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داشتن و نداشتن
رمان «داشتن و نداشتن» روایت زندگی «هری مورگان»، ناخدای یک کشتی ماهیگیری ست. رمان همچو بیشتر کارهای همینگوی، «جزئی نگر» و «دیالوگ محور» است، و پرداخت صحنه‌ها، بدیع و تاثیرگذار. از صحنه‌‌های به یاد ماندنی رمان صحنه‌ای است که ناخدا «هری»، ناغافل و با خونسردی چینی قاچاقچی انسان را روی عرشه کشتی‌اش می‌کشد. رمان سه فصل دارد. فصل نخست رمان یعنی «بهار» را خود ناخدا «هری مورگان» روایت میکند، و فصل بعدی یعنی پاییز را دانای کل، و بخشهایی از زمستان (که بلندترین بخش رمان است) را «آلبرت» و بخشهایی را «هری» روایت میکند. از این رمان اقتباس‌های زیادی شده، که نسخه وطنی آن «ناخدا خورشید»، که اقتباسی آزاد از رمان «داشتن و نداشتن» همینگوی است. «داشتن و نداشتن» رمانی جذاب و پر کشش است، که به چند بار خواندن هم (مثل اغلب کارهای همینگوی) می‌ارزد
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
About the author
Ernest Hemingway
1,794 books30.1k followersErnest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, in mid-1961, he died of suicide.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, in mid-1961, he died of suicide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,355 reviews
October 10, 2024
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 three weeks of costs by a boorish client, he immediately becomes a Have Not, is faced with some tough choices, and agrees to transport in some undocumented Chinese immigrants from Cuba, a mere 90 miles away. He will go on to smuggle more materials and people over the course of the story.
Hemingway at the helm of his boat, Pilar - image from Hemingway Home
Desperation is a frequent visitor on these remote shores. Harry is far from alone in feeling the impact of the Depression. One shipmate is a drunk who has seen the last of his good days. A sometimes hire is desperately trying to catch a job anywhere, just to feed his family. The undocumenteds Harry transports are as desperate as working class immigrants often are. Even one of the women here is shown in some detail contemplating her grim prospects after her husband has died.
One group with whom Harry has dealings is Cuban revolutionaries. Harry, echoing Hemingway, offers a bit of support for their desires, their ideals, but faced with the reality of their actions, he sees beneath the plating to something a bit less glittery. There are crooks aplenty afloat here, whether a corrupt lawyer, a murderous coyote, a tax cheat, a welcher, and the odd homicidal revolutionary. Come visit.
The book has the feel of something that was thrown together, or at least done in jumps. Turns out that is indeed the case. The first chunk was originally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1934 under the title “One Trip Across.” Part Two of the book first appears in Esquire, February 1936, as “The Tradesman’s Return.” The narration voice varies, from Harry’s to an omniscient narrator, to the voice of sundry others later in the book. This is not necessarily a problem, but does make things feel a bit disjointed. Contributing to this is that, while the travails of Harry Morgan occupy most of the novel, he vanishes for a considerable swath towards the end, and our focus turns to several have characters, only a few of whom we have met before.
Bogie and Bacall in the film - image from Film Noir Blonde
Hemingway offers us a look at the sorts of desperation these haves experience. A wealthy grain trader rues a decision made in greed some years back, as the feds circle. A ne’er do well trust fund kid is a kid no more, his holdings have been hit hard by the Wall Street crash and the sorts of banking criminality that have become far too familiar, so he has to do what he has to do to keep up at least the veneer of wealth.
Overall, there is a dark caste here. Part of that is the times, the Depression, when it was tough to bask in the glow of much of anything. It makes sense that the characters Hemingway portrays reflect the struggles of the era. While he clearly has little sympathy for the haves, he hardly paints the have nots with halos. There is plenty of hardship, and plenty of corruption to go around.
I have not read much Hemingway, so lack the sort of insights one might acquire from a broader and deeper reading of his work. Man testing his mettle vs the world is one we know about though and that is present in abundance here. Harry is screwed by the world so does what he has to do, which includes considerable physical risk. Others prostrate themselves in other ways to get what they need. Are they any less active in taking on the world? Or is it only that it is their methods that differ? Things do not work out all that great for Harry. Maybe there are better approaches to his problem. Then, maybe there are not, and the world just sucks. The world shown here certainly fits into the trope “Life’s a bitch and then you die. Have a nice day.”
Is this great literature? I am open to being corrected and I did think more of it before getting down to actually writing, but I would say “nah.” Interesting certainly, bleak, but too much a Frankenstein beast, parts cadged together, however expertly, that make for a less than successful merger.
To Read or Read Not? I would take the plunge. It might illuminate themes and other specifics in Hemingway's later works, while providing a dark look at a dark time. You never can tell when a dark time might come around.
PS - it is impossible, even though the character Harry Morgan bears no physical resemblance to Bogart, to keep that voice and delivery out of one's head while reading this.
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 three weeks of costs by a boorish client, he immediately becomes a Have Not, is faced with some tough choices, and agrees to transport in some undocumented Chinese immigrants from Cuba, a mere 90 miles away. He will go on to smuggle more materials and people over the course of the story.
Hemingway at the helm of his boat, Pilar - image from Hemingway Home
Desperation is a frequent visitor on these remote shores. Harry is far from alone in feeling the impact of the Depression. One shipmate is a drunk who has seen the last of his good days. A sometimes hire is desperately trying to catch a job anywhere, just to feed his family. The undocumenteds Harry transports are as desperate as working class immigrants often are. Even one of the women here is shown in some detail contemplating her grim prospects after her husband has died.
One group with whom Harry has dealings is Cuban revolutionaries. Harry, echoing Hemingway, offers a bit of support for their desires, their ideals, but faced with the reality of their actions, he sees beneath the plating to something a bit less glittery. There are crooks aplenty afloat here, whether a corrupt lawyer, a murderous coyote, a tax cheat, a welcher, and the odd homicidal revolutionary. Come visit.
The book has the feel of something that was thrown together, or at least done in jumps. Turns out that is indeed the case. The first chunk was originally published in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1934 under the title “One Trip Across.” Part Two of the book first appears in Esquire, February 1936, as “The Tradesman’s Return.” The narration voice varies, from Harry’s to an omniscient narrator, to the voice of sundry others later in the book. This is not necessarily a problem, but does make things feel a bit disjointed. Contributing to this is that, while the travails of Harry Morgan occupy most of the novel, he vanishes for a considerable swath towards the end, and our focus turns to several have characters, only a few of whom we have met before.
Bogie and Bacall in the film - image from Film Noir Blonde
Hemingway offers us a look at the sorts of desperation these haves experience. A wealthy grain trader rues a decision made in greed some years back, as the feds circle. A ne’er do well trust fund kid is a kid no more, his holdings have been hit hard by the Wall Street crash and the sorts of banking criminality that have become far too familiar, so he has to do what he has to do to keep up at least the veneer of wealth.
“The eternal jackpot. I’m playing a machine now that doesn’t give jackpots anymore. Only tonight I just happened to think about it. Usually I don’t think about it."Harry had risked his life to provide for his family, but the haves seem at a loss when faced with a loss of workless income.
the money on which it was not worth while for him to live was one hundred and seventy dollars more a month than the fisherman Albert Tracy had been supporting his family on…One particular wanderer in here is Richard Gordon, a character clearly intended as a Hemingway stand-in, a writer of renown in a troubled marriage, something Ernest knew a little something about. There is a local married lady who “collects writers as well as their books,” disdaining a husband who may be impotent.
Overall, there is a dark caste here. Part of that is the times, the Depression, when it was tough to bask in the glow of much of anything. It makes sense that the characters Hemingway portrays reflect the struggles of the era. While he clearly has little sympathy for the haves, he hardly paints the have nots with halos. There is plenty of hardship, and plenty of corruption to go around.
I have not read much Hemingway, so lack the sort of insights one might acquire from a broader and deeper reading of his work. Man testing his mettle vs the world is one we know about though and that is present in abundance here. Harry is screwed by the world so does what he has to do, which includes considerable physical risk. Others prostrate themselves in other ways to get what they need. Are they any less active in taking on the world? Or is it only that it is their methods that differ? Things do not work out all that great for Harry. Maybe there are better approaches to his problem. Then, maybe there are not, and the world just sucks. The world shown here certainly fits into the trope “Life’s a bitch and then you die. Have a nice day.”
Is this great literature? I am open to being corrected and I did think more of it before getting down to actually writing, but I would say “nah.” Interesting certainly, bleak, but too much a Frankenstein beast, parts cadged together, however expertly, that make for a less than successful merger.
To Read or Read Not? I would take the plunge. It might illuminate themes and other specifics in Hemingway's later works, while providing a dark look at a dark time. You never can tell when a dark time might come around.
PS - it is impossible, even though the character Harry Morgan bears no physical resemblance to Bogart, to keep that voice and delivery out of one's head while reading this.
November 16, 2021
(Book 615 from 1001 books) - To Have And Have Not, Ernest Hemingway
To Have and Have Not is a novel by Ernest Hemingway (1937) about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida.
The novel depicts Harry as an essentially good man, who is forced by dire economic forces beyond his control into the black-market activity of running contraband between Cuba and Florida.
A wealthy fishing charter customer (one of the "Have's") tricks Harry by slipping away without paying after a three-week fishing trip, leaving Harry destitute.
Harry then makes a fateful decision to smuggle Chinese immigrants into Florida from Cuba to make ends meet in supporting his family.
Harry begins to regularly ferry different types of illegal cargo between the two countries, including alcohol and Cuban revolutionaries.
The Great Depression features prominently in the novel, forcing depravity and hunger on the poor residents of Key West (the "Have Not's") who are referred to locally as "Conchs".
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «داشتن و نداشتن»؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ انتشاراتیها: (امیرکبیر، اردیبهشت، اکباتان، نیکا، اژدهای طلایی، افق، گهرشید، بوتیمار، هرمس، ناژ)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سوم ماه آوریل سال2003میلادی
عنوان: داشتن و نداشتن؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: پرویز داریوش؛ تهران، کتابهای جیبی، سال1340؛ در206ص؛ تهران، امیرکبیر، سال1380؛ در251ص؛ شابک9640007692؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
عنوان: داشتن و نداشتن؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: فریدون رضوانیه؛ تهران، اردیبهشت، سال1363؛ در200ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1368؛ در200ص؛چاپ دیگر تهران، اکباتان، سال1396؛ در232ص؛ شابک9786006608686؛
مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ تهران، نیکا، سال1389؛ در256ص؛ شابک9786005906134؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، اژدهای طلایی، سال1393، در231ص؛ شابک9789648630787؛
مترجم: خجسته کیهان؛ تهران، افق، چاپ دوم سال1392؛ در277ص؛ شابک9789643695439؛ چاپ سوم سال1392؛
مترجم: علیرضا کچوئیان؛ تهران، گهرشید، سال1393؛ در273ص؛ شابک9789649398709؛
مترجم: احسان لامع؛ مشهد، بوتیمار، سال1393؛ در248ص؛ شابک9786006938615؛
مترجم: احمد کسائی پور؛ تهران، هرمس، سال1394؛ در315ص؛ شابک9789643638436؛
مترجم: منیژه جلالی؛ تهران، ناژ، سال1394؛ در289ص؛ شابک9786006110219؛
رمان «داشتن و نداشتن»، روایت زندگی «هری مورگان»، ناخدای یک کشتی ماهیگیری است؛ رمان، همچون بیشتر کارهای «همینگوی»، «جزئی نگر» و «دیالوگ محور» است، و پرداخت صحنه ها، یگانه و شورانگیز است؛ از صحنه های به یاد ماندنی رمان، صحنه ای است که ناخدا «هری»، ناغافل و با خونسردی، «چینی» قاچاقچی انسان را، روی عرشه کشتی خویش می‌کشد؛
رمان سه فصل دارد؛ فصل نخست رمان، یعنی «بهار» را خود ناخدا «هری مورگان»، روایت میکند، و فصل بعدی، یعنی «پاییز» را دانای کل، و بخشهایی از «زمستان» (که بلندترین بخش رمان است) را «آلبرت»، و بخشهایی را «هری»، روایت میکند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 24/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
To Have and Have Not is a novel by Ernest Hemingway (1937) about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida.
The novel depicts Harry as an essentially good man, who is forced by dire economic forces beyond his control into the black-market activity of running contraband between Cuba and Florida.
A wealthy fishing charter customer (one of the "Have's") tricks Harry by slipping away without paying after a three-week fishing trip, leaving Harry destitute.
Harry then makes a fateful decision to smuggle Chinese immigrants into Florida from Cuba to make ends meet in supporting his family.
Harry begins to regularly ferry different types of illegal cargo between the two countries, including alcohol and Cuban revolutionaries.
The Great Depression features prominently in the novel, forcing depravity and hunger on the poor residents of Key West (the "Have Not's") who are referred to locally as "Conchs".
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «داشتن و نداشتن»؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ انتشاراتیها: (امیرکبیر، اردیبهشت، اکباتان، نیکا، اژدهای طلایی، افق، گهرشید، بوتیمار، هرمس، ناژ)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سوم ماه آوریل سال2003میلادی
عنوان: داشتن و نداشتن؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: پرویز داریوش؛ تهران، کتابهای جیبی، سال1340؛ در206ص؛ تهران، امیرکبیر، سال1380؛ در251ص؛ شابک9640007692؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
عنوان: داشتن و نداشتن؛ اثر: ارنست همینگوی؛ مترجم: فریدون رضوانیه؛ تهران، اردیبهشت، سال1363؛ در200ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1368؛ در200ص؛چاپ دیگر تهران، اکباتان، سال1396؛ در232ص؛ شابک9786006608686؛
مترجم: مهدی غبرائی؛ تهران، نیکا، سال1389؛ در256ص؛ شابک9786005906134؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، اژدهای طلایی، سال1393، در231ص؛ شابک9789648630787؛
مترجم: خجسته کیهان؛ تهران، افق، چاپ دوم سال1392؛ در277ص؛ شابک9789643695439؛ چاپ سوم سال1392؛
مترجم: علیرضا کچوئیان؛ تهران، گهرشید، سال1393؛ در273ص؛ شابک9789649398709؛
مترجم: احسان لامع؛ مشهد، بوتیمار، سال1393؛ در248ص؛ شابک9786006938615؛
مترجم: احمد کسائی پور؛ تهران، هرمس، سال1394؛ در315ص؛ شابک9789643638436؛
مترجم: منیژه جلالی؛ تهران، ناژ، سال1394؛ در289ص؛ شابک9786006110219؛
رمان «داشتن و نداشتن»، روایت زندگی «هری مورگان»، ناخدای یک کشتی ماهیگیری است؛ رمان، همچون بیشتر کارهای «همینگوی»، «جزئی نگر» و «دیالوگ محور» است، و پرداخت صحنه ها، یگانه و شورانگیز است؛ از صحنه های به یاد ماندنی رمان، صحنه ای است که ناخدا «هری»، ناغافل و با خونسردی، «چینی» قاچاقچی انسان را، روی عرشه کشتی خویش می‌کشد؛
رمان سه فصل دارد؛ فصل نخست رمان، یعنی «بهار» را خود ناخدا «هری مورگان»، روایت میکند، و فصل بعدی، یعنی «پاییز» را دانای کل، و بخشهایی از «زمستان» (که بلندترین بخش رمان است) را «آلبرت»، و بخشهایی را «هری»، روایت میکند
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 24/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
October 17, 2022
“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.”
Well before the midway point, Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not turns into a different sort of book. At least, that’s the way it felt to me. It begins as the very straightforward story about an out of luck ship captain who turns to crime in order to support his family. Nothing is that simple in Hemingway. While connecting to the current political and economic climate (which included an incipient revolution in Cuba), Hemingway transforms this personal tragedy into something infinitely more complex and more universal. In itself, that’s not surprising; however, I’m not sure that had been the plan. Even as To Have and Have Not becomes more interesting (and more Hemingwayesque), it begins to feel increasingly disjointed. I found this an enjoyable read, but the shifting perspectives could make it challenging to stay engaged. 3.5 stars
Well before the midway point, Ernest Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not turns into a different sort of book. At least, that’s the way it felt to me. It begins as the very straightforward story about an out of luck ship captain who turns to crime in order to support his family. Nothing is that simple in Hemingway. While connecting to the current political and economic climate (which included an incipient revolution in Cuba), Hemingway transforms this personal tragedy into something infinitely more complex and more universal. In itself, that’s not surprising; however, I’m not sure that had been the plan. Even as To Have and Have Not becomes more interesting (and more Hemingwayesque), it begins to feel increasingly disjointed. I found this an enjoyable read, but the shifting perspectives could make it challenging to stay engaged. 3.5 stars
June 5, 2024
Guns and testosterone on the ocean waves.
To Have and Have not is without question the most macho of the Hemingway novels I've read so far. It's mean, it's brute, it's rum-soaked, and it's also quite miserable. Especially for the women. I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote this under a dark cloud of Alcoholism. Thankfully, his no nonsense simple prose that doesn't try to do anything fancy is here, but, when I think of novels like The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, this just wasn't as pleasing on the eye.
I was surprised to learn that this is the only novel Ernest Hemingway set on American soil, and marked perhaps the only time in his writing career that he chose to follow prevalent literary trends rather than creating his own. Whilst the main protagonist; the washed-up and aggressive boat captain Harry Morgan was indeed a memorable one, the narrative overall ran into problems. The novel is told awkwardly using third and first-person narration, and there is clear reason for that, as it's really made up of two short stories - Originally called 'One Trip Across and 'The Tradesman’s Return' plus a novella loosely linked, added to the longer part of the book. This just didn't flow like a proper novel should, and was distinctly inferior to the other two Hemingway novels I mentioned above. Criticized for its fragmented form, its hard-boiled obsession with cojones, and its ham-fisted approach to politics, it wasn't received well, and in several places, including Detroit, was even banned for being classed as too obscene.
This might be my least favourite Hemingway, but he did capture really well the economic ravages and desperation of trying to stay afloat during the depression era, and the setting of Key West and Cuba was a refreshing change from what I've been used to. Whilst there is a lot of action taking place in boats on the Florida Straits, my favourite scenes, even though they made me feel sad, were those taking place in bars. Man, how I miss the bars & restaurants. I look forward to the day so much when I can drink like a fish in a bar.
I will likely at some point watch Howard Hawks' movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out better than the book. Even if it isn't, at least I'll get to see Lauren Bacall in her prime.
January 8, 2009
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 substantially interconnected.
What's great about this book, if you want to enjoy it/study it/comment on it -- is that he really does scatter shot his Hemingway. You could tear out just about any page of this book, and it's pure him. His meaningless meandering details are done with true depth and edge ... but they really never imbue the reader with any concern for the characters that he sort of follows randomly.
It would be the equivalent of going to a train station, closing your eyes, opening them, writing something about the first person you see, closing them for another hour, opening them again, writing about the first person you see and so on ... but meanwhile, there's a CRITICAL character standing off to the side smoking a cigarette doing absolutely nothing.
Go read The Old Man and the Sea -- or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" ... leave this for the poor sots at school who are forced to read everything by him.
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 substantially interconnected.
What's great about this book, if you want to enjoy it/study it/comment on it -- is that he really does scatter shot his Hemingway. You could tear out just about any page of this book, and it's pure him. His meaningless meandering details are done with true depth and edge ... but they really never imbue the reader with any concern for the characters that he sort of follows randomly.
It would be the equivalent of going to a train station, closing your eyes, opening them, writing something about the first person you see, closing them for another hour, opening them again, writing about the first person you see and so on ... but meanwhile, there's a CRITICAL character standing off to the side smoking a cigarette doing absolutely nothing.
Go read The Old Man and the Sea -- or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" ... leave this for the poor sots at school who are forced to read everything by him.
October 7, 2010
If you've never read Hemingway, this isn't the book for you. If you don't like experimentation, this isn't the book for you. If you're turned off by violence, this isn't the book for you. If you're an opponent of socialism, this isn't the book for you. If you want happy endings, this isn't the book for you.
If, however, you have dabbled in Hemingway and you want a challenge, this is the book for you. If you dig experimental literature, then this is the book for you. If you can stomach violence or you recognize its primacy in the human experience, this book is for you. If you are a socialist, this book is for you. If you hate happy endings, this book is for you.
There're probably other things I can add, but mostly I want to say that this book is for me.
If, however, you have dabbled in Hemingway and you want a challenge, this is the book for you. If you dig experimental literature, then this is the book for you. If you can stomach violence or you recognize its primacy in the human experience, this book is for you. If you are a socialist, this book is for you. If you hate happy endings, this book is for you.
There're probably other things I can add, but mostly I want to say that this book is for me.
February 6, 2017
I feel slightly less guilty knowing that Hemingway himself thought this was the worst book he had ever written, but even so, I must be missing something major because I found the prose dull, stilted, unemotional and simply boring. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and that was a big problem. A couple of pages were of interest, but overall I was desperate to finish and celebrating when I did.
July 12, 2024
ارنست همینگوی در کتاب داشتن و نداشتن افزون بر شرح زندگی هری مورگان یک ناخدای آمریکایی و تلاش او برای وفادار بودن به اصول اخلاقی خود در مواجهه با شرایطی که زندگی برای او رقم زده ، مطابق روال خود به دیگر دغدغه ها ی خود ، همانند تبعیض ، فقر و انقلاب هم پرداخته است ، حاصل کار او ، کتاب داشتن و نداشتن اگرچه یک پله از دیگر کتاب های شاخص همینگوی پایینتر بوده اما در نهایت کتابی ایست متفاوت با خط داستانی نسبتا جذاب .
کتاب دیالوگ محور او ، هری مورگان را انسان شریفی معرفی کرده که گویی ازاجبار به قاچاق میان فلوریدا و هاوانا روی آورده ، در حقیقت هری نگون بخت به همان سهم ناچیز خود از اجاره قایق به توریست ها راضی بوده تا زمانی که یکی از توریستها هزینه ناخدا را نداده و او عملا ورشکسته می شود . از این جاست که ناچار شده اصول و ارزش های خود را زیر پا گذاشته و در رویارویی با شرایط جدیدی که زندگی روبروی او گذاشته ، اصول و سیاست جدیدی انتخاب کند ، اصولی که برای او گران تمام خواهد شد .
کتاب همینگوی کاراکتر های نسبتا زیادی دارد که این امر به داستان لطمه زده ، یکی از اضافه ترین آنان نویسنده ای ایست که حوادث پایان کتاب را از نگاه خود روایت می کند ، این بخش کتاب هیچ گونه هماهنگی با باقیمانده آن نداشته و بدون شک حذف این قسمت طولانی از کتاب به جذابیت آن اضافه می کرد .
مقایسه میان کتاب و فیلم ناخدا خورشید ، این قسمت ممکن است داستان را فاش کند
ناصر تقوایی در سال 1365 ، ناخدا خورشید را بر اساس برداشتی آزاد از داشتن و نداشتن ساخت ، از آنجا که در فیلم او خبری از نویسنده یا تعدد شخصیت های کتاب نیست ، فیلم او سخت تماشایی شده است . ناخدا خورشید با بازی داریوش ارجمند در ابتدای فیلم دارایی خود را در رقابت با خواجه ماجد ، تاجر ثروتمند که دستی هم در قاچاق سیگار دارد از دست داده ، بنابراین خبری از اجاره دادن قایق به توریست ها در فیلم نیست ، البته بندر لنگه در سال 1342 هم نباید مکان چندان جذابی برای توریست ها بوده باشد . آشکار است که چینی خوش تیپ و تلاش برای قاچاق انسان میان کوبا و فلوریدا هم ارتباطی به ایران ندارد ، تقوایی از ترور نخست وزیر استفاده کرده و مستر فرحان با بازی علی نصیریان که شاید آراستگی و خوش پوشی او در فیلم نشان دهنده شخصیت همان چینی باشد تلاش می کند کسی را برای قاچاق مخالفلان سیاسی پیدا کند . اما دست کم ناخدا خورشید از هری مورگان شریفتر است ، او نه به مستر فرحان کلک می زند و نه مهاجران را فریب می دهد .
در فیلم ، پاتوق ناخدا و دیگر افراد در مثلا چایخانه سعدون است ، در این چایخانه است که ناخدا با گروه تبعیدی ها سر شاخ می شود و به آنها می گوید : این جا نه جای لات بازیه ! در کتاب قهوه خانه فردی جای مهمتری ایست و خود فردی ایست که قایق خود را به هری قرض می دهد ، چون قایق هری توقیف گمرک است ، در حالی که در فیلم بمبک آزاد است .
هم در کتاب و هم در فیلم و هم هری مورگان و هم ناخدا خورشید ، گویا چاره ای جز پذیرش پیشنهاد انقلابیون کوبا در کتاب و تبعیدی ها به ریاست
سرهنگ با بازی خیره کننده مرحوم اویسی ، ندارند ، اگرچه برای بازگشت به شهر خود هر دو نیاز دارند که نقش بازی کنند . در کتاب آلبرت ملوان ناخدا و در اول داستان ادی دائم الخمر کمک او ست ، به نظر می رسد تقوایی از مجموع این دو شخصیت برای آفریدن ملول کمک گرفته باشد ، در هر صورت سرنوشت ملول و آلبرت یکی ایست .
خواندن داشتن و نداشتن تجربه متفاوتی برای خواننده خواهد بود ، تجربه ای که اگر چه اندکی شلوغ و ناهماهنگ به نظر می رسد اما قطعا ارزش خواندن دارد .
کتاب دیالوگ محور او ، هری مورگان را انسان شریفی معرفی کرده که گویی ازاجبار به قاچاق میان فلوریدا و هاوانا روی آورده ، در حقیقت هری نگون بخت به همان سهم ناچیز خود از اجاره قایق به توریست ها راضی بوده تا زمانی که یکی از توریستها هزینه ناخدا را نداده و او عملا ورشکسته می شود . از این جاست که ناچار شده اصول و ارزش های خود را زیر پا گذاشته و در رویارویی با شرایط جدیدی که زندگی روبروی او گذاشته ، اصول و سیاست جدیدی انتخاب کند ، اصولی که برای او گران تمام خواهد شد .
کتاب همینگوی کاراکتر های نسبتا زیادی دارد که این امر به داستان لطمه زده ، یکی از اضافه ترین آنان نویسنده ای ایست که حوادث پایان کتاب را از نگاه خود روایت می کند ، این بخش کتاب هیچ گونه هماهنگی با باقیمانده آن نداشته و بدون شک حذف این قسمت طولانی از کتاب به جذابیت آن اضافه می کرد .
مقایسه میان کتاب و فیلم ناخدا خورشید ، این قسمت ممکن است داستان را فاش کند
ناصر تقوایی در سال 1365 ، ناخدا خورشید را بر اساس برداشتی آزاد از داشتن و نداشتن ساخت ، از آنجا که در فیلم او خبری از نویسنده یا تعدد شخصیت های کتاب نیست ، فیلم او سخت تماشایی شده است . ناخدا خورشید با بازی داریوش ارجمند در ابتدای فیلم دارایی خود را در رقابت با خواجه ماجد ، تاجر ثروتمند که دستی هم در قاچاق سیگار دارد از دست داده ، بنابراین خبری از اجاره دادن قایق به توریست ها در فیلم نیست ، البته بندر لنگه در سال 1342 هم نباید مکان چندان جذابی برای توریست ها بوده باشد . آشکار است که چینی خوش تیپ و تلاش برای قاچاق انسان میان کوبا و فلوریدا هم ارتباطی به ایران ندارد ، تقوایی از ترور نخست وزیر استفاده کرده و مستر فرحان با بازی علی نصیریان که شاید آراستگی و خوش پوشی او در فیلم نشان دهنده شخصیت همان چینی باشد تلاش می کند کسی را برای قاچاق مخالفلان سیاسی پیدا کند . اما دست کم ناخدا خورشید از هری مورگان شریفتر است ، او نه به مستر فرحان کلک می زند و نه مهاجران را فریب می دهد .
در فیلم ، پاتوق ناخدا و دیگر افراد در مثلا چایخانه سعدون است ، در این چایخانه است که ناخدا با گروه تبعیدی ها سر شاخ می شود و به آنها می گوید : این جا نه جای لات بازیه ! در کتاب قهوه خانه فردی جای مهمتری ایست و خود فردی ایست که قایق خود را به هری قرض می دهد ، چون قایق هری توقیف گمرک است ، در حالی که در فیلم بمبک آزاد است .
هم در کتاب و هم در فیلم و هم هری مورگان و هم ناخدا خورشید ، گویا چاره ای جز پذیرش پیشنهاد انقلابیون کوبا در کتاب و تبعیدی ها به ریاست
سرهنگ با بازی خیره کننده مرحوم اویسی ، ندارند ، اگرچه برای بازگشت به شهر خود هر دو نیاز دارند که نقش بازی کنند . در کتاب آلبرت ملوان ناخدا و در اول داستان ادی دائم الخمر کمک او ست ، به نظر می رسد تقوایی از مجموع این دو شخصیت برای آفریدن ملول کمک گرفته باشد ، در هر صورت سرنوشت ملول و آلبرت یکی ایست .
خواندن داشتن و نداشتن تجربه متفاوتی برای خواننده خواهد بود ، تجربه ای که اگر چه اندکی شلوغ و ناهماهنگ به نظر می رسد اما قطعا ارزش خواندن دارد .
May 13, 2020
"In the old days he would not have worried, but the fighting part of him was tired now, along with the other part, and he was alone in all of this now and he lay on the big, wide, old bed and could neither read nor sleep."
It seems like there is always enough to worry about in the world, no matter what times you live though, and once you hit the age when you lose the "fighting part" of your inner rebel spirit and it fades into a tired "nah - I don't like that!" instead of "I AM GOING TO RAISE HELL ABOUT THIS!". And it also seems the stupid worrying invariably comes with a loss of sleep and reading ability - which is even more annoying than the worrying as such.
My cure more often than not is to revisit old favourite authors - preferably those who died a long time before the specific kind of worrying I am indulging in at any given moment showed up uninvited - and to force-feed my mind with the kind of literature that makes me think of other things to worry about than those that actually haunt me in real life. Making sense? Maybe not, but Hemingway's problems - to me - are at the same time very relatable and very much not MY current problems, and therefore his stories are soothing even in their most laconically bleak moments.
So to have or not to have the ability to hide from reality, that is the question, and the answer is a strong MAYBE!
Hemingway says it with the usual eloquence...
It seems like there is always enough to worry about in the world, no matter what times you live though, and once you hit the age when you lose the "fighting part" of your inner rebel spirit and it fades into a tired "nah - I don't like that!" instead of "I AM GOING TO RAISE HELL ABOUT THIS!". And it also seems the stupid worrying invariably comes with a loss of sleep and reading ability - which is even more annoying than the worrying as such.
My cure more often than not is to revisit old favourite authors - preferably those who died a long time before the specific kind of worrying I am indulging in at any given moment showed up uninvited - and to force-feed my mind with the kind of literature that makes me think of other things to worry about than those that actually haunt me in real life. Making sense? Maybe not, but Hemingway's problems - to me - are at the same time very relatable and very much not MY current problems, and therefore his stories are soothing even in their most laconically bleak moments.
So to have or not to have the ability to hide from reality, that is the question, and the answer is a strong MAYBE!
Hemingway says it with the usual eloquence...
February 26, 2021
Hemingway's tale of the later life and times of Harry Morgan, a fisherman, turned rum and people runner, living in Florida and running his boat to and from Cuba, for under the counter payments. Ernest Hemingway renders the numerous tragic scenes with an economy of words, but a lot of power, but overall I don't really get into this. 4 out of 12
June 7, 2022
دوستانِ گرانقدر، این کتاب از 25 فصل و 206 صفحه تشکیل شده است.. از این داستان چنیدن فیلم اقتباسی ساخته شده است.. ولی هیچکدام به متن و داستانِ اصلی پایبند نبوده اند.. این داستان حولِ محورِ بدبختی و تنگدستی میچرخد.. اینکه انسانها به دلیلِ مشکلاتِ مالی ممکن است دست به هر کاری بزنند و حتی جانشان را به پایِ آن بگذارند.. نوعی فقر و تنگدستی که هیچ ارتباطی با تلاش و کوششِ انجام شده ندارد.. چراکه نظام و حکومتها جوری پایه ریزی شده اند که ضعیف و فقیر، با تلاش و کوشش به سختی میتوانند سری در میانِ سرها بلند کنند و یا باید چاشنیِ شانس با آنها همراه باشد و یا خلافی انجام دهند، بلکه از طبقۀ فقیر و ضعیفِ جامعه، کمی فاصله بگیرند.. خلاصه سخن از رنج و فلاکتِ طبقه ای است که حتی در سنینِ بالا نیز باید نگرانِ خورد و خوراک و جایِ خوابِ خود و خانواده باشند که نمونۀ چنین موضوعی را این روزها به وفور در ایرانِ خودمان شاهد هستیم............ شخصیتِ اصلی داستان «هری مورگان» 47 یا 48 ساله است.. هری آمریکایست و در فلوریدا زندگی میکند و قایقی تفریحی دارد که آن را برایِ گردش در دریا و ماهیگیری به توریستها اجاره میدهد... و البته بینِ فلوریدا و هاوانا در رفت و آمد است و هر کاری که به او پیشنهاد میدهند اگر پولِ خوبی در آن باشد و درسر نداشته باشد، قبول میکند.. هری سری نترس دارد و برایِ خانوده هر کاری میکند.. او علاقه ای به سیاست و اینجور مسائل ندارد.. همسری به نام «ماری» و دو دختر دارد و درکل زندگیِ آرامی را میگذراند و زنش با همه چیزِ او میسازد.. داستان در زمانی رخ میدهد که تفکراتِ خطرناکِ کمونیستی همچون سمی کشنده و ویروسی ویرانگر، در آمریکایِ شمالی و جنوبی نفوذ کرده و شورش هایِ کارگری و شبه انقلاب و آشوب را موجب شده است.. هری به خاطرِ مشکلاتِ مالی مجبور میشود بر رویِ قوانینی که برای خود دارد، پا گذاشته و دست به کارهایِ غیرقانونی بزند... کار را با دلال هایِ انسان و قاچاقِ چینی ها و خطرکردن تا جایی که بازویش را از دست بدهد، آغاز میکند و بعد به سراغِ قاچاقِ مشروباتِ الکلی رفته و قایقش توقیف میشود. قایقی که حکمِ تنها منبعِ درآمدش را دارد..... و امّا در ادامۀ داستان، هری اسیرِ ماجراجوییِ خطرناکِ گروهکِ انقلابیِ کوبایی ها میشود.. کوبایی هایی که استالینِ وحشی و دزد را الگویِ خود قرار داده و حال با سرقتِ پول از بانک، همراه با اسلحه در قایق کنارِ هری مورگان هستند.. هری اسیرِ این کوبایی ها در قایق است و دوستش را کشته اند و حال باید تصمیم بگیرد که در این وضعیت چه کاری انجام دهد..... عزیزانم، بهتر است خودتان این داستان را بخوانید و از سرانجامِ غم انگیز آن آگاه شوید
در زیر جملاتی از این کتاب را به انتخاب برایتان مینویسم
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با این زندگی «داشتن و نداشتن» فرقی ندارد
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ما بیچاره ها وقتی دچارِ بدبختی میشویم، نباید یکدیگر را ول کنیم
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بعضی ها، از پنجره هایِ بلند آپارتمان یا ادارات، خود را به پایین پرتاب میکردند، برخی نحوۀ ساکت و آرام را ترجیح میدادند و در گاراژ و در اتومبیلِ روشن مینشستند (با گازِ اگزوز خودکشی میکردند) و گروهی دیگر سُنتِ دیرین را بکار میبستند و به هفت تیرِ کلت یا اسمیت پناه میبردند، آلاتِ خوش ساختی که بیخوابی را پایان میدهند و پشیمانی را تمام میکنند.. سرطان را شفا میدهند.. از ورشکستگی نجاتت میدهند.. این آلاتِ ممتازِ آمریکایی که به این آسانی حمل میشوند، آنقدر تأثیرشان حتمی است و آنقدر خوب ساخته شده اند که به رویایِ آمریکایی، آنگاه که به کابوس تبدیل شده است، خاتمه میدهند.. و تنها مایۀ عدمِ رضایت از آن، کثافتی است که باقی میماند و خویشاوندان باید تمیز کنند
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ما چیزی نداریم که از دست بدهیم.. ما را کاملاً وحشی کرده اند. ما از آن غلامهایی که اسپارتاکوس برای جنگ در اختیار داشت بدتریم.. آنقدر ما را تا به حال زده اند که تنها تسلیِ ما مشروب و تنها غرورِ ما در امکانِ تحملِ آن همه فشار است
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پدرش مانند گلوله از طبقۀ چهل و دوم، مثل عقابی که بال نمیزند، خود را به پایین پرتاب کرده بود و حال پسرِ دستفروش، کار پدر را تکرار کرد و اینبار خود را جلویِ ترن انداخت، در حالی که جیبش از همزنِ تخم مرغ و عصاره گیرِ میوه، که غیر قابل فروش بود، پُر بود
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زکی!!! عشق هم دروغ است.. عشق قرصِ نازایی است، چون تو میترسیدی بچه دار شوی.. اینقدر برایِ نازایی خوردم تا کر شدم.. عشق آن وحشتِ سقطِ جنین است که تو مرا دچارِ آن کردی.. عشق دل و رودۀ مجروحِ من است.. عشق یک نصفش سنبۀ قابله است و نصفِ دیگرش حمامِ آب سرد.. من می دانم عشق چه چیزی است.. بویِ دوایِ ضدعفونی میدهد.. مرده شورِ عشق را ببرد.. عشق این است که تو بغلِ من بخوابی و لذتم بدهی و با دهانِ باز باقی شب را بخوابی و من تمام شب را بیدار بمانم و جرأت هم نکنم دعا بخوانم، چون میدانم که دیگر حقی به دعا ندارم.. عشق تمامِ آن کارها و حقه هایِ کثیفی است که به من یاد دادی و شاید خودت هم از تویِ کتاب یاد گرفته بودی
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امیدوارم این ریویو در جهت آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
در زیر جملاتی از این کتاب را به انتخاب برایتان مینویسم
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با این زندگی «داشتن و نداشتن» فرقی ندارد
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ما بیچاره ها وقتی دچارِ بدبختی میشویم، نباید یکدیگر را ول کنیم
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بعضی ها، از پنجره هایِ بلند آپارتمان یا ادارات، خود را به پایین پرتاب میکردند، برخی نحوۀ ساکت و آرام را ترجیح میدادند و در گاراژ و در اتومبیلِ روشن مینشستند (با گازِ اگزوز خودکشی میکردند) و گروهی دیگر سُنتِ دیرین را بکار میبستند و به هفت تیرِ کلت یا اسمیت پناه میبردند، آلاتِ خوش ساختی که بیخوابی را پایان میدهند و پشیمانی را تمام میکنند.. سرطان را شفا میدهند.. از ورشکستگی نجاتت میدهند.. این آلاتِ ممتازِ آمریکایی که به این آسانی حمل میشوند، آنقدر تأثیرشان حتمی است و آنقدر خوب ساخته شده اند که به رویایِ آمریکایی، آنگاه که به کابوس تبدیل شده است، خاتمه میدهند.. و تنها مایۀ عدمِ رضایت از آن، کثافتی است که باقی میماند و خویشاوندان باید تمیز کنند
**********************
ما چیزی نداریم که از دست بدهیم.. ما را کاملاً وحشی کرده اند. ما از آن غلامهایی که اسپارتاکوس برای جنگ در اختیار داشت بدتریم.. آنقدر ما را تا به حال زده اند که تنها تسلیِ ما مشروب و تنها غرورِ ما در امکانِ تحملِ آن همه فشار است
**********************
پدرش مانند گلوله از طبقۀ چهل و دوم، مثل عقابی که بال نمیزند، خود را به پایین پرتاب کرده بود و حال پسرِ دستفروش، کار پدر را تکرار کرد و اینبار خود را جلویِ ترن انداخت، در حالی که جیبش از همزنِ تخم مرغ و عصاره گیرِ میوه، که غیر قابل فروش بود، پُر بود
**********************
زکی!!! عشق هم دروغ است.. عشق قرصِ نازایی است، چون تو میترسیدی بچه دار شوی.. اینقدر برایِ نازایی خوردم تا کر شدم.. عشق آن وحشتِ سقطِ جنین است که تو مرا دچارِ آن کردی.. عشق دل و رودۀ مجروحِ من است.. عشق یک نصفش سنبۀ قابله است و نصفِ دیگرش حمامِ آب سرد.. من می دانم عشق چه چیزی است.. بویِ دوایِ ضدعفونی میدهد.. مرده شورِ عشق را ببرد.. عشق این است که تو بغلِ من بخوابی و لذتم بدهی و با دهانِ باز باقی شب را بخوابی و من تمام شب را بیدار بمانم و جرأت هم نکنم دعا بخوانم، چون میدانم که دیگر حقی به دعا ندارم.. عشق تمامِ آن کارها و حقه هایِ کثیفی است که به من یاد دادی و شاید خودت هم از تویِ کتاب یاد گرفته بودی
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امیدوارم این ریویو در جهت آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
August 5, 2013
"a man ... ain't got no ... hasn't got any ... can't really ... isn't any way out. No matter how ... a man alone ... ain't got no bloody chance."
Harry Morgan
A novel of the Depression Era, To Have and Have Not follows the struggle of Harry Morgan to make ends meet, to live a decent life. He is a boat owner sailing the waters between Cuba and Key West, renting out to rich tourists lookinh for the thrill of big fish chasing. The novel opens with a spectacular gunfight in front of a bar in Havana and continues with an episode of marlin fishing in the Gulf Stream. Harry is one of the 'have nots' and, after one of the 'haves' pulls a fast one on him and disappears without paying for renting the boat, he is forced to accept shady jobs on the wrong side of the law. He has a wife and three girls to provide for. Smuggling persons and hard liquor in and out of Cuba is not for the faint hearted, and Harry Morgan is forced to get tough in order to survive. All I have is my cojones to peddle. . But his luck has turned against him and everything he tries seems to end badly.
The story is told through internal monologues and hard edged dialogue with Hemingway signature spare prose and with his typical protagonist of few words and brooding visage. The timeline is broken into separate episodes in Harry's career outside the law, each one illustrating another step down on the ladder of respectability and success. For the good parts, I really liked the time spent on the sea and the way the relationship of Harry with his wife is described. Most of the problems I had with the story come in the second half of the novel, where the author loses the focus and starts to write about a lot of secondary characters loafing around Key West and having little to no connections with Harry's story. I suspect Hemingway was on a deadline, had only enough material for a novella and filled in the required pages with several unconnected episodes from his work in progress pile. These additions have a strong autobiographical vibe, especially the episode of the alcoholic writer who has a row with his wife. An interesting literary device has the author jumping from ship to ship in the Key West harbour and look inside each cabin at the thoughts of the owners as each contemplate failure, despair, suicide, anguish, ill health, loneliness. I could see Hemingway lounging in his own boat on an evening, looking around at his neighbours in the marina and imagining their life stories, putting everything down in his notebook for future use. Another bother is that my edition always uses the N word for the black characters in the book, and to make matters worse these black characters are rather poorly constructed and illustrate an uncomfortable level of prejudice in an author I greatly admired in my youth.
My dissapointment may have another source : I have seen the movie version three or four times, and I was expecting something along the lines of Casablanca with a cool cucumber Bogey, Lauren Bacall swinging her hips with a wicked smile while she sings a jazz tune and some idealistic anti-Nazi message.
The novel is instead closer to the theme of futile struggle against fate from The Old Man and the Sea and to the social militancy of The Pearl by Steinbeck.
March 9, 2018
!همینگوی و تهرون
هفت-هشت ماه پیش میخواستم برم تهرون. کردستان ایران که بودم توی شهر مریوان، این کتاب رو گیر آوردم تا توی راه سیزده-چهارده ساعته تهرون بخونمش.. چرا همینگوی رو انتخاب کردم؟ نمیدونم.
خلاصه تقریبا نصفشو خونم ولی نزدیک همدان حوصله‌ام سر رفت و کنارش گذاشتم. چند روز پیش بازم از نو شروع کردم و خوندمش. بنظرم خوب بود ولی خیلی خیلی نه! میگفتن همینگوی عالیه و بخاطر همین توقع بالاتری ازش داشتم. با این حال، کی میدونه شاید اون کتاب دیگرش پاریس جشن بیکران بهتر از این یکی باشه و بیشتر به دل بچپسه..
و فهیدم توی راه طولانی اصلا کتاب خوندن خوب نیست، پدر آدمو درمیاره. اگه خوابت بیاد و بگیری بخوابی، از هر چیزی بهتره ولی میترسم همچو خاله هایده‌مو میگه: انگار که خوابی کابوس میبینی! به قول عمو صادقم به درک! والا
:))))))
هفت-هشت ماه پیش میخواستم برم تهرون. کردستان ایران که بودم توی شهر مریوان، این کتاب رو گیر آوردم تا توی راه سیزده-چهارده ساعته تهرون بخونمش.. چرا همینگوی رو انتخاب کردم؟ نمیدونم.
خلاصه تقریبا نصفشو خونم ولی نزدیک همدان حوصله‌ام سر رفت و کنارش گذاشتم. چند روز پیش بازم از نو شروع کردم و خوندمش. بنظرم خوب بود ولی خیلی خیلی نه! میگفتن همینگوی عالیه و بخاطر همین توقع بالاتری ازش داشتم. با این حال، کی میدونه شاید اون کتاب دیگرش پاریس جشن بیکران بهتر از این یکی باشه و بیشتر به دل بچپسه..
و فهیدم توی راه طولانی اصلا کتاب خوندن خوب نیست، پدر آدمو درمیاره. اگه خوابت بیاد و بگیری بخوابی، از هر چیزی بهتره ولی میترسم همچو خاله هایده‌مو میگه: انگار که خوابی کابوس میبینی! به قول عمو صادقم به درک! والا
:))))))
April 12, 2024
To Have and Have Not (1937) is usually seen as a “minor” novel of Ernest Hemingway, sandwiched as it is between two of his major novels, A Farewell to Arms (1929), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). It had its beginnings with a short story about main character Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain and sometime smuggler-for-hire, that was followed by another story about Morgan, and then Papa decided to stretch it into a full-length novel, using some seemingly unrelated stories along the way. It received mixed reviews and is still receiving mixed reviews, but there is still some great writing in it. I hadn’t read it for years, so dusted it off to see how it held up for me.
Of course, my temptation is to write a review in the manner of Paul Bryant’s brilliant Oliver Twist review, which is to say, where’s Lauren Bacall??!! (because, for the younger readers here, Howard Hawks made a film loosely based on the book, creating more of a romantic thriller than Hem ever intended). The romance in the book, such as it is, involves Harry and his wife Marie, who gets the final say in the book, sweetly.
The book feels like it is quite cobbled together, using Morgan stories of desperate “adventure” against stories of wealthy yacht owners. My early impression of the book is that it is noir, focused on the rhythm and colloquial talk of hard-scrabble working-class folks--Conchs-in Key West, reminding me a little of Hem’s short story “The Killers" for its noir feel. The other aspect of noir here is the focus on what it means to be poor and pushed to the edge, into crime, to do anything to survive. Papa was writing this while going back and forth between the US and the Spanish Civil War, where he was exposed to some Marxist ideology, including critiques of the rich that we also see here.
A lot of people call this an experimental novel for Hem, as he tells the story or stories, in the novel, through multiple points of view, including two women. He’s also working on stream-of-consciousness writing in the heads of a few characters. While I like Harry as a character, the “rummy” Eddie (who also is featured in the Howard Hawks movie), and Marie, and like some of the action sequences, I don’t find it a successful work (and as I recall, neither did he), but you know, he's Hem, and I'm not going to rip on him too hard here.
Of course, my temptation is to write a review in the manner of Paul Bryant’s brilliant Oliver Twist review, which is to say, where’s Lauren Bacall??!! (because, for the younger readers here, Howard Hawks made a film loosely based on the book, creating more of a romantic thriller than Hem ever intended). The romance in the book, such as it is, involves Harry and his wife Marie, who gets the final say in the book, sweetly.
The book feels like it is quite cobbled together, using Morgan stories of desperate “adventure” against stories of wealthy yacht owners. My early impression of the book is that it is noir, focused on the rhythm and colloquial talk of hard-scrabble working-class folks--Conchs-in Key West, reminding me a little of Hem’s short story “The Killers" for its noir feel. The other aspect of noir here is the focus on what it means to be poor and pushed to the edge, into crime, to do anything to survive. Papa was writing this while going back and forth between the US and the Spanish Civil War, where he was exposed to some Marxist ideology, including critiques of the rich that we also see here.
A lot of people call this an experimental novel for Hem, as he tells the story or stories, in the novel, through multiple points of view, including two women. He’s also working on stream-of-consciousness writing in the heads of a few characters. While I like Harry as a character, the “rummy” Eddie (who also is featured in the Howard Hawks movie), and Marie, and like some of the action sequences, I don’t find it a successful work (and as I recall, neither did he), but you know, he's Hem, and I'm not going to rip on him too hard here.
January 7, 2012
Florida Keys. 1937. Harry Morgan, husband to a former prostitute, disappointed father, erstwhile deep sea fishing guide. Broke. Desperate. Surrounded by wasted, depressed, angry, hopeless characters. Welcome to Hemingway.
How can a protagonist who refers to blacks as "niggers", who writes his own moral code with little regard for law or ethics, who regrets his daughters, and who has a dismal outlook on life even on his best days get under your skin? How can a writer, whose phrases are bleak, whose characters are mean, and who has a dismal outlook on life even on his best days make you tremble? Welcome to Hemingway.
When I turned the final page, I couldn't decide if this was one of the most awful stories I'd read or one of the most brilliant. So, I settled on both as true. The story is dark, wet, brutal, discombobulating. The writing is dark, wet, brutal and freaking amazing. The narrative shifts from Harry as first person narrator, allowing the reader to become intimately connected to the "have-nots"- Harry, his wife and family, his hired-as-needed crew- to the third person omniscient, forcing us to observe at a distance the "haves"- the idle rich and educated who moor their yachts and slum at the bars with the locals. In between is Harry's story told in third-person narrative. This manipulation of style breaks the reader from being within the story to observing it, as if to say we're no longer a part of what Harry is doing, we're just watching him from a seat off-stage...
Fortunately, the writing is classic Hemingway- spare and powerful and so, so sad. The scene between Harry and his wife, Marie, is tender and tragic, juxtaposing a black-hearted opportunist with a flawed but loving man. Unfortunately, the writing is classic Hemingway: every character sounds exactly alike, the flow, regardless of point of view, does not change. Although the causes of misery vary between characters, their responses are identical: caustic and wretched. Only Marie Morgan shows spirit and vulnerability. And lest we think Hemingway is getting soft, he cleaves away her dignity in one short scene. At least he leaves her ignorant of the insult.
The disjointed narrative reads like two novellas joined by loosely-intersecting characters and the story suffers from the relentless grind of depravity. There is no redemption, no growth, no character transformation. In the bleak era during which this was written- the Depression- perhaps the tone fit the times.
This was Hemingway's first long work after an eight-year hiatus. It feels like a giant fuck-you by Hemingway to the literary establishment and to his readers. Although Harry Morgan declares "A man.. one man alone ain't got...No man alone now... No matter how a man alone ain't got no bloody--chance." To Have and Have Not reads very much like a man who has declared himself to be alone, and not giving a damn.
How can a protagonist who refers to blacks as "niggers", who writes his own moral code with little regard for law or ethics, who regrets his daughters, and who has a dismal outlook on life even on his best days get under your skin? How can a writer, whose phrases are bleak, whose characters are mean, and who has a dismal outlook on life even on his best days make you tremble? Welcome to Hemingway.
When I turned the final page, I couldn't decide if this was one of the most awful stories I'd read or one of the most brilliant. So, I settled on both as true. The story is dark, wet, brutal, discombobulating. The writing is dark, wet, brutal and freaking amazing. The narrative shifts from Harry as first person narrator, allowing the reader to become intimately connected to the "have-nots"- Harry, his wife and family, his hired-as-needed crew- to the third person omniscient, forcing us to observe at a distance the "haves"- the idle rich and educated who moor their yachts and slum at the bars with the locals. In between is Harry's story told in third-person narrative. This manipulation of style breaks the reader from being within the story to observing it, as if to say we're no longer a part of what Harry is doing, we're just watching him from a seat off-stage...
Fortunately, the writing is classic Hemingway- spare and powerful and so, so sad. The scene between Harry and his wife, Marie, is tender and tragic, juxtaposing a black-hearted opportunist with a flawed but loving man. Unfortunately, the writing is classic Hemingway: every character sounds exactly alike, the flow, regardless of point of view, does not change. Although the causes of misery vary between characters, their responses are identical: caustic and wretched. Only Marie Morgan shows spirit and vulnerability. And lest we think Hemingway is getting soft, he cleaves away her dignity in one short scene. At least he leaves her ignorant of the insult.
The disjointed narrative reads like two novellas joined by loosely-intersecting characters and the story suffers from the relentless grind of depravity. There is no redemption, no growth, no character transformation. In the bleak era during which this was written- the Depression- perhaps the tone fit the times.
This was Hemingway's first long work after an eight-year hiatus. It feels like a giant fuck-you by Hemingway to the literary establishment and to his readers. Although Harry Morgan declares "A man.. one man alone ain't got...No man alone now... No matter how a man alone ain't got no bloody--chance." To Have and Have Not reads very much like a man who has declared himself to be alone, and not giving a damn.
January 8, 2023
Hemingway actually wrote a hard boiled novel. It is not like other hard boiled novels. It is depressing as hell. But it was still badass and thrilling. A great nautical thriller. A hard boiled novel unlike any other. A hard boiled novel that will make you cry. Harry Morgan embarks on daring missions to save his family from financial ruin. Only Hemingway could have written this novel. Only some writers can write novels that make you feel a certain way. It is not easy. It is like the way some women can make you feel. Some women have it. Some writers have it too. Hemingway had it.
July 9, 2024
My favorite Hemingway story I have read so far. Harry Morgan a new nonsense guy who by no fault of his own gets involved more and more in the criminal world. Set in the 1930s Havana and Key West Harry has a run of bad luck. The story is about economic inequality and class conflict.
Harry as an ordinary working man who is Captain of a fishing boat in the Depression Era. A wealthy customer doesn’t pay him and he is left destitute with few options. He is forced by economic forces into the black-market activity of running contraband between Cuba and Florida. The story tracks his activities with circumstances getting worse and worse.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Harry during one run gets into a firefight and ends up losing his arm. Then his boat is impounded. Later he has a shootout with some Cuban bank robbers where he is mortally wounded. The story is brutal in its portrayal of the have’s and their economic power and the have nots in this abject poverty. Not much has changed!
Harry as an ordinary working man who is Captain of a fishing boat in the Depression Era. A wealthy customer doesn’t pay him and he is left destitute with few options. He is forced by economic forces into the black-market activity of running contraband between Cuba and Florida. The story tracks his activities with circumstances getting worse and worse.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Harry during one run gets into a firefight and ends up losing his arm. Then his boat is impounded. Later he has a shootout with some Cuban bank robbers where he is mortally wounded. The story is brutal in its portrayal of the have’s and their economic power and the have nots in this abject poverty. Not much has changed!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2022
One of the lesser works of the master. There's limited coherence in this novel: a collection of loose stories, excellent in themselves, with protagonist Harry as a binding character. Also the underlying themes are variegated: the little man's fight against injustice and social misery, the contrast with the opulent life of the rich; the harshness of life, etc. Hemingway clearly experimented with the form, with sometimes beautiful effects, but - as said - there's no real unity in the book.
January 7, 2016
Hemingway is still my favorite writer. I've enjoyed all of his books, and I've learned from his style - minimal use of adverbs - maximum use of one-syllable words - clarity of expression - all of that and more. So why did I rate this book down, as 4 stars instead of 5? I had a hard time cheering for Harry, a criminal and a killer. I understand that Hemingway wrote in the "modernist" mode. That is to say, there are no happy endings in Hemingway's books. That is true in this book, for sure. Still, I would like the protagonist be a person I can root for, even if he doesn't win in the end.
February 3, 2022
امتیاز واقعی ۳/۵
پنجمین اثری که از همینگوی خوندم و متاسفانه پایان تلخی داشت مثل "وداع با اسلحه" و "زنگ‌ها برای که به صدا درمی‌آیند". ولی با این تفاوت که این داستان درباره جنگ نبود. شخصیت اصلی "هری مورگان" یک ناخداست که با قایقش مشروبات الکلی قاچاق می‌کنه و وقتی مشکلات مالیش زیاد می‌شه به قاچاق انسان هم نه نمی‌گه.
همینگوی در این اثر تلخ هم طنزهای کلامیشو داره و به خاطر همینه که دوستش دارم ♡
من از انتشارات هرمس با ترجمه احمد کسایی‌پور خوندم که ترجمه روان و خوبی بود
پنجمین اثری که از همینگوی خوندم و متاسفانه پایان تلخی داشت مثل "وداع با اسلحه" و "زنگ‌ها برای که به صدا درمی‌آیند". ولی با این تفاوت که این داستان درباره جنگ نبود. شخصیت اصلی "هری مورگان" یک ناخداست که با قایقش مشروبات الکلی قاچاق می‌کنه و وقتی مشکلات مالیش زیاد می‌شه به قاچاق انسان هم نه نمی‌گه.
همینگوی در این اثر تلخ هم طنزهای کلامیشو داره و به خاطر همینه که دوستش دارم ♡
من از انتشارات هرمس با ترجمه احمد کسایی‌پور خوندم که ترجمه روان و خوبی بود
August 22, 2024
”ماذا أفعل أنا إذا عشتُ عشرين سنة أخرى؟
لا يستطيع أحد أن يقول لي، أو أن يجيب عن سؤالي، والآن ليس أمامي من شيء سوى أن أبدأ العمل، وأن أتقبل كل يوم يمر بي مهما كان نوعه، هذا ما يتحتم عليّ فعله..
ولكن يا إلهي، ماذا أستطيع أن أفعل في الليالي الطويلة المُرعبة وحدي؟ كيف يمكنني أن أقضي الليالي لا يغمض لي جفن؟“
April 25, 2020
I want to start out by saying that I love Ernest Hemingway. I think The Old Man and the Sea is one of the greatest books ever written, and I have not even read many of his best novels yet, like The Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls, so it's possible his work gets even better than what I've already experienced. That being said, I highly doubt any of his remaining fiction can get any worse than To Have and Have Not, which is a complete dumpster fire.
The novel tells the story of Harry Morgan, a fisherman who gets down on his luck and eventually starts smuggling human beings and liquor between Cuba and the Florida Keys. The main problem with To Have and Have Not, and it's an enormous one, is that the story is basically completely finished at page 150 (my edition is 219 pages, so I am referring to that length throughout this review). If Hemingway had taken the first 150 pages and glued onto them the last few pages of the book, which also deal with concluding the story from the first 150 pages, this would probably have been a 3.5 star book. The problem is that Hemingway didn't do that. The 70 or so pages between page 150 and the last few pages are filled with completely meaningless content.
I'm not even joking; it's 70 pages of random people getting drunk in bars every night, cheating on their wives, beating each other up, and then a random profiling of a bunch of different groups of people on different boats that happen to be parked at the same dock. None of it involves the main characters in the book, or the main storyline. It writes a lot like Hemingway was contracted to write a full length novel, but finding himself completely finished the story at the length of a novella added a bunch of random garbage onto the end to fulfill the length of a full novel and thus the terms of his contract.
On top of that, this is the most racist and misogynistic book I've ever read. There is even a Publisher's Note in my edition to warn the reader about this! The n-word is said in this book probably at least thirty times, there is heavy racism against people of colour, Asians, and Jewish people, many of whom are treated like animals in the story. Wives are cheated on, physically abused, and ordered around like they are sub-human servants. And as if all of that wasn't enough, the main character is also a complete a** hole, being not only a huge racist and misogynist but also a bully, bullying every person he comes into contact with over the course of the book. I don't even know what else to say. I'm so disappointed in Ernest Hemingway for this novel, for so many reasons. This is one of the ten worst books I have ever read, and might actually be in the top five.
The novel tells the story of Harry Morgan, a fisherman who gets down on his luck and eventually starts smuggling human beings and liquor between Cuba and the Florida Keys. The main problem with To Have and Have Not, and it's an enormous one, is that the story is basically completely finished at page 150 (my edition is 219 pages, so I am referring to that length throughout this review). If Hemingway had taken the first 150 pages and glued onto them the last few pages of the book, which also deal with concluding the story from the first 150 pages, this would probably have been a 3.5 star book. The problem is that Hemingway didn't do that. The 70 or so pages between page 150 and the last few pages are filled with completely meaningless content.
I'm not even joking; it's 70 pages of random people getting drunk in bars every night, cheating on their wives, beating each other up, and then a random profiling of a bunch of different groups of people on different boats that happen to be parked at the same dock. None of it involves the main characters in the book, or the main storyline. It writes a lot like Hemingway was contracted to write a full length novel, but finding himself completely finished the story at the length of a novella added a bunch of random garbage onto the end to fulfill the length of a full novel and thus the terms of his contract.
On top of that, this is the most racist and misogynistic book I've ever read. There is even a Publisher's Note in my edition to warn the reader about this! The n-word is said in this book probably at least thirty times, there is heavy racism against people of colour, Asians, and Jewish people, many of whom are treated like animals in the story. Wives are cheated on, physically abused, and ordered around like they are sub-human servants. And as if all of that wasn't enough, the main character is also a complete a** hole, being not only a huge racist and misogynist but also a bully, bullying every person he comes into contact with over the course of the book. I don't even know what else to say. I'm so disappointed in Ernest Hemingway for this novel, for so many reasons. This is one of the ten worst books I have ever read, and might actually be in the top five.
October 21, 2011
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 -- bring out the story's melancholy, its hopelessness, its pity, its hope.
And it makes it much easier to see the love and respect Hemingway has for his characters in a way that might not be so clear when the words are sitting stagnant on a page. It really feels like this book, more than any except The Old Man and the Sea, was meant to be heard. Pick up your copy and read yourself Chapter 12, then flip over and read yourself Chapter 19 right away. Read it slowly and calmly. Can you feel the intentional flow? Can you feel the way Hemingway loves Marie?
He does. Hemingway loves Marie the way he loves Pilar in For Whom The Bell Tolls, and it is beautiful -- especially the way its read by Will Patton.
For me, this time, To Have and Have Not was about Marie, and by the end I am sure she's going to be just fine. I really wish Hemingway had gone and told us more about Marie Morgan. But I love what he have.
Patton's quiet, simmering rhythm, and his hushed tones -- even in the most violent moments -- bring out the story's melancholy, its hopelessness, its pity, its hope.
And it makes it much easier to see the love and respect Hemingway has for his characters in a way that might not be so clear when the words are sitting stagnant on a page. It really feels like this book, more than any except The Old Man and the Sea, was meant to be heard. Pick up your copy and read yourself Chapter 12, then flip over and read yourself Chapter 19 right away. Read it slowly and calmly. Can you feel the intentional flow? Can you feel the way Hemingway loves Marie?
He does. Hemingway loves Marie the way he loves Pilar in For Whom The Bell Tolls, and it is beautiful -- especially the way its read by Will Patton.
For me, this time, To Have and Have Not was about Marie, and by the end I am sure she's going to be just fine. I really wish Hemingway had gone and told us more about Marie Morgan. But I love what he have.
May 27, 2020
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 to end storyline arc. So yeah, it's a novel, but it's one that's also an experiment in form (in a clunky sort of way).
What To Have and Have Not does have going for it, is Harry Morgan. He's a great character. Hemingway tough, even brutal, but throughout the book you will see little flashes that show Morgan as a man of Conradian duty and honor. These qualities are most visible when he's in the presence of his (ex-prostitute) wife and children, and on occasion with a few other men in the town that he respects as stand up guys. The novel opens with Harry rejecting an attempt to enlist him in illegally getting some men out of Cuba (I think -- or is it the other way around?). It means big bucks, but it's also dangerous work. Harry is trying to keep things legal in hard times (with Revolution in the air), so running human cargo is definitely out. Besides, Harry has been engaged in a weeks long fishing charter with a supposedly rich customer who wants to catch the big one. The rich guy hasn't paid up yet, but Harry isn't too worried. To underscore the seemingly safe wisdom of Harry's choice, is a really violent (and well done) gun battle in the book's first pages.
But the rich guy walks the check and Harry is left with a heavy debt. Another opportunity to run human cargo comes up, which allows Harry to recover his loss, but at a heavy price -- murder. It's probably true that Harry just beat his victim (a well dressed Chinese businessman with too much money to spend) to the lethal punch, but you're never really sure. I liked the fact that Hemingway kept things murky here, but Harry's amoral (and desperate) character really comes into sharp focus. He's not really a good guy, but just a guy capable of doing hard things. You are left with the distinct sense that Harry, if events had of unfolded badly, would of killed everyone on his boat, which would of included his drunken "friend," Eddy, and twelve Chinese trying to get to the U.S.
The second, and shortest, section of the book has Harry shot up on his boat, a liquor run gone bad. At this point, it's apparent that Harry has gone over to smuggling as a way to make ends meet. This section is interesting, because you get a glimpse of what Hemingway must of thought of the New Deal, as he has Harry spotted by an official with the government who happens to be on another boat. The official is an an ass, and makes a point of turning Harry in, causing Harry to lose this boat (and thus his livelihood). And Harry, due to his wound, also loses his arm.
What follows, in section three, is a bizarre mix of story and literary feud. Harry gets involved with a bunch of revolutionary bank robbers, and you can see where this is all going to end. It's at this point that Hemingway introduces a number of other characters, with the primary one being Richard Gordon. Gordon is a stand in for John Dos Passos. Hemingway is at his most nasty here. This should have sunk the book, but strangely it doesn't. The Gordons, and others arrival at Key West, shows them to be clueless and decadent. Contrasting this, in the preceding pages, is Harry's last night with Marie. A night filled with lovemaking and prime Hemingway speak.
"Do you want to?"
"Yes. Now."
"I was asleep. Do you remember when we'd do it asleep."
"Listen, do you mind the arm? Don't it make you feel funny?"
"You're silly. I like it. Any that's you I like. Put it across there. Put
it along there. Go on, I like it, true."
Hemingway is probably the only writer I know that can both move me and make me laugh when I read passages like this. It's seems so stylized, but is it? Whatever the case, it's this section that redeemed Harry for me.
Not so true are Gordon and his wife. Hemingway spends considerable time (in a short novel) applying the wrecking ball to their lives, while offstage Harry, a true man of action, is fighting and dying. I found this effective. The reader is constantly aware of Harry's slow return (as if on his shield) from his mortal shootout, without it being mentioned much. Hemingway ratchets things up by omission, with all the empty bar talk, cheating, and fights, etc. In the book's last pages, he has Harry's fishing boat, with Harry on board raving and bleeding out, contrasted against the rich yachts and empty lives of those on board them. Overall, it's not a great book, but it's certainly an interesting one. Those looking for signs of Hemingway's decline, probably need to look elsewhere. If anything, this odd novel (with it's fascinating historical context) has me appreciating more the accomplishment of For Whom the Bell Tolls, which would be Hemingway's next novel.
What To Have and Have Not does have going for it, is Harry Morgan. He's a great character. Hemingway tough, even brutal, but throughout the book you will see little flashes that show Morgan as a man of Conradian duty and honor. These qualities are most visible when he's in the presence of his (ex-prostitute) wife and children, and on occasion with a few other men in the town that he respects as stand up guys. The novel opens with Harry rejecting an attempt to enlist him in illegally getting some men out of Cuba (I think -- or is it the other way around?). It means big bucks, but it's also dangerous work. Harry is trying to keep things legal in hard times (with Revolution in the air), so running human cargo is definitely out. Besides, Harry has been engaged in a weeks long fishing charter with a supposedly rich customer who wants to catch the big one. The rich guy hasn't paid up yet, but Harry isn't too worried. To underscore the seemingly safe wisdom of Harry's choice, is a really violent (and well done) gun battle in the book's first pages.
But the rich guy walks the check and Harry is left with a heavy debt. Another opportunity to run human cargo comes up, which allows Harry to recover his loss, but at a heavy price -- murder. It's probably true that Harry just beat his victim (a well dressed Chinese businessman with too much money to spend) to the lethal punch, but you're never really sure. I liked the fact that Hemingway kept things murky here, but Harry's amoral (and desperate) character really comes into sharp focus. He's not really a good guy, but just a guy capable of doing hard things. You are left with the distinct sense that Harry, if events had of unfolded badly, would of killed everyone on his boat, which would of included his drunken "friend," Eddy, and twelve Chinese trying to get to the U.S.
The second, and shortest, section of the book has Harry shot up on his boat, a liquor run gone bad. At this point, it's apparent that Harry has gone over to smuggling as a way to make ends meet. This section is interesting, because you get a glimpse of what Hemingway must of thought of the New Deal, as he has Harry spotted by an official with the government who happens to be on another boat. The official is an an ass, and makes a point of turning Harry in, causing Harry to lose this boat (and thus his livelihood). And Harry, due to his wound, also loses his arm.
What follows, in section three, is a bizarre mix of story and literary feud. Harry gets involved with a bunch of revolutionary bank robbers, and you can see where this is all going to end. It's at this point that Hemingway introduces a number of other characters, with the primary one being Richard Gordon. Gordon is a stand in for John Dos Passos. Hemingway is at his most nasty here. This should have sunk the book, but strangely it doesn't. The Gordons, and others arrival at Key West, shows them to be clueless and decadent. Contrasting this, in the preceding pages, is Harry's last night with Marie. A night filled with lovemaking and prime Hemingway speak.
"Do you want to?"
"Yes. Now."
"I was asleep. Do you remember when we'd do it asleep."
"Listen, do you mind the arm? Don't it make you feel funny?"
"You're silly. I like it. Any that's you I like. Put it across there. Put
it along there. Go on, I like it, true."
Hemingway is probably the only writer I know that can both move me and make me laugh when I read passages like this. It's seems so stylized, but is it? Whatever the case, it's this section that redeemed Harry for me.
Not so true are Gordon and his wife. Hemingway spends considerable time (in a short novel) applying the wrecking ball to their lives, while offstage Harry, a true man of action, is fighting and dying. I found this effective. The reader is constantly aware of Harry's slow return (as if on his shield) from his mortal shootout, without it being mentioned much. Hemingway ratchets things up by omission, with all the empty bar talk, cheating, and fights, etc. In the book's last pages, he has Harry's fishing boat, with Harry on board raving and bleeding out, contrasted against the rich yachts and empty lives of those on board them. Overall, it's not a great book, but it's certainly an interesting one. Those looking for signs of Hemingway's decline, probably need to look elsewhere. If anything, this odd novel (with it's fascinating historical context) has me appreciating more the accomplishment of For Whom the Bell Tolls, which would be Hemingway's next novel.
September 7, 2024
This book is as hard boiled as you can get. Hard boiled and brutal and ugly and beautiful, desolate and cold. The breezes of Key West and the Gulf Stream keep blowing the palms and the sky remains blue and life goes on, except when it doesn’t.
February 10, 2019
داستان خوبیه، مخصوصاً قسمتی که مربوط به هری مورگانه. ولی اگه داستان رو متمرکزتر می کرد، خیلی بهتر در میومد. داستان به ماجرای شخصیت های متفاوتی می پردازه که چندان تأثیری در داستان ندارن و به ر احتی می شه حذفشون کرد، مثل نویسنده و زنش و پرفسور که تقریباً هیچ ارتباطی با بدنه ی اصلی داستان ندارن.
یکی هم تغییر زاویه ی دید داستانه که چندجا خوب و به جاست، ولی چند جا به نظر نا متناسب میاد.
در آخر، لازم به گفتن نیست که فیلم درخشان "ناخدا خورشید"، اقتباسی آزاد از این داستانه.
یکی هم تغییر زاویه ی دید داستانه که چندجا خوب و به جاست، ولی چند جا به نظر نا متناسب میاد.
در آخر، لازم به گفتن نیست که فیلم درخشان "ناخدا خورشید"، اقتباسی آزاد از این داستانه.
June 4, 2022
لقد قضمتُ لقمةً أكبر مما استطيع أن أمضغ.
April 7, 2022
Re-reading a book is its own unique experience. The plot and characters are already known, and the mind has the luxury to pay attention to details and ideas that tended to be overlooked on the initial journey. Re-reading is filled with information that is free to float into the reader’s view.
This is my second time reading To Have and Have Not and I would say that this time through was the more enjoyable of the two. My initial reading created the impression of a poorly assembled story that depicted the stereotypical Hemingway hero. Harry Morgan was created by Hemingway to suffer and to bear his burdens with dignity. Of all his novels, this one is probably the most simplistic when it comes to forcing a Hemingway hero to live by the “grace under pressure” code of conduct.
This time through, however, opened up the idea that To Have and Have Not was a dedication to the modern-day working poor, the “conches,” of Key West during the Great Depression. Based on my slowly acquired understanding of Hemingway, I believe that he had an affinity for these simple, hard-working people. Hemingway drank cheap rum with them in the clapboard bars of Kew West, and considered their hard work worthy of his respect.
The conches grubbed, fished, and smuggled in order to live, and they lived at the bottom of society. They were often times considered as outcasts by an absentee government. They were in the way of an outside desire to transform Key West into a luxury destination populated by the type of rich tourists depicted in Hemingway’s novel. The conches were also on the receiving end of fallout from the political turmoil and revolutionary fighting taking place in Cuba located just 90 miles away.
To Have and Have Not is still a poorly assembled novel, but it captures a people in their time. It’s a snapshot of them. Consequently, it captures a people that would have otherwise been forgotten.
This is my second time reading To Have and Have Not and I would say that this time through was the more enjoyable of the two. My initial reading created the impression of a poorly assembled story that depicted the stereotypical Hemingway hero. Harry Morgan was created by Hemingway to suffer and to bear his burdens with dignity. Of all his novels, this one is probably the most simplistic when it comes to forcing a Hemingway hero to live by the “grace under pressure” code of conduct.
This time through, however, opened up the idea that To Have and Have Not was a dedication to the modern-day working poor, the “conches,” of Key West during the Great Depression. Based on my slowly acquired understanding of Hemingway, I believe that he had an affinity for these simple, hard-working people. Hemingway drank cheap rum with them in the clapboard bars of Kew West, and considered their hard work worthy of his respect.
The conches grubbed, fished, and smuggled in order to live, and they lived at the bottom of society. They were often times considered as outcasts by an absentee government. They were in the way of an outside desire to transform Key West into a luxury destination populated by the type of rich tourists depicted in Hemingway’s novel. The conches were also on the receiving end of fallout from the political turmoil and revolutionary fighting taking place in Cuba located just 90 miles away.
To Have and Have Not is still a poorly assembled novel, but it captures a people in their time. It’s a snapshot of them. Consequently, it captures a people that would have otherwise been forgotten.
December 10, 2022
Everything will be awfully jolly in the morning...
The story is told from different characters’ perspective, but the main focus is on Harry Morgan, owner of a fishing boat who out of desperation does unlawful jobs for questionable individuals.
The story is told from different characters’ perspective, but the main focus is on Harry Morgan, owner of a fishing boat who out of desperation does unlawful jobs for questionable individuals.
July 18, 2021
Clearly not Hem’s greatest work sandwiched as it was between two of his great masterpieces about Spain, A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls. I had read the first third of the book as part of his Complete Stories, but despite the action being well-described and the dialogues being as realistic as usual form Hemingway, the book as a whole comes off disjointed. This was a period of life for Hemingway during which his married life with Pauline was falling apart and his love affair with Martha was taking off (only to die out with a whimper almost as soon as they were married). The characters are taken from folks in his life and incidents both real and imagined. The description of Key West as it transitions from a disconnected backwater to a tourist trap (mostly owing to Hemingway’s celebrity) is vivid and makes me wish I had seen that older, wilder Key West rather than the drunk frat boy / Jimmy Buffett / oriental tourists taking selfies version that is has become since.
The interest for this particular book lies in its documenting of this period of H’s life, a few sections of stream of consciousness prose (particularly when Dorothy is masturbating towards the end), and the action scenes. It is to be read AFTER having hit the true highlights of H’s career: The Sun Also Rises, the Spanish novels mentioned above, and the The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingways.
Don't miss my review of the Meyer biography of Hemingway: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The interest for this particular book lies in its documenting of this period of H’s life, a few sections of stream of consciousness prose (particularly when Dorothy is masturbating towards the end), and the action scenes. It is to be read AFTER having hit the true highlights of H’s career: The Sun Also Rises, the Spanish novels mentioned above, and the The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingways.
Don't miss my review of the Meyer biography of Hemingway: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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