The tail, excuse me, The tale of an elderly fisherman and his not so good friend , a 1,500 lbs. marlin. They meet for lunch and immediately fight over the menu (he wants the fish , as the main course). This disagreement causes some friction. Boys will be boys. So eventually, the two, decide to take a long leisurely voyage , to cool off. What harm can happen? Imagine, Cain and Abel , without the renowned brotherly love..................Either you dislike this modern classic and think it's pretentious or believe the material is sublime...are you being manipulated or is the narrative a heartfelt rendering of an ancient man struggling to tell the world he is relevant, a useful human in an indifferent society that looks at him as worthless, however the surface may not show the truth. The final judgement is yours.

If pressed, I would probably say this is the finest novel ever written in the English language.

I read this in Highschool (as no doubt many people were forced to as well) and amazingly I loved it. I've read some of Hemingway's other work, and they've all been very hit or miss for me… but this one, this one is something special.

He's one of those authors who I think in real life I couldn't stand, in terms of his writing it often frustrates me, but here it is perfect. How does one write essentially a 100 page story about an old man trying to catch one single fish (yes, yes I know I'm drastically understating what is done here)? I don't know. Hell, I've read this book three times and I still don't know.

Seriously, why the hell does this book work? IT SHOULDN'T AND IT KIND OF ANNOYS ME THAT IT DOES.

When we get right down to it, it works by being a story that can be read on multiple levels; analyzed endlessly and yet leave so much unsaid that every reader can read into it their own ideas. This is one of those books I can return to again and again. It's short enough to read in one sitting, and yet I always notice something new each time. A perfect 5/5

Oh, my good lord in heaven. Cut your line, land your boat and go to McDonald's! Just as in the case of The Great Gatsby, I understand the book. Yes, I know it changed the way American writers write. I also understand that it celebrates the ridiculous American idea that you're only a REAL man if you've done something entirely purposeless, but really dangerous, in pursuit of making yourself look like the bull with the biggest sexual equipment. Get over it, already! Go home and clean out the refrigerator, or wash the curtains, or vacuum under the furniture. Pick your kids up from school or take your daughter bra shopping. THAT would impress me. Being too dumb to cut your fishing line? Not the mate I would pick...
The only bright spot about the book is if you think of it on a metaphorical level: there is a point at which ALL of us must grit our teeth and hold on in the face of despair. That is the definition of life. However, if that's the point, then the plot situation needs to be one of necessity (like the shipwreck in Life of Pi), instead of stubbornness.
************
It's been a while since I wrote this review, and there's a lot of amusing speculation in the comments people have attached. I have to say, they crack me up. Here's my final word on reviewing on Goodreads (or anywhere); One of the most important elements of reading is that it allows each of us to react in the way we need to react, without judgment, as we experience the book. This is how I reacted to The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway is dead, or I wouldn't have been so up-front with my opinion. He's not insulted, I understand that we all need goals in life, and I've been happily married for a LONG time. Now take a deep breath and smile. Life is too short to be anxious about picayune stuff like this.

After eighty-five fishless days, Santiago hooks more than he bargained for. Can he battle everything the sea throws at him to land his prize?

In the interest of reading a wider variety of things, I snapped this up like an eighteen-foot marlin bites a baited hook. It was definitely worth a read.

The Old Man and the Sea is the tale of an Old Man. And a Sea. It's man vs. nature at its finest. Hemingway's language is spare but very powerful. I felt every wound and heartbreak along with Santiago and was nearly as worn out as the old fisherman by the end of the tale.

If you haven't already had the ending spoiled for you, do yourself a favor and steer clear of introductions, reviews, and Wikipedia summaries. I knew the ending before I got there due to reading an excerpt in middle school and the experience would have been much better going in cold.

What else is there to say? It didn't win a Nobel Prize for Literature for nothing! For years, the only Hemingway I'd read was The Sun Also Rises and I wasn't overly fond of it. However, The Old Man and the Sea has made me a believer. Four out of five stars.

English required reading. I hated this book. Not a Hemingway fan.

I have been thinking lately, I read these in high school and I was only a young reader. I might go back and re-read this some day, or one of his books since I haven't read anything of his as an adult. Maybe I could appreciate him as an adult. I doubt it, and maybe it needs a 2nd opinion - some day.

*3.5 stars *

Czytałam tę książkę w gimnazjum (była moją lekturą) i choć teraz zrozumiałam ją nieco lepiej, to i tak cieszę się, że zdecydowałam się na audio. W papierze mogło być ciężej.
Styl Hemingwaya jest świetny i bardzo dobrze mi się z nim obcuje, ale uważam, że nie powinno się wymagać od czytelnika przeczytania opracowania, aby w pełni zrozumieć historię.
Brawa dla lektora Krzysztofa Gosztyły.

This was my very first Hemingway and I loved it! However, I am not sure if it broke me for future Hemingway novels. This one was so perfect in its simpleness. When I got to other Hemingway novels it was almost like there was too much in them - I wanted the basics of this book again. That is not to say that I have not enjoyed his other books, but if I had read the others first and wasn't tempted to compare them to this, I would have rated them higher.

So, if you want to read lots of Hemingway, maybe don't start here. I would suggest probably A Farewell to Arms followed by The Sun Also Rises (I don't think I would recommend For Whom the Bell Tolls until you were sure you are into Hemingway)

If you have always thought about reading Hemingway and you just want a taste with the chance that you may not read more, The Old Man and the Sea is a perfect place to start!

"But man is not made for defeat" he said. "A man can be destroyed, but not defeated."
  The Old Man and the Sea ~~  Ernest Hemingway”



I first encountered Hemingway in college while taking a humanities class; the professor had us read Hemingway’s n   The Nick Adams Storiesn. I fell in love with Hemingway’s short stories. I wrote an impassioned paper on the character of Nick and received an “A” for my efforts. Throughout the years, I have returned to Hemingway’s short stories, and novellas, and I have never been disappointed.

Fast forward 15 years: n  The Old Man and the Sean had been on my book shelves for quite some time. I picked it up on a whim on July 21st, in honor of Hemingway’s birthday. So once again, I returned to the world of Ernest Hemingway.



n  The Old Man and the Sean is told with extraordinary simplicity. It is amazing that Hemingway accomplishes so much using so little. Hemingway sacrifices nothing, and shows that brevity is the essence of style here. He clearly draws a portrait of the inner and outer strength of this amazing man. A man who faces each day with a quiet dignity.

n  The Old Man and the Sean is not just a tale of a man and a fish. It is a story of man against nature, and valor, in the face of adversity. Most importantly, it is a story of man and God. To quote  William Faulkner: n  His best. Time may show it to be the best single piece of any of us, I mean his and my contemporaries. This time, he discovered God, a Creator. Until now, his men and women had made themselves, shaped themselves out of their own clay; their victories and defeats were at the hands of each other, just to prove to themselves or one another how tough they could be. But this time, he wrote about pity: about something somewhere that made them all: the old man who had to catch the fish and then lose it, the fish that had to be caught and then lost, the sharks which had to rob the old man of his fish; made them all and loved them all and pitied them all. It’s all right. Praise God that whatever made and loves and pities Hemingway and me kept him from touching it any further.n



Hemingway celebrates the daring and resolve of the old man. Hemingway celebrates this man who goes thru life alone, ferocious, heroic, daring, showing what Hemingway views as the human spirt at its very best. I can’t help but think this is how Papa Hemingway views himself.

There is another story being told here as well; one of the purest, most beautiful stories of friendship I’ve ever read. The old man is not alone. He has a friendship, with a young boy who began fishing with him when the boy was only five. Their story is rooted in love, and mutual respect. The boy has been forced to work with another boat, a luckier boat, by his parents. He dreams of working with the old man once more. When the old man goes to war with the fish, he says repeatedly, “I wish the boy were here.”



I am surprised that there is such animosity towards this brilliant work. Most people are introduced to this work in high school. That is really quite a shame since it is not intended for the young. With their limited life experience, they cannot relate to the old man.

Is there a place for Hemingway’s view of the world today? Politicians’ speak of individualism, and point to rugged individualism. But in this world of Trumps and McConnells, Kardashians and Ye, the individual spirit is trampled on daily. Are there any people left in this world like the old man? I don’t know of any.

To those who criticize this brilliant work, I understand; today we live lives far removed from the old man’s world. But Hemingway forces us to remember the spirit of the individual, the struggle for human dignity in the face of our daily struggles to survive. Hemingway forces us to recognize bravery, tenacity, expertise, skill and strength.

- الشيخ والبحر، احدى افضل القصص التي يكون ظاهرها متيناً وباطنها امتن فعلى سبيل المثال فرواية مثل "مزرعة الحيوان" ظاهرها جيد وباطنها او مقصدها إبداع. اما "الشيخ والبحر" فجمال على جمال...

- قبل الشروع في الرواية لا بد ان اذكر شيئاً شخصياً، فأنا اكره صيد السمك، لأنني لا امتلك الصبر المناسب لذلك رغم اني حاولت: ففي المرة الاولى غفوت في القارب وفي الثانية تركت الأصدقاء وغادرت اما في الثالثة فذهبت الى مينا ابو ظبي واشتريت الأسماك والروبيان العماني وعدت مسروراً :)، لكنني اقدر "صيد السمك" كمهنة واحترمها جداً رغم عدم تفهمي او استيعابي لها كهواية، لكنها تبقى امور شخصية.

- القصة بظاهرها عن صياد سمك هرمٍ، يعاكسه حظّه لأكثر من 80 يوماً، لكن بعدها يحالفه الحظ بأكبر سمكة قد اصطادها يوماً بالإضافة الى قتله عدة أسماك قرش بطريقه. الوصف والسرد والحوارات الداخلية التي اقامها همنغواي كانت رائعة ودقيقة وترجمة منير البعلبكي كانت جيدة جداً.

- رغم ان "الصبر" يلوح كثيمة للرواية، لكنني استبعد ذلك كلياً، فحسبما ارى ان الثيمة هي "الكفاح" وليس الكفاح في سبيل الرزق او الربح المادي بل الكفاح من اجل اشباع الغرور الذاتي واثبات المثبت بالنسبة للصياد نفسه قبل اثباته امام الآخرين! وهذا يتضح في عدة اماكن حيث يصرّح الصياد بذلك. فالصياد الهرم الذي يمتلك بجعبته العديد من الحيل والتقنيات في مواجهة البحر اولاً وكيفية اصطياد السمك ثانياً اراد ان يثبت لنفسه انه لا زال ذلك "البطل" الذي عهده في شبابه وان السنين لم تضعفه وان المسألة من اولها لآخرها مجرد حظ عاثر لا بد ان ينجلي!

- الثيمة الثانية هي "الصداقة" وقد ابدع همنغواي في نسج هذه العلاقة بين الغلام وسانتياجو، علاقة المتدرب بالمدرب والصغير بالكبير، العلاقة التي تتأرجح بين المحبة والشفقة والإقتداء والثقة.

- القصة بباطنها أبعد من صياد واوسع من بحر! وتحتمل العديد من التأويلات: فهي قد تكون قصة الحياة ذاتها، حيث الصياد هو الإنسان بالمطلق، والسمكة-السيف هي الهدف المنشود، والقروش هي المصاعب، والسكين والحربة هي المعرفة والقوة وأدوات المواجهة. قصة الكفاح الإنساني واذا فقد الإنسان سلاحاً (فقد الصياد حربته، انكسر سكينه، فقد الهراوة لاحقاً) عليه بإبتداع حل جديد حتى يصل الى برّ الأمان.

- قصة مميزة أنصح الجميع بها.

"Un hombre puede ser destruido, pero no derrotado."

Cuando yo era chico, a la edad de diez años, acostumbraba a acompañar a mi papá a pescar. A mí no me gustaba la pesca, pero me encantaba verlo a él en todo el esplendor de su pasión.
Mi padre era carpintero, pero los domingos acostumbraba a subir a su lancha “Gui-Fer II” que había reconstruido (era un bote de salvamento de un viejo barco pesquero llamado "Cristo Rey") y pasaba toda la mañana y la tarde pescando en su querida laguna “Brava”.
Una tarde, nos llevó a un lugar más lejano llamado “La cueva del tigre”, que se parece más a la locación de una novela de Joseph Conrad que de un lugar para ir a pescar. Armó su equipo (era un profesional en esto) para pescar corvinas y comenzó, hasta que en un momento enganchó algo realmente pesado. Intuía que era un pez enorme. Le llevó un trabajo titánico y una lucha de cuarenta y cinco minutos sacarlo y todo esto haciendo pie en un lugar lleno de algas resbaladizas y con un equipo de pesca para peces de mucho menor peso y tamaño.
Extenuado y con los brazos doloridos, finalmente lo sacó. Era un tiburón leopardo de 2,10 metros de largo y 42 kilogramos. Una pieza realmente excelente que en su desesperación cuando se encontró fuera del agua intentó tirarle un mordiscón a un pescador que con la mano quiso agarrarlo de la cabeza. Lo llevaron en un Jeep hasta un lugar en donde lo colgaron y mi padre se sacó una foto (que lamentablemente ya no tengo) exhibiendo orgulloso su trofeo. Recuerdo que en la foto, la cola del tiburón se doblaba por el piso. No pudieron extenderlo en su totalidad desde el malacate. Jamás en mi vida vi a alguien pescar algo tan grande.
“El viejo y el mar” es una novela inolvidable para mí, porque me remite siempre a esa experiencia que viví con mi padre. La lucha de Santiago con semejante pez es más agotadora y le lleva más tiempo pero la similitud entre ambas “luchas” es sorprendente.
Esta novela le fue encargada a Hemingway por la revista Time y gracias a ella ganó el premio Pulitzer en 1953 y además le sirvió de espaldarazo para ganar el premio Novel un año después.
Es también un ejemplo de tenacidad, de superación y fortaleza porque el viejo Santiago nunca se rinde. Pelea y pelea hasta el final y de esa lucha sin tregua primero contra el pez y luego contra los tiburones que de a poco van despedazando su presa pero no cede hasta arribar al puerto con los restos que le quedan del pez. De toda esta historia surge la frase más famosa del libro: "Un hombre puede ser destruido, pero no derrotado."
En el caso de la novela se aplica a la lucha de este pescador durante toda su travesía pero es algo que todos podemos aplicar en cualquier aspecto de nuestras vidas.
Es un libro muy corto y se disfruta muchísimo. Yo lo recomiendo mucho.
Santiago es para mí, Oscar, mi papá, a quien ya no tengo conmigo pero que llevo siempre presente en mi corazón.
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