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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN: 9780684801223
ISBN: 0684801221
Label: Scribner
Manufacturer: Scribner
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 128
Publication Date: 1995-05-05
Publisher: Scribner
Studio: Scribner

Here, for a change, is a fish tale that actually does honor to the author. In fact The Old Man and the Sea revived Ernest Hemingway's career, which was foundering under the weight of such postwar stinkers as Across the River and into the Trees. It also led directly to his receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1954 (an award Hemingway gladly accepted, despite his earlier observation that "no son of a bitch that ever won the Nobel Prize ever wrote anything worth reading afterwards"). A half century later, it's still easy to see why. This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head (or hand-to-fin) with a magnificent marlin encapsulates Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical and moral challenge. Yet Santiago is too old and infirm to partake of the gun-toting machismo that disfigured much of the author's later work: "The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords." Hemingway's style, too, reverts to those superb snapshots of perception that won him his initial fame:

Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin. He saw it first when it jumped in the air, true gold in the last of the sun and bending and flapping wildly in the air.

If a younger Hemingway had written this novella, Santiago most likely would have towed the enormous fish back to port and posed for a triumphal photograph--just as the author delighted in doing, circa 1935. Instead his prize gets devoured by a school of sharks. Returning with little more than a skeleton, he takes to his bed and, in the very last line, cements his identification with his creator: "The old man was dreaming about the lions." Perhaps there's some allegory of art and experience floating around in there somewhere--but The Old Man and the Sea was, in any case, the last great catch of Hemingway's career. --James Marcus

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Rekindling the Connection
Review: This is my favorite Hemingway work by far, although I've also enjoyed some of his other books. To me, this one stands out because Hemingway's prose perfectly matches the grace and silent strength of Santiago, who is one of the most endearing fictional characters I've ever encountered. True, there isn't a lot of plot here, and I remember thinking it was slow when I read it in high school (even though I ended up liking it), but upon a recent second reading I found it compelling, inspiring, and ultimately life affirming. It can be bleak, of course, but the ending left me satisfied and strangely at peace. I suppose people read this book in many different ways, but for me it's the story of Santiago's triumph over age and pain and loneliness, the story of his rediscovered dignity and the rekindling of his connection to life, nature, and other people. Great book.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Elegantly Written
Review: What a wonderful read this book is. It is not Hemingway's best nor is it as complex as his other works but it is still enjoyable, and just as worthwhile as many of his earlier classics.

I am not going to dwell much about the story as it is short and it is easy to give away too much of it. In a way this book is the supreme example of Hemingway's descriptive style, he goes in almost ridiculous detail about fishing and yet he still manages to create a unforgettable main character - the old man, Santiago, who suffers immensely in his battle with a beautiful giant marlin. Santiago, who in many ways resembles the suffering Christ is companioned by a young boy who, not unlike the apostles, shows unbound love and affection for the old man.

This book is mostly meditation on mans struggle against nature - and in many ways it is what fiction should be, beautiful written and filled with drama and tragedy. Yet it still fails short of Hemingway's larger works like A Farewell to Arms. Not to worry though as it is still a good read and I'd recommend it for the beautiful writing alone (phenomenal descriptions) and its intriguing story.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Classic worth reading!
Review: I hate even trying to use the term "review" when in regard to a literary classic. I'm not reviewing it -- not passing judgment and critique, but rather lending my own comments on what I thought of the book. So in this case,"commentary" is likely the better choice.
Frankly, I love Hemingway. I love this style, his approach, and this is one of the best true "classics" that I've read. It's his phrasing and sentences that I've always liked -- the short, abrupt, near-drone is soothing, after a time. The Old Man and the Sea, like some of the other short works I've read by the author, takes a bit of time to settle into. When I'm half-expecting extravagant style and dialogue and vocabulary, the simplicity is calming. Hemingway is a literal writer, and his realism is starkly penetrating.
The main character -- Santiago -- is realistic, honorable. One can't pin the title of the "hero" of the novel to him -- he's anything but that. But he is the protagonist, alongside his marlin co-protagonist and foe. Brief insights into his life prove interesting and expand the character. He's likeable, and Hemingway's clarity provides us with a good mental picture of him.
All in all, there's nothing whatsoever to complain about in the novel. If you haven't read it, just go read it.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fascinating and deeply moving.
Review: I've read it three times, and as I age, I find more truth, pain, and life than I had previously. A great read worth repeating.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great Read
Review: I used to be embarassed to tell people I hadn't read this book. I was right to be embarassed. Once I started, I read it in one night. Great short story, brings out a ton of emotions

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