The Old Man and the Sea. Ernest Hemingway. 1952. 89 Pages. (Paperback.).

Another short old novel that is on the list for book club discussion; this one by the late famous award-winning Ernest Hemingway.

An old fisherman leaves Havana alone on a skiff, travels further out to sea than ever before, after a prolonged bout of catching nothing and with great effort captures an18- foot marlin. On the return trip, sharks devour it as it is latched on to the skiff. The old man suffers many physical and mental injuries in the process, constantly talks to himself, and survives on raw fish.

Even though I have fished for years, including deep sea fishing for marlin, I found the details of his fishing gear and its deployment to be very confusing, but it introduced me to Hemingway’s style. I won’t be reading more of him.

2.5/5

Thanks, Din.