The Old Man and the Sea

This book is a profound meditation on human resilience that never fails to move me. I'm constantly in awe of Hemingway's ability to weave so much meaning into such a deceptively simple tale. The way Santiago's unwavering determination shines through, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, resonates deeply with me.

I find myself returning to this book time and time again, drawing inspiration from the old man's quiet strength and dignity. The vivid portrayal of man's relationship with nature—both its beauty and its harsh realities—leaves me breathless. What I love most is how Hemingway captures the essence of… show more.

This is a famous novella, and while many have said much about it, I particularly enjoy the layers. One of my favorite levels on which to read it is as Christ allegory. Through that lens, I appreciate bookending the old man’s sea story with the presence of Manolin, a youth.

As Christ of St. Mark’s Gospel loves the children, the presence of the child in the old man’s life and the only other main character in the story of the hunt for the marlin and its destruction seems very fitting. Their relationship, slim as it is in a book dominated… show more.

I liked this book because it taught me several lessons. One was to be careful of what you wish for. The second was that if your goal is that important to you, do not let anything stop you from attaining it. The third was to maybe take a second look at your goal and reassess whether it is really that important to you.

Of my favorites it was The Old Man and the Sea that held me riveted from the first line.

I felt I was walking behind the boy and the old man, listening in and watching them. How the boy loved the old man was how I loved ole Charlie in my novel. Hemingway took the patience to describe the old man and the boy’s thoughts and caring—how a framed picture of the ole man’s wife was face down on a shelf because seeing her was hard on him.

The night excursion alone couldn’t have been written if Hemingway hadn’t experienced… show more.

I’ve read all of Ernest Hemingway’s books and although it is many years ago since I read The Old Man of the Sea (when I was a young man of the sea). One man alone in a boat on the wide ocean appeals to me as I have been in that situation myself on several occasions. My boat, a 28-foot motor/sailer, berthed in Fleetwood was my refuge from a troubled world. As a fire officer, I may have been involved with a motorway pile-up, cutting casualties out of wrecked vehicles, or a tragic house fire or simply dealing with bolshie… show more.

Well, as someone who likes unpredictability, I couldn’t resist throwing in a curveball selection. Bret Easton Ellis’ brilliant American Psycho was going to go here, but perhaps that was expected. So allow me to confound expectations a little if you please. While Hemingway is no genre buster, for fans of the use of simple language like yours truly, Hemingway’s the one to read. I remember this book sitting on the shelves at my parent's home as a kid and first reading it in my teens. I’m pretty sure I didn’t appreciate then Hemingway’s craft, the beauty, and simplicity of his… show more.

I am not sure what Mr. Hemingway would think of me including his novel in my list of motivational fiction, but The Old Man and the Sea can never be overlooked as classic literature as well as a life-changing tale. I’m convinced that the best way to learn or teach any concept is to tell a story, and there has never been a better storyteller than Ernest Hemingway. In his abrupt, minimalist style, Hemingway convinces readers that you can never catch anything you’re not willing to go after, and the big fish are only caught outside of our comfort zone.… show more.

Of all the books I’ve read throughout my life, this one is my absolute favorite. Written in simple, yet descriptive and colorful prose, this book helped shape my own life voyages. As an avid fisherman, I related completely with the Old Man and his battle with the ‘mighty fish’; a huge marlin that he hooked and did his best to conquer. Ultimately, he did overcome the battle with the great fish, subduing it and tying it alongside his little fishing skiff (it was too massive to drag aboard), only to have the great fish ravaged and torn to shreds by… show more.

Ernest Hemingway ties Cormac McCarthy as the two authors that have most significantly influenced me. His prose is beautiful while being sparse. He writes without pretense, and with his unique writing of internality his stories become authentic glimpses of character. He describes scenes vividly using few words by employing our own memory banks to the topic. He captures life so very well. This story is timeless and imagistic. I’ve read it many times and have many more reads in me. Hemingway, McCarthy, Marquez, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky, these are the writers that I consider my teachers—I hope my work is never… show more.

This famous short story of Santiago, Manolin, and the marlin requires several readings. From the Cuban seaside village where Santiago and Manolin tend their gear and talk baseball to the cerulean blue waters of the Florida Straits where Santiago struggles with the marlin, so much is happening beneath the surface of Hemingway’s sentences. Having sailed these same waters with the Coast Guard, I have seen their majestic beauty and can understand why Hemingway choose them as the setting for arguably his greatest work.