To Have and Have Not

Published in 1937, this book contains three stand alone, but interconnected stories, all revolving around the same character - Harry Morgan. The first two stories are very short, and were originally published in magazines, the third is novella length.

The stories are very nautical - those with an interest in boats will take more from the detailed boat descriptions than others. The writing style varies from story to story, as does the narration which doesn't remain consistent throughout - sometimes Harry, sometimes others. There are aspects of stream of consciousness thrown in too.

Set in Key West and Cuba, Harry Morgan is a hard drinking tough guy who makes a living running fishing charters, and running grog and other contraband to Cuba. As a tough guy he dishes out some pain, but is not a bulletproof hero - he is damaged in some way in each story, and reading this book the reader gets the feeling Harry is on a one way road. Harry has to constantly take risks to break even, and keep his family in food. At odds with Customs, only hard evidence keeps him from a prison sentence. Married to an ex-prostitute, with two daughters he doesn't seem to care much about, his fondness for his wife is a surprise.

For me the first two stories were high octane - quick reads containing speeding boats, guns, contraband and the smuggling of illegal immigrants. For this type of action read they were 4 stars.

The third story was strange, and I expected more when I got to the end. For some unknown reason, Hemingway continually introduced characters to the story who had no real involvement. At one point he spends 3 or 4 pages identifying each person in each boat in the marina, with a brief explanation about why they were there. Most of them did not even see the coastguard towing a boat into port, which was the actual subject of the story... Similarly there was a side story about an author with a cheating wife - there were numerous chapters about their activities and interactions around the town, which didn't add any value to the story. This story had potential, but floundered with the unnecessary. 2.5 stars.

Overall, 3 stars.

Unsurprisingly Hemingway is quoted as not rating this work very highly.