That's Life

Rating: 3/5

Review: The first thing I thought upon finishing this novel was, wow, I'm glad that's over. What a gritty and dismal story! Poor Harry Morgan and his bad choices. He gets gypped by a rich wannabe fisherman, and is suddenly in need of some cash. What does he do? He gets himself an illegal job, takes advantage of the situation, shocks the heck out of me, and it's all down hill from there. The N word was used quite a bit here, too, which was another shocking point. I suppose that has something to do with the era this book was written in, but shocked me nonetheless. I'm thinking maybe Mr. Hemingway was a crude and unsavory man. Could just be his writing, I don't know. I don't remember watching the movie based on this book, but I believe that it is quite different. So, if you like gritty, hardcore, manly books, you may like this one. It is interesting enough until the last few chapters, which is why I gave it a 3 instead of a 2. The description mentions something about a love affair. Not sure where that was supposed to have taken place. I just remember lots of violence and trash talking.

Book Description:
To Have and Have Not is the dramatic story of Harry Morgan, an honest man who is forced into running contraband between Cuba and Key West as a means of keeping his crumbling family financially afloat. His adventures lead him into the world of the wealthy and dissipated yachtsmen who throng the region, and involve him in a strange and unlikely love affair.