The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway Review

Fiction

132 pages

Here, for a change, is a fish tale that actually does honor to the author. The Old Man & the Sea revived Hemingway's career, which was foundering under the weight of such postwar stinkers as Across the River & into the Trees. It also led directly to his receipt of the 1954 Nobel Prize--an award he gladly accepted, despite his earlier observation that "no son of a bitch that ever won the Nobel Prize ever wrote anything worth reading afterwards". A half century later, it's still easy to see why. This tale of an aged Cuban fisherman going head-to-head with a magnificent marlin encapsulates Hemingway's favorite motifs of physical & moral challenge. The Old Man & the Sea was, in any case, the last great catch of Hemingway's career.

Completion: A+
Writing/Style: B
Characters: B+
Plot/Pacing: B-
World-building/Atmosphere: B
Sub-genres (Romance, Humor, Mystery, etc.): N/A

Final Grade: B+ Must Read

This novel was a happy surprise since most of my friends have told me how much they hate Hemingway, and I have had very little exposure to his work. However, even though I ended up enjoying it much more than I expected, I still find that it, along with some other books I have read recently, this book has made me acknowledge the flaws in my rating system and perhaps the flaw of any rating system.

 For a story that comprises mostly of one character alone for a long stretch of time doing only one thing, The Old Man and The Sea was a compelling read. It takes a great talent to make one character by himself interesting and dynamic and to have to a writing style that constantly drives his journey forward without losing steam. Of course, there is no need for me to overly praise Hemingway’s skill for there would be a line of people behind me ready to prove me wrong if I had said otherwise.

However, I wouldn’t say that the final grade isn’t completely accurate. I thought the story was good (don’t get me wrong!), but is it really worthy of a Must Read? I found this book a mild enjoyment that convinced me to follow through to the end, but ended with a reasonable but not particularly satisfying ending. I think if you are interested or curious in classics it wouldn’t be a bad one to check out, but I can’t honestly say that you must read it.

Yet, I found myself in the dilemma that I couldn’t bring the final grade down without making it appear that one of the six subcategories was lesser than what I thought it was. How am I to balance these two issues? I’m not quite sure yet. Perhaps, I will redo my rating system. Perhaps, not. In the near future, I might write a Topics post on the accuracy of rating systems. But for now, just know that The Old Man and The Sea didn’t blow me out of the water but did succeed in pushing me to its ending and to trying out more Hemingway books.