93 pages
English language
Published July 26, 1996 by Scribner.
The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal -- a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.
Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
I was not impressed, but definitely entertained. Good writing, it made me feel things, definitely. But at the end of the day... that is it. Just a single-afternoon short story about an old man having a very rough couple days at work trying to gain back some respect from himself. I hope he is fine, now.
I read this classic in one sitting, under the summer sun but feeling completely out from this world. The novel felt so familiar that I had to check many times that I really hadn't read it before. Of course the story of an old, down-to-earth, simple fisherman with his relationship towards the ocean (very classically described as feminine, powerful and erratic yet very loving and soothing) is known from decades ago, but the story itself didn't carry any surprises either. Instead it was told in a very calm, declaratory way.
For this story the style worked perfectly, it was almost like narrated by someone who doesn't speak anything but the necessary, just focusing on the basics without any dramatization, but obviously it means that this is not a ground-breaking novel either. Good reading for the hammock by the lake.
