To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

To Have and Have Not (Perennial Favorites Collection)

by Ernest Hemingway

Harry Morgan was hard - the classic Hemingway hero - rum-running, gun-running and man-running from Cuba to the Florida Keys in the Depression.

He ran risks, too, from stray coastguard bullets and sudden double-crosses. But it was the only way he could keep his boat, keep his independence, and keep his belly full...

This classic novella was turned into a brilliant film by Howard Hawks - the film in which Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall met - and remains an important work by one of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century.

Reviewed by viking2917 on

3 of 5 stars

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Crisp, effortless prose. Oddly erratic plot, the Harry Morgan thread and the Richard Gordon thread really don't have anything to do with each other. The Richard Gordon part feels strongly autobiographical. Apparently the book was written quickly and it shows. I read it while I was in Key West, where the book was set, so it resonated for me in spite of all the flaws.

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  • 4 November, 2018: Reviewed