Books like To have and have not by Ernest Hemingway
Set in 1936 United States, Hemingway’s only novel to appear in the country, the story depicts an American fishing‑boat skipper who turns to smuggling to support his family. Facing financial strain, he agrees to transport a group of Chinese immigrants from Cuba across the Florida coast, a dangerous venture that tests his moral resolve. The novel explores themes of survival, family hardship, and the underbelly of maritime commerce in the Caribbean region.
First publish date: 1937
Genre: Literary Fiction/Classic Literature
Authors: Ernest Hemingway
★
★
★
★
★
3.6 (5 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for To have and have not by Ernest Hemingway are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to To have and have not (23 similar books)
Of Mice and Men follows two migrant ranch workers—George and Lennie—who dream of owning land while struggling with the hardships of the Great Depression; their friendship is tested by tragedy.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ernest Hemingway’s classic follows an old Cuban fisherman and his young companion as they battle a massive marlin, exploring themes of endurance, solitude, and the human struggle against nature.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece examines the glittering yet hollow glamour of the Roaring Twenties as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby pursues love, wealth, and identity across the social divide.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Alice Walker's 1982 novel, The Color Purple, won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, exploring the lives of black women in the South and their experiences of abuse and struggle for independence.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Phileas Fogg wagers he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, a daring quest that unfolds into a globe‑spanning adventure.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ernest Hemingway’s Louisiana‑born narrator takes readers through the 1920s Lost Generation—expatriates on Paris’s Left Bank, bullfights in Spain, and the era’s moral and spiritual unraveling.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Craig of the Mohicans, a frontier scout turns away from civilization, forming a bond with a Mohican warrior as they escort two sisters across the perilous wilderness of America's frontier.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Joseph Conrad’s 1900 novella follows a young English officer who, after a moment of cowardice, seeks redemption on the high seas, blending seafaring adventure with psychological depth.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel follows Princeton student Amory Blaine as he navigates romance, ambition, and post‑world‑war disillusionment, offering a sharp portrait of the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
An experimental novel by William Faulkner that tells the same events from four distinct perspectives, each with a unique narrative style, charting the decline of a once‑wealthy Southern family.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ernest Hemingway’s nonfiction account celebrates bullfighting as an art form, offering history and personal reflections on its courage and ritualistic nature.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A compact anthology of Ernest Hemingway’s most celebrated early short stories, spanning autobiographical sketches of Michigan, the tense adventure of the title tale set on Kilimanjaro, and evocative European narratives from the World War I era.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Melville's adventure tale of an American sailor's journey to a Polynesian paradise, revealing its flawed aspects.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Set in Mississippi during the Civil War and Reconstruction, The Unvanquished follows the Sartoris family, whose code of personal responsibility and courage embodies the best of Old South traditions.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Nick and Nora Charles navigate a New York murder mystery with wit and charm, turning a hard‑boiled investigation into a sophisticated comedy of manners.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Russian Jewish man named Yakov is wrongfully accused of ritual murder during the Tsarist era.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Herman Wouk’s humorous novel follows a hotelkeeper’s midlife crisis amid the vibrant backdrop of St. Thomas in the 1960s.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A U.S. minesweeper mutiny during World War II unravels in a tense court‑martial, exploring authority, loyalty, and moral ambiguity.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A war‑ravaged American colonel in Italy after World War II falls in love with a young Italian countess.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!