The Old Man and the Sea

Books | Fiction / Classics

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Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway’s most beloved and popular novel ever, with millions of copies sold—now featuring early drafts and supplementary material as well as a personal foreword by the only living son of the author, Patrick Hemingway, and an introduction by the author’s grandson Seán Hemingway.The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction. It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss and transforms them into a magnificent twentieth-century classic. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novel confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.

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Author

Ernest Hemingway

Pages

160

Publisher

Scribner

Published Date

2020-07-21

ISBN

1476787840 9781476787848

Community ReviewsSee all

"Classic novel!"

Jonathan Kent

"A true classic. I could not put it down. Beautifully written with wonderful character development. It should be on every reading list."

Sheli Wilburn

"Maybe Hemingway’s style of writing isn’t just for me, but this was 121 pages of slow-paced writing. In short, the story is a accumulative 100+ pages of a man hunting a fish, and remains so. Perhaps, like many others, I’ll enjoy this story my second time around, but I can’t see myself rereading this again. The story just drags until a very abrupt ending."

Sinorcanut

"Too slow paced, not much plot"

S S

Savannah Slusher

"I have been to Cuba before. I have walked through the hot concrete of the Malecón, I have had streams of sweat going down my face while trying to catch a bit of the sea breeze. I have seen the people gather together in the shadow and chatting on the street having a good time, if not a peaceful one. And it is impressive to see how in so few pages, Ernest was able to take me back there. I could feel the sun in my face, I could smell the salt from the sea. And I could feel the struggle of this man, fighting to catch this monster of the ocean. I suffered so much for him, that I even cried. I wanted to scream and tell him to let go of everything up to one point. But the old man kept going. Sometimes it is not just a matter of profit, but of pride. My father says that this is a beautiful story, while I still have mixed feelings about it. But one thing is for sure, no matter what kind of literature you prefer, you should allow yourself the experience of fishing along this old man."

Mari D

"I just can’t convince myself into liking Ernest Hemingway. I’ve tried."

Kay Bee

"Another one of the terrible books I was forced to read in high school that contributed to my hatred of reading for years. Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough or something but I just didn't get it."