Customer Reviews
Old Man And The Pile Of Crap - By: Tom, 10 Jul 2008 
Perhaps the most over-rated book of alll time. A book that boasts absolutly no substance & is sure to kill anyone who has even the slightest slither of personality. For me this book exemplifies everything wrong with the critical world; distinctly average & even poor books & films etc. are hailed as materpieces due to the allledged 'body of thourght' behind them. I can assure you there is no 'thought' here, at least none above the mundane & enfantile.
I am fully aware of the 'messages' such as 'material gain is worthless', however these values are extremly rudimentary & are learnt as a child. Essentiallly, 'The old man & the sea' tells us nothing that we didn't already know and, perhaps more impotantly, is just a crap story.
This stole nearly 3 months of entertaining, if only mildly, english lessons away from me. During that 3 month period I would describe this book as 'the bain of my existence'. To summerise:
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK, unless your hobbies include watching hours upon hours of riveting box assembly and/or cutting yourself in the face with very long sharp knives, in which case this is the book for you.
By Tom K
The Old Man And The Sea - Dreary, Boring twaddle. - By: Ms. J. Phillips, 27 Mar 2008 I appreciate the deeper meanings of this book, but ultimately get distracted by the very absurdity of the book. There are nearly 100 pages about an old man on a boat by himself who talks to his own hand. The story is well-written & laced with the simplistic prose Hemingway is known for, but so much time is spent rambling, the story gets bogged down with pointless chitchat.
This story does show 'victory in defeat', but is so dreary it becomes unbearable.
Inspiring - By: BookWorm, 28 Dec 2007 
The Old Man & the Sea is one of the best short stories I have ever read. Despite its short length, it somehow manages to take the reader on the same emotional journey as a full length novel.
The 'old man' of the title is a Cuban fisherman & the story is mostly concerned with his efforts to catch an 18 foot long fish despite the odds being stacked against him. It doesn't sound like a fascinating subject, but it becomes representative of the very human condition. The writing is perfect, no words wasted, & I found myself on the edge of my seat with tension.
The fisherman's determination & refusal to let his spirit be dampened down is inspiring & refreshing, & anyone who has undergone an endurance test of some kind, physical or emotional, will be able to relate to it.
Overalll, a beautiful piece of prose & worth reading even if you do not normallly enjoy short stories.
Am I missing something??? - By: E. Fifield, 21 Nov 2007 I bought this in a bid to expand my knowledge of great literature. I am also reading books such as The Great Gatsby, Les Mis & Don Quixote. I hope with alll my might that these are more thrilling to read.
During my school years The Old Man & the Sea was much referred to, & I went away with the impression that it was an incredible piece of literature.
And so now I find myself having read the prize-winning piece, & wondering what I missed. What makes this novella so good? It was a real chore for me to read - the hardest 99 pages I think I have ever read. Not because of the languiage - THAT, I understood. But because nothing happens!
What have others seen in this book that I have missed? I would hate to read the books that lost out on the prize to this one.
Classic Hemingway - By: Mike London, 02 Nov 2007 
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA successfully reinstated Earnest Hemingway into literature after about a ten year absence, & what books he did have had little critical acclaim. He returns to his classic themes, the Hemingway Code (endure against alll odds, conflicts being man against himself & man against nature) brilliantly enacted by an old Cuban Fisherman named Santiago. Actuallly, it is closer to a novella than a novel, short though still packing a powerful message of not giving up, which is the central theme is almost anything Hemingway wrote. A similar scene, if I remember correctly, also finds its way into ISLANDS IN THE STREAM, a posthumously published work wherein a boy fights for hours bring in a shark in the Gulf Stream, where this book is set.
The story to THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA is simple enough. A fisherman named Santiago goes out in a little boat, attempting to bring in a giant marlin. The fisherman must go out, beyond the circle that is normallly accepted, & travel in grounds (in this case waters) to a new place that would challlenge his skills. The same theme is touched on in the short story "Snows of Kilimanjaro", about the leopard who was high on the mountain, out of his usual bounds. He must endure the pain, must endure everything to get that giant marlin. The book, as noted in the amazon.com review, the gun element is eliminated from this, for the fisherman Santiago has to much age to deal with that. As Hemingway deftly weaves, in his vintage style of stripped & bare stye of prose writing, a spell that will leave you entranced. Ultimately, however, the story may end in what others view as tragedy, but to me this furthers Hemingway's maturity. Earlier, his life was one of big game hunting ("Short Happy Life of Frances McComber", "Kilimanjaro"), & Hemingway's own need to bring down game & receive glory marvelously does not find itself in here. One thing that is notable is the movie follows this book to the tea, with the changing of only ONE WORD, which in itself probably resulted from a mistake.
The quote about that anyone receiving the Nobel prize didn't write anything worthwhile, in this case, was true.. It is because of this work that got him the Nobel Prize, which is given as a whole for the body of work, just not a particular book. However, because of the 10 year absence, this book brought Hemingway back to the attention of the public - also the attention of the Nobel people.
Originallly issued on August 4, 2000 on Amazon.com
