Islands in the Stream is the first of the posthumously published works of Ernest Hemingway. The book was originally intended to revive Hemingway’s reputation after the negative reviews of Across the River and Into the Trees. He began writing it in 1950 and advanced greatly through 1951. The work, rough but seemingly finished, was found by Mary Hemingway from among 332 different works Hemingway left behind after his death. Islands in the Stream was meant to encompass three stories to illustrate different stages in the life of its main character, Thomas Hudson. The three different parts... of the novel were originally to be entitled "The Sea When Young", "The Sea When Absent" and "The Sea in Being". These titles were changed, however, into what are now its three acts: "Bimini", "Cuba", and "At Sea". Early in 1950 Hemingway started work on a "sea trilogy", to consist of three sections: "The Sea When Young" ; "The Sea When Absent" ; and "The Sea in Being". The latter was published in 1952 as The Old Man and the Sea.
more