Rating: 
Summary: 1 glorious story of life on the stream and 2 that fall short
Review: If the first section on Bimini (the Island on the Stream [the gulf stream for those who still do not understand]) was package by itself it would have received 5 stars. Unfortunatley the latter 2 stories bring the overall rating down somewhat. That too could have been fixed through a little more editing. But regardless I would recommend buying this book to read the first section alone. It gives the depth and feel of what a child or adult on the stream experienced. I must admit when I first read this story I was horrified that the little island Bimini would get more fanfare from this. I had many memorable trips there but it's been years since. But at anytime I can pick up this book read the Bimini section and remember Brown's hotel dock, the Complete Angler, the beauty of the Ocean, the feel of the tradewinds, and the thrill of the fishing. The story of Tom Hudson life on the island almost gives one a jolt of envy that it wasn't them until the following developments that Hemingway is known for. What else can you say? If you enjoy Hemingway, the Sea, and Fishing buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Merely a shadow of For Whom the Bell Tolls
Review: In this hefty novel, Hemingway reincarnates Robert Jordan and the plot and themes of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Being Hemingway, Islands in the Stream is well-written (although not as well as many of his other novels), but there's nothing new here. Islands in the Stream is a last ditch effort by a dying master.
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Summary: the handbook of my youth
Review: islands in the stream became one of the handbooks for the conduct of my early years: adventures in the caribbean, adventures in europe, serious drinking and questions of existence. deep blue water and clear skies ruled my days, and this book was a welcome companion on many lonely nights spent at sea. i can only count myself as lucky that i haven't had to live through the events of part 3. hemingway expresses the dilemma that many people face as they go through life, and touched the inner stuff that makes up my soul with this work. oh yeah-i just love the sheer adventure of the story as well.
Rating: 
Summary: His best piece of work
Review: Islands in the Stream is such a beautiful novel...discriptive and captivating....tragic and joyfull......if you havent read it......you simply must......not to would be a great loss.
Rating:
Summary: A PLEASING WORK
Review: Normally I dislike work published posthumously. I have to admit though, in this case, it worked. I am not a big fan of Hemingway's major novels, but do love his short stories. Of the novels he did write, this one is probably at the top of my list.
Hemingway obviously uses himself as a starting block to weave his story. While the book did receive quite a lot of criticism when it was first published, I suspect much of that came from over paid literary critics and Jr. College "professors" who felt it was "cool" to take shots at the "Big Guy." Actually, parts of this novel contain some of Hemingways best work. I still find Hemingway the man a more interesting study than Hemingway's work, but I suppose you cannot really separate the two. All in all recommend this if your in need of a good dose of classic Hemingway. Recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: In the tropics, they come and they go!
Review: Of the Hemingway books I've read or tried to read, Islands in the Stream is my favorite thus far. All the great and not-so-great elements of his legendary style are here, from the deadpan prose to the men who try too hard to be men, but they all fit together very well in this case. The exotic island setting is perfect for Hemingway's trademark everyday-life-is-an-adventure motif, which for once is wholly convincing. Thomas Hudson, a hard drinking, twice divorced, expatriate American artist, is an all too obvious self-portrait. But his low-key reactions to most of life's ups and downs, the inner demons he mostly keeps a lid on, and his begrudging love of life in spite of it all can surely appeal to the romantic adventurer in all of us. The three sections of the novel, bound only loosely together, follow Thomas from an average day in paradise to a tragicomic reunion with the lost love of his life to a Nazi-hunting adventure off the coast of Cuba. Along the way, there are tragic twists delivered without any sappiness whatsoever, as only Hemingway could do, not to mention a life-or-death fishing scene that rivals "The Old Man and the Sea." I can't imagine why this is being marketed as a love story, as that aspect of the novel is probably its weakest point, although his (very few) women characters are at least marginally more developed and convincing than usual. It's really more a story of escape and coping with the lack of love, and it's one of the best I've ever read of that subgenre. Yes, as others have pointed out, it's a bit uneven and the first section holds up better than the other two; and yes, the editing is imperfect and surely not exactly the way Hemingway would have wanted it. But the whole book is worth reading all the same. Given Hemingway's condition toward the end of his life, we're lucky to have it.
Rating:
Summary: In the tropics, they come and they go!
Review: Of the Hemingway books I've read or tried to read, Islands in the Stream is my favorite thus far. All the great and not-so-great elements of his legendary style are here, from the deadpan prose to the men who try too hard to be men, but they all fit together very well in this case. The exotic island setting is perfect for Hemingway's trademark everyday-life-is-an-adventure motif, which for once is wholly convincing. Thomas Hudson, a hard drinking, twice divorced, expatriate American artist, is an all too obvious self-portrait. But his low-key reactions to most of life's ups and downs, the inner demons he mostly keeps a lid on, and his begrudging love of life in spite of it all can surely appeal to the romantic adventurer in all of us. The three sections of the novel, bound only loosely together, follow Thomas from an average day in paradise to a tragicomic reunion with the lost love of his life to a Nazi-hunting adventure off the coast of Cuba. Along the way, there are tragic twists delivered without any sappiness whatsoever, as only Hemingway could do, not to mention a life-or-death fishing scene that rivals "The Old Man and the Sea." I can't imagine why this is being marketed as a love story, as that aspect of the novel is probably its weakest point, although his (very few) women characters are at least marginally more developed and convincing than usual. It's really more a story of escape and coping with the lack of love, and it's one of the best I've ever read of that subgenre. Yes, as others have pointed out, it's a bit uneven and the first section holds up better than the other two; and yes, the editing is imperfect and surely not exactly the way Hemingway would have wanted it. But the whole book is worth reading all the same. Given Hemingway's condition toward the end of his life, we're lucky to have it.
Rating:
Summary: It's life
Review: People do not understand all the time. It's difficult to realize and release. We know but wait. Waitting for someday or someone.
Rating:
Summary: Unless you LOVE Hemingway... don't bother
Review: The cover reads, "His greatest love story." There is only a tidbit of love speckled here and there. For the most part the novel is completely absent of any females. It actually seems to be 3 books in one with very little connection between them. Part one was very visual and the story flowed excellently. Parts two and three Hemingway completely lost my interest. I couldn't follow where he was taking me, there were so many disconnects, it felt like a smattering of short stories none with any sort of conclusion. I was left wondering why he even included some sections. I found myself forcing myself to finish in hopes there would be a sudden twist and reading this book would have been worthwhile. Unfortunately, I was dissappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Double, No sugar.
Review: The protagonist, artist Thomas Hudson, is a man who endures tremendous personal loss. A truly heroic character in that he stays the course. There's a lot a drinking going on in this novel as Hudson self-medicates, but he's no "rummy," a term which refers to those bad kind of alcholics. The middle section is an extended bar scene with a lot of dialogue and barely any action. But Hudson can't ever seem to get really drunk enough to overcome his depression and angst. Outside of that, there's plenty of violence and high-sea adventure. The scene where Hudson and his son spend several hours with the boy struggling to land a big marlin is the classic initiation through sweat and blood story. It was for me the most touching moment in the book. And when his ex asks him the feared question "Is he dead?" all Hudson can manage to blurt out is "sure," like sure, you can have that reality if you want it. No father who loves his sons can read this book without being deeply touched.
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