The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

The book that won Ernest Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature

'It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought'

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.

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

'The writing is as taut, and at the same time as lithe and cunningly played out, as the line on which the old man plays the fish' Guardian

• ISBN10: 0099273969
• ISBN13: 9780099273967
• Publish Date: 4 February 1999 (first published 1 January 1950)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 10 September 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Imprint: Vintage Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Old Man and the Sea: The Hemingway Library Edition is a reformat and re-release of the 1952 classic by Ernest Hemingway. Due out 21st July 2020 from Simon & Schuster on their Scribner imprint. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a powerful story written in direct and simple language. It won the Nobel Prize in literature (1954). I believe it's still a part of the educational curriculum for most young people growing up, so the actual novel isn't covered in the review; most people have read it. The entire original content is included in this edition. What sets it apart, though, is the inclusion of other content, appendices, notes, and supportive information which provides background, context, and a deeper understanding for the novel itself. Roughly 35% of the page content is bonus material. There are musings from Hemingway himself on sport, hunting, and philosophy. There is also a foreword and introduction provided by his descendants Patrick and Seán, respectively. The most interesting to me, however, was the inclusion of selective edits from the original manuscript showing some of the iterations which occurred during the evolution of the final novel we read today.

All in all, the Hemingway Library edition books are worthwhile and interesting for the additional material in addition to their value for the books themselves.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Chelsea]

This one was a little boring. Not much happens except for the old man trying to catch this fish. The writing is beautifully done though which helps a lot and it's also a really short book.

[moraa]

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this though I didn't entirely understand it when I first read it.

Sublime.

[g2pro]

One of those books that I never read in high school, but felt that I was missing out because I hadn't.

[jamiereadthis]

I would just like to take this moment and vindicate myself on every protest I raised circa high school English, 1999. Hemingway himself, on symbolism, 1952:

“There isn’t any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The sharks are all sharks, no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.”

And also, Hemingway on symbolism again:

“No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in,” says Hemingway. “That kind of symbol sticks out like raisins in raisin bread. Raisin bread is all right, but plain bread is better.” He opens two bottles of beer and continues: “I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things. The hardest thing is to make something really true and sometimes truer than true.”

Everyone should automatically be forgiven the beliefs and opinions they hold at 16— but sometimes, and maybe just by sheer luck of the odds, your 16-year-old-self will have gotten some things right. High five.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Ernest Hemingway is a very descriptive writer and yet he manages to do this with very few adjectives or adverbs. I just finished The Old Man and The Sea, which I thought was really well written, though the topic wasn’t something I would normally enjoy or relate to. Hemingway really perfected the art of writing and it was a joy to read. Hemingway painted a literary picture which felt like I was right there with the Man and the giant marlin. This technique made this a more emotional story. The old man,Santiago, was considered an unlucky fisherman and the story follows his journey into catching a big fish. I think Hemingway described the book best when he said; “No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. … I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things”.