Description

First published in 1970, nine years after Ernest Hemingway's death, Islands in the Stream may be the tale of an artist and adventurer -- a guy similar to Hemingway himself. Rich with the uncanny sense of existence and motion attribute of his writing -- from his earliest tales (Within Our Time) to his final novella (The Old Man and the Ocean) -- this powerful book includes both heat of remembrance that impressed A Moveable Feast and a rare view of Hemingwayis rich and calm sense of humor, which enlivens scene after scene. Starting in the 1930s, Islands in the Stream follows the fortunes of Thomas Hudson from his experiences as a painter on the Gulf Stream island of Bimini, where his isolation is damaged by the holiday visit of his three young kids, to his antisubmarine activities off the coast of Cuba during World-War II. Vast majority of the tale happens in a Havana club, in which a hugely varied cast of characters -- including an aging hooker who sticks out as you of Hemingway's most vibrant projects -- partcipates in incomparably rich conversation.