patton's quiet, simmering rhythm, and his hushed tones -- even in the most violent moments -- b...more
I am a Hemingway fan, but am not sure I would be if this were the first novel of his I were to have read. I don't think there's much about this book that would inspire me to read his others. I found the beginning to be very good - the description of Harry Morgan's plight and how he got into running contraband was relatable, vivid, and emotional (well, Hemingway's version of emotional, that is.)
But, toward the second half of the book, Hemingway starts introducing new characters and storylines th...more
But, toward the second half of the book, Hemingway starts introducing new characters and storylines th...more
“Aren't they fine boys,” said the tall man. “War is a purifying and ennobling force. The question is whether people only like ourselves here are fitted to be soldiers. Or whether the different services have formed us.”
“I don't know,” said Richard Gordon.
“I would like to bet you that not three men in this room were drafted,” the tall man said. “These are the elite. The very top cream of the scum. What Wellington won at Waterloo with. Well, Mr. Hoover ran us out of Anacostia Flats and Mr. Roosevel...more
“I don't know,” said Richard Gordon.
“I would like to bet you that not three men in this room were drafted,” the tall man said. “These are the elite. The very top cream of the scum. What Wellington won at Waterloo with. Well, Mr. Hoover ran us out of Anacostia Flats and Mr. Roosevel...more
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Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collec...more
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“Listen," I told him. "Don't be so tough so early in the morning. I'm sure you've cut plenty of people's throats. I haven't even had my coffee yet.”
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