Islands in the Stream

Hemingway Does It Better Than Anyone

Islands in the Stream is the best Hemingway novel that I have read to date with the possible exception of The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway can make the reader feel what he is feeling and experience what he is experiencing better than anyone else. When I read commercial literature, I finish with a feeling of nothingness. When I read Hemingway, I feel the challenge of life. If you are scared to cry and to hurt and at the same time not give up, stay away from Hemingway. You cannot handle him. But if you wish to 'suck the marrow' from life, grab Islands in the Stream. Read it. Savor it. Let it take you to places you have never been before and experience the deep emotions of life.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books I've read

"Islands in the Stream" is the story of how a man deals with a devastating loss. Though the main character is very masculine and tough, Hemingway reveals his sensitivity through his actions, words, and most important, by what he leaves unsaid. This book touched my heart.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

My Thoughts

Ernest Hemingway¿s novel, Islands in the Stream, is broken into three sections, one in Bimini, two in Cuba, and three at sea. I choose the book because I had previously read The Old Man and the Sea and I loved it. I asked my father for to recommend me a book similar to that and this is what he chose. The different sections of the book shinned light on the different attitudes the main character developed through the novel. Honestly, I liked the book. It was nothing spectacular, but it was well written and very interesting. I spend a lot of time in the Island of Bimini and have gazed upon the sunsets and the beaches Hemingway so accurately depicts. The reason I do not love the book is because although the book hints at many messages, I don¿t believe that Hemingway had a particular purpose in mind when he wrote it. The authors tone is very dynamic. The time Hudson spent with his boys differs from the time Hudson spent in Cuba, which differs from the time Hudson spent at sea. In Bimini Hudson was happy. He had a good thing going for himself. He had a solid work ethic which involved exercise in the mourning, painting in the afternoon, and reading in the evenings. During the summer, he stopped working because his children came to stay with him on the island. Hudson enjoyed his summers in Bimini until his boys died. Once Hudson left Bimini and moved to Cuba, he was a different man. He no longer was an artist and he seemed to take a lot less joy out of life. The mood of the book had darkened. Later on, in the third act, Hudson is chasing down a group of Germans who have committed murder. He is the captain of his vessel and he took his job very seriously and his men respected him for it. The tone of the final section of the book is one of authoritive command. Hudson was a leader, and he repressed his own feelings to appear stronger for his crew. What I gained out of the book is to work first and play later. If you mix the both, neither activities are well done or enjoyed. Thomas Hudson lived on a tropical island with a few friends who were all borderline alcoholics. If he did not distinguish work from play, he would never have gotten anything done. Also in the novel Hudson suffers the loss of his three sons and ex-wife. He did not spend much time with his children, but the time he did spend with them was very precious. When his children died he drank heavily. He moved to Cuba, and did some reconnaissance work for the U.S. Army. He let the tragedy of his children¿s death get the best of him. He was not the same person afterwards and it showed. What I took from this is that remembrance of life is important, but to dwell and long for the impossible is just a waist. While living in Cuba, Hudson was naturally lonely. He resorted to cats and prostitutes for love and affection. As much as Hudson tried to shun himself away from the world, people still need companionship. In the end, I would recommend this book because it does send multiple messages and I can personally relate to many of the experiences Hemingway wrote of in Bimini.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I Wish I Had Never Read This Book

This is by far one of the most powerful and gratifying books I have ever read. I often wish I had never read it, so that I may open it once again and read it for the first time. Hemmingway's work is simply amazing. And what a magnificent last book as well...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Snowyice

She pads around

Gleamingheart to you two

*drops down and her fur is black and she has a thin glowing white streak down her back* this place is stripping me of my powers

Enderfur

Padd to main camp

d

Next to the medicine den, the nursery is found in a cave of soil under a root of the tree. Sunlight filters in from empty spaces in the roof, and fresh air can be foumd all around the large, underground cave.

*+*CrystalHeart*+*

Flamekit

Leans in and whispers to Shadowkit,"Yeah! Should we ask Shimmerkit if she wants to come or just go?"

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Hemingway Fan

My favorite Hemingway Book. Thomas Hudson is one of my favorite Hemingway characters too!

Islands in the Stream

Islands....is my favorate works of Papa. Normally I don't like a movie as much as I like the book but Island's is the exception. In this work, the character Thomas Hudson is reversed; Thomas is a painter who wishes to be artist while Hemingway tried to paint. The character and Hemingway share a great number traits; both have an older son to a first marriage and two by a second, both lived in Bimini (Papa only rented a room above The Complete Angler) but both had a love for the Gulf Stream and fishing. The interplay between the the three boys, Thomas and the author reveal the pain both shared about the boys and the lingering love for past partners. The tragedy in their bitter-sweet lives plays out extremely well and brings author and reader close together. A great treat for anyone who reads Hemingway. If you, by chance, get a copy of the movie staring George C. Scott, the movie will bring a smile to your face and possible a tear to your eye as both are great works and both should have a spot in your libray.

Islands in the Stream

the book is not as good as I thought it would be. But there are some good parts in the story and I would not recommend reading Islands in the Stream but you could if you want to.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

First Experience

'Islands in the Stream' is the first Hemingway book I have ever read, however, I was not familiar with his style of writing and it was hard for me to get into the story at first. After reading a few chapters I understood his style and the reading became very interesting. He presented the main character, Tom as a painter and adventurer. The mood of the story changes many times.Tom has more than his share of misfortune, but through it all he stays strong. Hemingway has a very descriptive style of presenting his characters and the settings they are in. He describes them down to the smallest detail.He also has a flair for setting the scene in your mind as you read. By the time I finished this story, I had made the decision that I would read another one of his books. I recommend this book to anyone who likes story with a lot of adventure,some good and some bad.

Good eye for inner life of cats

Michael Palin followed Ernest Hemingway's trail through Europe Africa and N. America. He spent some time in Key West, where thousands of tourists try to get to know Hemingway a bit by seeing his house and cats descendents. A better way might be to read the middle of Islands in the Stream, where you can meet Boise and his offspring and share his suffering as Thomas Hudson is called to sea in World War II as a submarine skipper.

the paper was his canvas

Unlike teenagers who might sometimes read books they find in their old man's study, most who read this will be thrill and floored that ernest used timely calculations and measured phrase, allowing the reader to jump in to his past, allbeit considered fiction, to know the man as even at times his own family could not. His therapy was sadly at times not to express himself to those who mattered, but to the canvas, with the understanding that the pen was his paintbrush. He combined long and choppy strokes, starting the reader off slow, yet bringing each of us down to that beach in bimini, with the rummys, the thoughts, the aspirations and the tragedy. A beautiful work that transends time. P. Chadz is a close resemblance in the modern day, where as his book concerning the days he spend in the service seem to be an quiet expresssion of all he saw that was both wrong and right and mirrors his text with the same sureness, yet also shows signs of his own mortality.

A Disappointment

I wish I could say that reading Islands in the Stream was a pleasurable experience. Unfortunately I found it distasteful and abusive of certain beliefs that I hold to be true. The entire storyline was depressing and it left a bad taste in my mouth in the conclusion. After reading the book I saw the movie and it didn't impress me much, either. All in all, I cannot recommend this book to anyone unless they like to be depressed and they like to waste their time.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Very Very Excellent

He's one of My favorite authers

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