OLD MAN AND THE SEA

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Summary: One of the masterpieces of our century
Review: This book proves Hemingway to be not only one of the greatest novelists of the past century, but also one of the greatest philosophers. This is the capstone to his brilliant career. Besides being eloquently written in Hemingway's concise, true sentences, it is the embodyment of a lifetime of thought on the human existance. Please do not attempt to read this work if you are a simple-minded person who is too afraid to pull your head out of the sand and examine the nature of the human experience. If you do, you will probably end up saying absurd things such as, "I thought it was boring. It was all about fishing." It would truly hurt me personaly to see such a waste of a cultural treasure on such a mindless individual.

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Summary: This book has no storyline.
Review: Philip Pullman, my favorite author, once said that a lot of novels get so wrapped up in showing off beautiful writing that there's no story, and the story really should be the most important thing. I agree with him. This book seems like just an excuse for the author to explain his view of the world, and life, &c, &c., and the author forgets to put an interesting story in it. Luckily it doesn't get too boring because it's short. I also hate fishing, and I hated the author's writing style, which sounds like it's trying so hard to be simple and profound. The author also sounds snobbish and superior at times, and at other times like he's trying to show you, look at this character I've created, isn't he wonderful. For a novel with deep things to say and beautiful writing AND a great story, try Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass.

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Summary: it was boring
Review: the book went on and on for 60 pages about the fish and the old man

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Summary: This is the story that everyone should know.
Review: I read this book in two days, it blew me away. The barren language, the lack of detail. Descriptions only go as far as colors and rarely a metaphor. What Hemmingway achieves by this technique, is by using such limited language, there is more room for the core of the story to be exposed, which is, this old mans love for the sea and fish. The old man constanly refers to great baseball player Joe DiMaggio as, The Great DiMaggio. When in actuality, what this man achieves with courage and love is bigger and greater than any baseball player's heroics. This book is a classic.

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Summary: bland story line . . .
Review: quick synopsis for those of you who havent read it and are considering it: an old man is pulled around the ocean by a fish, talking to his HAND (yes, his hand) and ends up almost dead for a fish that eventually gets eaten by sharks. There you go. Sound good to you? No. I kept wondering what would possess a man to write and publish a book with a story line like this. I understand all of the religious imagery, and all of the symbols with the mast, and everything, but this book really sucked! But, I dont really think that it deserves 1 star. If you want a good Hemingway read, I recommend A Farewell to Arms. That is a great story.

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Summary: Hemingway and the natural world
Review: The Old Man and the Sea is a classic literary work. Hemingway was at his shining best when he wrote about the fearless old man, Santiago, and the epic personal battle with a hooked marlin. Here, unlike in Melville's Moby Dick, Hemingway's main character is both at odds with himself while seemingly being at peace with the natural world. Many time he describes the marlin as his "brother." Hemingway is also a master of unconcious symbolic gestures. Many times the old man describes his wish for a young man to help him with the tasks aboard his small skiff. There is a young male character who had fished the ocean prior to the start of the text with Santiago, but if the reader has read such books as Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and Farewell to Arms one would interprate this as another one of Hemingway's symbolic loopholes that leads us to a further understanding of the intristic nature of Santiago. In simple terms, The Old Man in the Sea examines the search for youth through the experiences of an old Cuban fisherman who examines his life while praising DiMaggio and cursing his lack of strength. But, all the while, never losing his confidence and spirit. A beautiful story.

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Summary: A struggling and exhilirating classical novel.
Review: The Old Man and the Sea may be one of the best all time classical novels I have ever read. Set in the Gulf Stream, Ernest Hemingway thrillingly puts the Old Man to a fierce clashing struggle between him, the Marlin and his own will. A will that Hemingway amplifies as the Old Man's determination to survive on the sea and prove to himself that he is still not too old to catch a fish. Hemingway's detail description of the Old Man's skirmishing fight with the Marlin on the sea will make you screaming with sweat. The Old Man has gone for eighty-four days without catching a fish so a little boy which follows him on every fishing attempt has been taken away by the his parents, how sad. After moments of tears, the climax part comes in where the Old Man wants to especially catch a fish for the boy and proves to the boy's parents that he still has the ability to catch even a Marlin, of course which he does. I like Hemingway's style of language which is very easy to follow, but also maintain a level of depth in the meaning. For those fishing lovers out there, this novel is perfect for your taste. Overall, this is a worthwhile book to read so I extremely recommend it.

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Summary: if you didn't like the book...
Review: does reading novels bore you? would you rather "wait for the movie?" well, if you've heard good things about "the old man and the sea," but have never had the focus to read it, then you're in luck: it's in a slightly modernized film version now, and it's called "city of angels," starring meg ryan and nicholas cage. crushingly tragic story lines will always have a place in our hearts. enjoy this fine novel.

Rating:
Summary: Simply great
Review: I don't usually read much but I read this book really fast. It is a "must" for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A good book for a reader who loves fishing
Review: The book is aobut an old man and a boy who go fishing. The goes out and struggles to catch a fish. It is an exciting book for someone who knows a lot about fishing and knows all the ropes. I didn't like this book a lot. I probably didn't enjoy this book because I didn't know a thing about fishing. I also didn't like it because the book got a little too descriptive and got a little slow at times.