To Have and Have Not

by Ernest Hemingway

In 1944, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in a great film; a film that brought these two stars together for the first time both on and off the screen and lit up Hollywood. The film wasn't quite as good as Casablanca (which it was basically reprising) but it was still a great film.

This book is not that film. Although the film was based upon the book, the screenplay altered just about everything except the main character's name. To Have and Have Not tells the story of Harry Morgan, a down on his luck boat operator who is forced to make smuggling runs between Key West and Cuba. While the book has moments of greatness, it's not nearly as likeable as the movie.

My recommendation? See the movie.

The Fool's Tale

by Nicole Galland

This is a story that takes place in Wales in the year 1198. Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon (known to his intimates as Noble) is king of a small Welsh kingdom that is constantly struggling with its more powerful neighbors. As the book opens he takes to wife Isabel, the niece of his Norman rival, Roger Mortimer. Isabel has a difficult time adjusting to the strange, and often neo-pagan, customs of her new Welsh kingdom but she has an even harder time adjusting to Noble's philandering and most especially to the brazen and rude humor of Noble's best friend: the castle prankster Gwirion.

The book centers around these three central characters: Noble, the quintessential monarch who manages to be both selfish and selfless at the same time as only a monarch can be; Isabel who struggles with homesickness and the many restrictions placed upon her life as the political consort of a Welsh monarch; and Gwirion who in some ways is the most complex character in the story.

This was a very engaging read and I found it hard to put it down. Be cautioned though, there is A LOT of sex in this story. None of it is graphic (nothing stronger than a PG-13) but there is quite a lot of it and indeed the entire plot hinges around it.

If you have it lying around, give it a read. Otherwise, I would only recommend you seek it out if you're really into this kind of story.