482. The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
1951
Around 130 pages

Well, we've reached the last of our Ernest Hemingway novels. I'm disappointed to see the lad go, despite the fact that I would have found him insufferable in real life. I liked the fella's economy of language, and I never felt like he hated the world. RIP.

Official Hemingway ranking:

1. A Farewell to Arms

2. The Sun Also Rises
3. The Old Man and the Sea

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls

5. To Have and Have Not

As you can see, I have The Old Man and the Sea smack dab in the middle. That's what happens when you are a genius, you're constantly topping masterpieces. I think it's a great story but I've always enjoyed Hemingway's dialogue, and we don't really get that here. The Sea isn't much of a talker.

Santiago is an aging fisherman who has gone 84 days without catching a fish. I love stories that start off with such a simple premise. The writer in me wants to turn it into an exercise. Only Manolin, a young man Santiago has trained since childhood, still believes in him. Santiago finally manages to catch a marlin, but getting it back to shore is a fish of a different color.

Hemingway knows we might get bored on a boat with only an elderly man for company, so he keeps it short and simple. He also manages to resist the urge to make things too dramatic, which I would imagine would be tempting when writing a story that takes place on the high seas. I'll miss his subtlety and brevity.

If the world was good, our best novel would always be our last. But like Santiago, Hemingway's best days were behind him at this point and he knows it. Another float in our recent sadness parade.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

The book was reportedly a favorite of Saddam Hussein. 

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