A review by candicescag
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

2.0

Disclaimer: this was the first Hemingway book I've read. I wish I'd started off with something else, like one of his "masterpieces", because this one left me frustrated, exhausted, and disappointed, even a bit disgusted. I started out thinking I was really going to enjoy it, and liked the affectionate tones and his style of writing. By the end of the novel I felt like I was stuck in a room with a drunk man that was making me listen to a drawn out, glorified, story of his life and all the indulgences and machismo and booze-fueled sentimentality that is unbearable when you're the sober one listening. I really had to muscle through the third part of the novel and did not enjoy anything about that part. I will try Hemingway again but I think I'll have less patience for the paternal arrogance.