To Have and Have Not

Ernest Hemingway is one of those authors whose books can put hair on your chest.  His entire oeuvre screams masculinity.  In the hands of a less talented writer, his works would have no doubt slipped into caricature.  To Have and Have Not is no exception to this rule.

Told with Hemingway's signature sparseness, the book follows the tale of Harry Morgan. Morgan is a retired cop running booze and the occasional person between Cuba and Florida.  The story picks out a few of his jobs when he is down on his luck as well as focusing on his married life.  To Have and Have Not also focuses on the "haves-" the rich contingent of Key West.  The stories of Harry and the wealthy provide a stark contrast. 

The bits about fishing and the sea are pretty okay.  The thing that I loved about this book, though, was the relationship between Harry and his wife Marie.  Marie is amazing.  She supports Harry and spars with him.  She loves him.  So often in crime stories, the woman puts up with the crime or ends up hating the man and it is not the case in this book.   Hemingway puts such care into showing that these two love each other.  He does this through a (somewhat surprising) sex scene told with only dialogue. He does is with the way off track speculations of writer and Key West big shot Richard Gordon.  The pair has a real chemistry and reading it made me want to watch the film again.  Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were perfectly cast.  I found it almost impossible to read the book without thinking of them.

Hemingway's novel is set in during the Great Depression. Like many stories of days gone by, though, it still rings true today.  This is a book about a man who is struggling to keep his family afloat in a time of great financial hardship.  Harry only takes starts taking the illegal jobs because he cannot make honest money.  While his crimes are going on, we are also shown what it is like for those that do have money.  Richard Gordon and his friends have lives that resemble a soap opera.  The rich have the time to get divorced, to be unhappy, while the poor are working to survive.  The rich have no idea about what the lives of the poor are like, despite their education.  The evident split between the rich and the poor is still reflected today.  And the lack of communication between the two classes makes the book still feel relevant. 

So, there you have it: To Have and Have Not.  I liked it. I mean, there's a lot to be said for brevity.

 

My next read is Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse.