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The Old Man and the Sea
£0.80
The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.
The Old Man and the Sea served to reinvigorate Hemingway’s literary reputation and prompted a reexamination of his entire body of work. The novel was initially received with much popularity; it restored many readers’ confidence in Hemingway’s capability as an author. Its publisher, Scribner’s, on an early dust jacket, called the novel a “new classic”, and many critics favorably compared it with such works as William Faulkner’s 1942 short story The Bear and Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (15 Mar. 2022), Pharos Books |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 591 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 78 pages |
by Richie
A simple and gripping read. A great story of ambition and perseverance against Hope’s of the young. A must read.
by Wavering
I have read several Hemingway books recently and thought “pretty good but not that amazing”. Then I read this and realised the huge gulf between genius and the rest of us. I was totally gripped – 90 pages of epic battle against nature. Astounding.
by Amazon Customer
First Hemingway book I’ve read, and loved it. Full of meaning for those wanting to delve into that side of things, but also just a great story on the surface. Incredibly readable and captivating. Highly recommend for all ages.
by Amazon Customer
I’m always sceptical at low prices but it’s a good version. The book itself gets 4 stars, entertaining and interesting style
by Millie
A story to inspire a person not to give up no matter how hard life gets! Its an old story and everyone knows the Author.
by Carol Collins
Disliked it being too short.
by FictionFan
The old fisherman Santiago’s luck has run out. For eighty-four straight days he hasn’t caught a fish, and is surviving only with the help of the young boy, Manolin, who once fished with him but whose parents have now insisted he go out with another luckier boat instead. Manolin feels an intense loyalty to old Santiago, and helps him each day with his gear, catching bait, and even buying him food when Santiago’s funds run out.
On this day it will be different. A fish takes Santiago’s bait – a huge marlin, so big that Santiago can’t pull him in. As the marlin sets out to sea, dragging Santiago’s little skiff behind him, Santiago must decide whether to cut the line or run with the fish. And so it becomes a matter of will, as Santiago battles with nature, with his own failing strength, with growing exhaustion and with his pride as a fisherman.
This is a beautifully written and absorbing short tale – mesmerising, almost, as hour after hour passes and still the fish won’t tire. Although written in the third person, once Santiago is alone on the sea with his fish, the reader is taken directly into his thoughts. He is a simple man, and his mind dwells on great successes and failures of his past, a lifetime’s experience all guiding his actions in this moment. He knows he is at the limit of his physical endurance as the line cuts his calloused hands each time the fish changes pace. He recognises that the pride of youth has given way to the humility of age, and wonders when that happened. But he still has enough pride to want to kill this fish, although he loves it for its strength and will and beauty.
I suspect people have read all sorts of symbolism into this over the years and maybe there is lots and I just missed it. But for me, this is simply a tale well-told, by a man who clearly knew what he was talking about. As usual with Hemingway, there’s a degree of pondering on the meaning of masculinity, though less overtly than in the couple of longer novels of his I’ve read. It’s an old theme, man against nature, and Hemingway brings nothing new to it except his wonderful prose. And that alone makes this well worth reading.
by Bob Hurley
Santiago, The Old Man, and Manolin, the young boy, have a wonderful relationship. Master and Apprentice, Grandad and Granson, Teacher and Pupil. This tells the story of the old man running out of luck, the boy joins another boat and then the old man’s struggle to fish alone. The tale highlights all the strengths and weakness we get as we grow older, better mental decisions, better thought processes, experience of things in life, how to handle the problems as they arise. However with age also comes weaknesses, physical ageing, mental ageing, acceptance of hhose weaknesses and then the losses that occur as a part of our ageing. Quite a sad tale of an old man and his expantancy of his life not having long to go.