The Old Man and the Sea
Ratings1,000
Average rating3.7
The book is a sad, but beautifully written book. The book I feel discusses the topic of being loneliness and how it can sometimes affect a person. I also like the way Ernest Hemingway described things in detail. I also liked the simplistic setting of this book. This was my first Ernest Hemming way book and I can't wait to read more from him.
A brilliant work of fiction by Ernest hemingway!
The way he writes is one of my favorites. His style of writing does influence people to do something. As in this book he gives us a moral that we should never loose our hope and we should try our best to achieve what we want.
Ernest Hemingway did not disappoint in this simple but strong story about an old man who refuses to give in to old age or fatigue when he sets out to sea in order to fish once again. What I loved about this story was how easily Hemingway drew me in through the old man's thoughts. I found myself thinking about my own life, and the resilience we all have. Also, Hemingway's obvious respect for the wisdom, tenacity and the courage of old age was a surprise.
And as a nature lover myself, I appreciated how he wove his love for nature into the fisherman's battle to bring another big one in, to prove once again that he still had the mettle to be out there battling the elements.
As a writer, I'm aware of how many breaks and chapters contemporary authors weave into their stories today. After all, we are all easily distracted and our attention spans have shrunk. And yet, this novel, with no chapters and no breaks, did not drag. It kept me turning the page with no
Here's the thing: read it in 9th grade honors English class, don't remember being terribly impressed with it. I'm not a Hemingway fan. However, I taught it to my summer school students, and while they echoed the thoughts f 14-year-old me, I was surprised to find a better book than I thought I would in the book, if not a literary masterpiece. The allegory gets a little heavy-handed at the end. I don't anticipate having to re-read it again (or doing so willingly).
With the possible exception of [b:The Torrents of Spring 114240 The Torrents of Spring Ernest Hemingway http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348966035s/114240.jpg 1767375] (I've pretty much repressed most of my memories of this one), there's been at least one scene in every Hemingway novel I've read this year where someone recounts (or has) a man against nature or man against animal experience. Frequently, this is the best part of the book. So it's not surprising that the time he threw out all the rest – war, love, dissipated living, etc. – and just focused on that element, man vs. the natural world, that he wins The Pulitzer. Here he's really at his strongest. I've read a lot of theories/takes on what Hemingway was really trying to say here, what/who the Old Man symbolized, who/what the giant marlin symbolized, who/what the Sea symbolized, and so on. Or that this is a minimalistic Moby Dick (if so, great, it's needed!). And some of these might be right, a lot of them are full of more hokum than the typical literary criticism. I think it ‘s equally valid to go more surface-y on this one. Looking at how Hemingway lived his life, I tend to want to go for this being a straight-forward story of a regular guy, down on his luck that runs into the challenge of his life and comes out on top – momentarily, at least – and then has to fight for survival and the chance to do it again.And as such, it succeeds. I really was gripped throughout (something I can't say I've experienced with Papa before), after a slow (but necessary) introductory few pages, this story takes off and you just can't help but feel for this Old Man and his last-ditch effort to eke out a living. I know it annoys some readers, but I enjoyed his talk of “the great DiMaggio,” his fisherman father, and the rest of MLB. I'm guessing these readers haven't worked long hours alone – you have to do something to keep your wits about you, and you tend to get a little more eccentric than you otherwise would've. That part rang utterly true, and was amusing anyway.A strong, deceptively-quick, compelling read. If nothing else, you get a feisty, elderly Cuban laying a beat-down on some sharks. That's enough, right?
Having never read Hemingway I felt it time to rectify the situation.
Absolutely straightforward prose about an old man and a giant fish. I mean it borders on ridiculous, as if it the whole thing was translated from Spanish into spare English verse.
“Fish,” he said, “I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”
So maybe I'm swayed by the mythos surrounding Hemingway. It just feels like a classic fish story told over beers sweating in the tropical heat. Santiago isn't having a dry spell, we're talking 84 fucking days without a nibble. When he finally lands a fish he doesn't wrestle with it for a few hours but several fucking days as it drags him out into the ocean. He finally kills it, lashes it to his boat and heads back to shore. And of course he has to beat off sharks, fucking sharks! with his bare hands, as they eat his fish out from under him so that he comes back with nothing. And you know what? He just went right back out there the next day. Man, that Santiago was a tough fucker.
More than the sum of its parts, but although I enjoyed it, I could not say why it enjoys the sterling reputation it does in the literary world.
Old man vs fish, then fish gets eaten by sharks. That's basically it, man fights nature. But the sentences conveys a terse, tense feel despite the simple tale.
The first time I read this book, I hated it. What the hell is it all about, I thought?
Then I read it again, a decade later, and felt every minute of everything. Santiago's despair, pride, loneliness, bravery.
Who knows what will happen in ten years. Talk to you then.
Another book I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I hadn't read previously. I really like the relationship between the man and the fish. Sad but redemptive.
The Old Man and the Sea was possibly the worse choice I've ever made for a read-a-thon. The old man spends most of the book fighting the fish, weary, exhausted, tired. I'm not at all interested in fish but Hemingway is a writer I like, thin and lean.
Ernest Hemingway may be a classic novelist and reformer of 20th century literature, but I didn't really like his pulitzer prize winning novella The old man and the sea. The main character Santiago (referenced throughout the entire book mostly as the “old man”) is on a journey of some sort to find a balance between nature and humanity. This quite, simple book does make the person dig much deeper because of its simplicity. The novella has many references towards larger main ideas including some from the bible. It would seem like a quick read, but takes longer because of all the questions that'll go through your mind. I give it 2.5 out of four stars but you can't give half stars here...
Questo libro lo lessi in un pomeriggio, ero giovane e stavo stravaccato sul divano mentre i miei amici giocavano al pallone in cortile e io ero stato completamente risucchiato da queste pagine. Sentivo l'odore del mare, l'odore di Santiago, il suo dolore alle mani, il sole che picchiava forte sulla schiena. Per tre ore/tre giorni sono rimasto con lui a lottare con quel pesce spada, ho conosciuto il rispetto per quel pesce e il rispetto in generale, ho capito come sia alla fine inutile lottare contro la morte e la vecchiaia, ma come tante piccole cose possono aiutarci a essere felici. Imperdibile.