It is hard to review this book. While I loved Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Toll, this book didn’t do it for me. It’s not because I don’t like Hemingway’s style (I actually ike the way in which he writes: so dry and so powerfully), but this book is nothing compared to others works by him.

I haven’t watched the film, but for my very quick investigation about it, it has nothing to do with this book. The novel is about a man, Henry Morgan (aka. Harry), who is driven to extremes in order to provide for his family. Mind you, he is probably one of the most bad-ass characters I’ve ever read. There’s a moment in which he loses an arm and he says that he’ll go on doing his thing. And that’s one of the most awesome moments in the novel. Because of that and his eternal strife to support his family by whatever means he has available, it’s pretty hard not to like Harry. And it’s fun (it always happens to me with Hemingway), because he’s so typically male and conservative in his ideas about women. But I cannot help but liking him, he seems like a decent guy. Yes, I’m perfectly aware of what he does in the novel, including that bit about the Chinese immigrants trying to get to Key West. He’s quite a jerk about them, to say the truth.

One of the coolest things about this novel, regarding its structure, is the way in which the action is narrated. We get to see different perspectives from the main characters and so on, and they are artfully woven in the novel. So, that was pretty cool. Even if the novel didn’t get to me because of the plot and the characters (save Harry, let’s all love Harry), the way in which Hemnigway uses the different points of view. And if you know your literary theory, you probably know that he was very keen on showing only surfaces and hiding a lot of stuff (I can’t forget “Hills Like White Elephants”, that plays around with this incredibly well). So, by showing only surfaces but from different perspectives, he kind of gives us better perspective of the entire situation. But the thing is that you have to be the one who wraps it all up. He’s not the writer to give you everything in a silver platter; you have to work for it. I know that there are people who find him unbelievably tricky and cryptic, but in the end, I think it’s better when writers make you work for it. At least, I enjoy the reading a lot more.

As said before, this is not the best Hemingway I’ve read. It didn’t move as much as other books by him. But it is still interesting from the structural point of view. So, I would only recommend it if you’re interested in literary craft, rather than characters and so on. If then, do read this. But don’t expect Hemingway at his best (which is incredible).