Islands in the Stream in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 21, 2009 Steve rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

The Most Interesting Man in the World: The Novel(s). I removed Islands in the Stream from my “currently reading” shelf because I wasn’t sure I would ever finish it. The first part, “Bimini,” is the best part of the novel, and could probably have stood alone as a short novel. It tells the story of Thomas Hudson, a somewhat famous painter, and the visit of his three sons. It’s fishing and drinking and eating and story telling, with a tragic ending . Pure Hemingway, with some wonderful passages to The Most Interesting Man in the World: The Novel(s). I removed Islands in the Stream from my “currently reading” shelf because I wasn’t sure I would ever finish it. The first part, “Bimini,” is the best part of the novel, and could probably have stood alone as a short novel. It tells the story of Thomas Hudson, a somewhat famous painter, and the visit of his three sons. It’s fishing and drinking and eating and story telling, with a tragic ending . Pure Hemingway, with some wonderful passages to return to again and again. What doesn’t work so well as far as this story goes, is the character Roger Davis, a writer friend of Hudson’s. It seems like Hemingway is doing a bit of the Conradian “double” here. Hudson represents a more contemplative type, being a painter, while Roger is more of a two-fisted man of action. I could write a paper on this alone. Put the two of them together, you have the complete package – though Davis seems to have quit writing, or hasn’t written anything worthwhile in some time. One can’t help but feel that the ghost of the terrible novel, Across the River and into the Trees is being exorcised by Hemingway. To my mind, it is exorcised. The creaky sterility of that previous novel is gone, Hemingway is trying new stuff. Truly.

However, in the second part of the book, “Cuba,” he stumbles. But magnificently! This is some of the best bad Hemingway – ever. There’s something ridiculous about an artist (Hudson again) being driven by a chauffeur to a military station, where he is apparently viewed as The Man. (He’s not in the military mind you, and this is World War II.) Hudson has found out that his last son, Tom, has been killed in action. Grieving, he proceeds to get blitzed at a bar, and most of the story is bar talk with friends, and a whore. At one point, while talking with a Cuban prostitute, Hudson recounts his sexual escapades with three Chinese prostitutes! This is before Viagra. Oh, and there’s an earlier recounting of an affair with a princess that is quite romantic, and a bit kinky, as they do what they do while standing on a ship at night. This scene is a reworking of another “standing” moment from the earlier Farewell to Arms. I found this a little sad, probably because I felt Hemingway was basically cannibalizing himself. Whatever, it’s still pretty cool.

Anyway, by the time of the Chinese prostitutes’ adventure/story, an ocean of alcohol has been consumed, and it’s still morning. Out of the blue, Hudson’s first (ex)wife shows up (great noirish entry). She’s evidently some beautiful actress, now serving in the USO. There’s some fine snappy dialogue, for a while at least, but what punctures this encounter is that she doesn't even know her son is now dead (and he’s been dead for a couple of weeks). Hudson, being The Man – and The Most Interesting Man in the World at that, is aware, due to his connections – and importance (and yet he couldn't call on contact her?). Anyway, they drink some wine (!!!), and make love (which would seem virtually impossible at this point). And then suddenly the Call to Action comes, and The Man is off to war. The jaw simply drops at the wonderful, stagey badness of this. Still, all of that said, there is some wonderful writing to admire in this part.

Part three has Hudson pursuing Germans on the islands. Whatever, my interest really started to wane here, due to the fact that I was finding Hudson so unbelievable at this point. Overall, Islands is a mixed bag, but if you’re into Hemingway, a necessary read. I think as a whole it fails, but there’s a lot of good writing to enjoy. The parts are greater than the whole.
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May 26, 2014 Jim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, suicidal_authors, seafaring_tales, world-war-2

I have often thought that there should be a reluctance on the part of the estate of a deceased writer to publish any of an author's works posthumously. Seriously, if the book was finished and the writer hadn't bothered to take it to the publisher, what would you assume his motives to be? An aversion to money, perhaps? This book is one of several that was published after Hemingway's suicide, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he hadn't published it simply because he felt that it wasn't good en ...more

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Mar 11, 2016 Karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel-the-world

This book is made up of three stories, centered around the main character: Tom Hudson, an artist and German submarine chaser. The first section is set in Bimini (Bahamas), very reminiscent of the Old Man and the Sea; the Second section in Cuba, where he spends the time in a bar, and meets some very interesting characters; the third section, Hudson is at sea chasing Germans. I read this book years ago, during the summer, which helped in feeling the setting: The Bahamas and Cuba.

I am glad I re-rea ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Kent Winward rated it really liked it

The three sections of this book, although all centering on the same main character, vary greatly in tone and emotion. The joy, the grief and the battle to continue are this man's journey and it works, even though the shifts feel abrupt and brutal. Even the joy is subsumed in a sense of impending doom at the first of the book, but the coming dark is so much more bleak than can be imagined on the sunny shores. The book is not a "happy book" in any sense, but it is remarkably redemptive. ...more

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