Review
WL Rating
Islands in the Stream was the first of Hemingway’s posthumously published books, and as such, was eagerly awaited. The novel’s final edit was handled by Mary Hemingway and Charles Scribner. Many die-hard Hemingway fans expressed disappointment with the novel, but there is much good in the book. The novel is divided into three sections: Bimini, Cuba and At Sea. A fourth piece also existed, but Hemingway opted to release that section as a novella, The Old Man and the Sea. The main character, Thomas Hudson, is essentially a thinly veiled version of the author. The first section does a solid job of introducing the reader to Hudson and his simple, yet pleasurable, existence with his children. Cuba, the second section, takes place some years later during the Second World War, and is a darker, heavier narrative. The final section, At Sea, covers Hudson in his role as a Nazi submarine hunter. It’s the most powerful of the three sections, but it also leaves the reader with a bit of an unfinished feeling (possibly due in part to the fact that Old Man was supposed to the be the final section). While devout Hemingway fans may not love this book, it does seem to capture much of the author’s maturity and is a good read. (July 2008)
Islands in the Stream - Ernest Hemingway
