This year, I’m trying to read more books outside of my preferred genres of science fiction and fantasy. As a result, I decided to turn towards the more academic fiction of classic American author Ernest Hemmingway.

The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemmingway’s most enduring and well-regarded works. Originally published in 1952, The story is told from the perspective of Santiago, an elderly Cuban fisherman who is down on his luck. Shortly after the novel begins Santiago sets out on his usual fishing excursion into the gulf and eventually hooks a monster-size fish.

Despite the extremely low page count, Hemmingway still says a lot with this novella. Though the plot and characters seem simple, that doesn’t make it a lower-quality story. This book is loaded with symbolism and subtext ripe for literary critique and analysis. You can find dozens of pages and essays online discussing these aspects in depth if you are interested. For this review, I’m going to be giving more general thoughts and subjective opinions that I developed during my initial readthrough.

I enjoyed the clear themes presented here. I always find man-versus-nature to be a compelling concept and it’s executed quite beautifully here. Santiago struggles against the fish, the ocean, and the needs of his own body in his battle throughout the story. Each element adds an extra layer of depth to a rather simple tale.

I also appreciate the pacing of the novel. Hemmingway is famous for his conciseness and it’s on full display here. The story begins and within 20 pages or so we have our main conflict that then carries readers to the final page. A lot of other classic authors have a tendency to mill around in their character’s heads for far too long. This can often lose many readers’ attention.

Though the plot is certainly a focus I wouldn’t exactly call this book solely plot-driven. Santiago is well fleshed out since he provides 90 percent of the dialogue and is the central focus. You learn a lot about him over the course of the book. His endless willpower and determination are something I find very inspiring.

My biggest issues with the work stem from some of the stylistic choices that defined this period of American literature. Hemmingway and many others often utilized “stream of consciousness” in order to further develop characters or convey specific ideas. While this can work, it can also be quite distracting. Certain sentences and passages just feel unnecessary or meaningless and I would have appreciated a few edits.

Additionally, there were also a few logistical fishing aspects that went over my head. Santiago is able to complete a variety of tasks around his boat while still maintaining his line. Since I’m not familiar with deep-sea fishing I was often left wondering just how this was possible.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone. It’s a timeless narrative of human willpower that can be quite relaxing in its simplistic narrative structure. Its short length and direct prose also make it incredibly approachable for a large audience.

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The Old Man and the Sea

$12.99 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Quick pace
• Clear themes
• Very symbolic

Cons

• Stream of consciousness writing is distracting