Product Description

Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Hemingway's magnificent fable is the tale of an old man, a young boy and a giant fish. This story of heroic endeavour won Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature. It stands as a unique and timeless vision of the beauty and grief of man's challenge to the elements.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28939 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-06
• Released on: 1999-02-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Review
"'The best story Hemingway has written...No page of this beautiful master-work could have been done better or differently' Sunday Times"

Without a word misplaced Hemingway sets down the dignity and frailty of a time-worn fisherman whose strength is failing him but who nevertheless honours a bargain long ago struck with the ocean. This fable won Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. (Kirkus UK)

A long short story and worth the money in quality of the old Hemingway of Men Without Women days - though in quantity it can't bulk to more than a scant 150 pages. A unique fishing story - as old man Santiago determines to try his luck in the Gulf waters off Cuba for the eighty fifth day. Surely his luck will change, he assures his faithful young friend whose parents wouldn't let him fish any more in such an ill-fated boat. So the boy goes along in imagination with the old man, pretending that there is enough food in the shanty- and supplementing the lacks from his own table; pretending that bait could be found- and bringing him sardines; planning for getting some warmer clothes for him and lugging water from the village pump; talking gaily of the great "DiMag" and of the game the Yankees are sure to win. And then the old man goes out - beyond the other fishing boats - and drops his lines in the way he has always done, and baits the hooks so that his hoped for great fish could smell and taste. The miracle happens - and the fish, a giant marlin, is bigger than any fish dreamed of. And the old man is alone....The story of that battle, that carried him out to sea and lasted through two days and two nights, is one of the miniature modern classics of such writing. And the story of the sailing back to port, as little by little the scavengers of the sea stripped what was to have been his livelihood for months to come, down to the skeleton, is grim and heartbreaking. A miracle tale, told with such passionate belief that the reader, too, believes. There's adventure here and Hemingway's old gift for merging drama and tenderness gives it a rare charm. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
Set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Hemingway's magnificent fable is the tale of an old man, a young boy and a giant fish. This story of heroic endeavour won Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature. It stands as a unique and timeless vision of the beauty and grief of man's challenge to the elements.

About the Author
Ernest Hemingway was born in Chicago in 1899, the second of six children. In 1917, he joined the Kansas City Star as a cub reporter. The following year, he volunteered as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, where he was badly wounded but decorated for his services. He returned to America in 1919, and married in 1921. In 1922, he reported on the Greco-Turkish war before resigning from journalism to devote himself to fiction. He settled in Paris, associating with other expatriates like Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. He was passionately involved with bullfighting, big-game hunting and deep-sea fishing. Recognition of his position in contemporary literature came in 1954 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea. He died in 1961.

Customer Reviews

The Old Man and the Sea
This is probably the best book ever crafted of this length. It is short, but extremely elegant. Hemingway's terse style truly shines through in this book and the imagery is outstanding. The story keeps you as hooked as the fish on the old man's line and you feel the frustrations and triumphs as keenly as he does. Simply beautiful and one of the best examples of why Hemingway is loved so. Well worth a go.

Turning in his grave...
I don't know why I'm still surprised by the ignorance of 'Americans'. The book is wonderful and poignant. It is men like Hemingway who made America great! He was a hunter, a fisherman and an incredible man - the likes of which we rarely see today. He was a traveller of the world. It makes me sad to read his work being dissected by people who I doubt have rarely ventured further that their state. Take the time to sail somewhere far away, and meet someone who could possibly have been a character in the book. Then you can possibly appreciate what a classic piece of literature it is, why it has stood the test of time and why it has received such acclaim.

"We must kill our brothers"
I really enjoyed the movie (1990) with Anthony Quinn as Santiago. So I decided it was time to read the book. Well I found the book and the movie paralleled pretty well. How ever I was getting bored with the book it seemed a bit repetitive. The old man kept going on and on about Joe Dimaggio's bone spur.

There were a few places that made me squeamish. One such place is when he gutted a dolphin and had his face stuck in it.

The story is too short to go into detail without revealing the surprises; however it is about (you guessed it) an old fisherman, that should be over the hill, going out to sea from Cuba to catch fish. He has 84 days of bad luck and with any luck this is about to change (or is it?)