The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Published by Arrow Books
Paperback
Published 2014 (first published 1952)
99 pages
Owned

Find out about the author I have challenged myself to read four classic novels this year. For the purposes of this I have defined a classic novel as a modern classic, a classic from the days of yore (I did say that) and a book that can be found on any of the hundreds of lists of classic novels you can find online. This is my first choice. I will likely read one every quarter. WHAT'S IT'S ABOUT

Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Hemingway's magnificent fable is the story of an old man, a young boy and a giant fish. In a perfectly crafted story, which won for Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a unique and timeless vision of the beauty and grief of man's challenge to the elements in which he lives.

OPENING

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I confess: I've never read Hemmingway before. I'm sure this is some sort of crime.

I loved The Old Man and the Sea. It's the perfect kind of story. I found this fable hugely enjoyable. The premise of The Old Man and the Sea seems fairly simple; an old man, who's gone more than eighty days without catching a fish, ventures out further in pursuit of a fish and endangers everything. However, this fable is much more complex than it first appears. I thought the characters were great as well, richly drawn, vivid and memorable. I could clearly picture them. The Old Man and the Sea has an amazing sense of place. I felt like I was right beside the old man in his boat, far out at sea. I'd highly recommend The Old Man and the Sea and definitely plan to read more Hemmingway.

I'm thirty-five years old and live in Glasgow in the UK with my partner of ten years. I work in a support team for a call centre. I like reading especially Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King. I write fiction and poetry. I enjoy watching TV (Grimm, Torchwood, Doctor Who, Lip Service, The L Word etc). I like to play video games and am a fan of survival horror especially the Silent Hill franchise. I like to watch movies especially horror and anything where someone dies. View all posts by pamelascott30

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