What’s it about?
From the start we follow and are introduced to Santiago, an old cuban fisherman, who has went fishing for 84 days without catching a fish. This “bad luck” is the reason that the parents of his young friend, Manolin, is not allowed to go fishing with the old man anymore, but this young boy still cares for the old man irrelevant of luck.
Determined that his unlucky streak will come to an end today, Santiago decides to sail out further than usual. As planned he goes out much further than usual, drops the lines and hooks a marlin. The marlin is too strong for the man and for 4 days there is a contast battle of will and strength between the old man and this fish.
Over the course of the five days this book is set across, the old man faces many physical obstacles to overcome as well as mental challenges as he starts to reflect on his actions and emotions towards this fish and his life. I feel this doesn’t do this book justice, but this is my first time doing this and I want to explain it without giving the majority of the book away.
Who would like it?
I’m tempted to say everyone. But that’d be such a cop out.
- If you like more relaxed and intimate stories with some action, but not action focused then this you would probably like this.
- It reminds me of how i felt when i read Kensuke’s Kingdom when i was younger. So if you liked that but couldnt find anything similar since, give this a go.
- Anyone who likes short, easy to read books. It’s only 99 pages.
Thoughts
I absolutely loved this book. I was actually suprised at how much i enjoyed it since it didn’t seem like my kind of book from the start. I’m glad I decided to read this. I’ve decided to break it down into different parts that I was happy with or surprised by:
Age
This book is going on 70 years old and it’s still talked about and recommended to people. If that doesn’t make it a “lindy” book, I don’t know what is.
Difficulty
I was surprised at how well this book reads considering it was published in 1952. To me, it felt like it was at the same level as Michael Morpurgo’s books, if anyone else read them in school, maybe even slightly more difficult but not a hard read by any means.
Emotions
There were parts of this book that made me feel sad, some that made me tense up as a tough situation was going down and even some that made me actually smile. Hemingway’s ability to do that in 99 pages is insane to me.
Real Life
There are some amazing quotes, I’ve shared my favourite three below, that resonated with me as they apply to my own life and it made me really think differently about things such as caring what people think or trying to live in comparison to others.
Overall
I think this is a great book. I love everything about it, from the story to the shortness of the book. Maybe I wish it was longer but at the same time I appreciate how it doesn’t drag out longer than is needed. I definitely plan to read more of Hemingway’s work, maybe Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.
My Three Favourite Quotes
It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready. (p22)
“If the others heard me talking out loud the would think that i am crazy,” he said aloud. But since I am not crazy, I do not care.
“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”