OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Rating:
Summary: Put away your prejudices and try it
Review: It's too bad that most high schools feel compelled to inflict good literature on students who won't appreciate it. I believe that people would enjoy this and other stories a whole lot more if they weren't forced to read it and keep a journal, take notes, etc. I was told how much I would hate this book, how boring it was, and how pointless. This is a psychological book that is more focused on the mind than on action, but what saved it is Hemingway's terrific writing. As you follow the old man Santiago you can feel the sun, see the water and the animals and smell the salty air. It was wonderful to be able to escape like that without a hoarde of characters or monumental events to pressure you. It's not perfect but everyone really should give it a try. You might like it.

Rating:
Summary: a real thought provoker
Review: My essay on this book for AP English is due tomorow, and so I came to look for some inspiration, the prompt being whether the Old Man failed or suceeded. Though I am still undecided, I'm inclined to think he came out triumphant, many of the rave reviews on here making up my mind. Santiago did leave me pondering the barriers I could break if I put only half as much dedication to my goals as hid to his, however the messege well taken, I still had to muster up alot of dedication to get to the last page. His struggle left me struggling to continue reading, since it just got repetitive after a while.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I read this book a few years ago, and I am now in University. The story is one which shows us the true meaning of success, and I still look to it for inspiration when faced with bad times. Truly amazing.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: This book is very boring. In the beginning it didn't even spark my interest. Because the book was written without chapters, it is kind of hard to tell whats what and whos who. I fell aslleep every 10 minutes, or made up an excuse to do something else. There is no suspense or adventure, but only an old guy talking to himself. This book is written nicely, but only in one way-(thats where the 1 star came from)-because you could picture all this in your head, because of his very descriptive writing

Rating:
Summary: A good read, but not great.
Review: Hmmm . . . interesting read. I read it in one sitting (the day of a test over it for English), and to say the least I expected less. One of the things that kept me reading was the conversations with his hand. Yes, his hand. And the fish. I had to read A Farewell to Arms before this, and I liked that better. Hemingway's use of descriptive language -- or lack of -- proved for an interesting read.

Rating:
Summary: Finding great triumph in total failure
Review: I am an college student who first read this book when I was a Junior in high school. I enjoyed it greatly. This book not only showed me something that I didn't know, but helped me out when times looked bad. I would recommend it to anyone who loves irony and the meaning of true success.

Rating:
Summary: Great adventure
Review: As an intelligent college graduate and MA degree holder in a field of literature - albeit Classical Literature - I suppose I should have read Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with more of an eye toward symbolism, literary significance, and the like. Certainly enough has been said about this book -- and enough book reports cribbed from Cliff's Notes et al. - that any reviewer who presumes himself intelligent should put forth high-minded and multi syllabic ruminations. At this I am a failure. I just think it is a great adventure! The story of the old Cuban alone in the ocean, battling, landing, and ultimately losing to sharks the biggest fish he has ever encountered, is magnificent. I found myself mentally in the boat with him, and endured his selfsame agony as sharks first decimated, and then destroyed, his remarkable catch. Again, as the scholars have said, I am sure this all "means" something. I will content myself, though, in this fine tale memorably told.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful tale of one man's life at its apex .
Review: The Old Man and the Sea is a great story told with a simple prose style that carries across the pages like wind.It is the tale of one man, in his own sad world, who carries upon his shoulders the burden of age -- to triumph against the immortal forces of the universe, to have it ripped away, only to learn his own mortality through his conquered prey.This is a tale not so much about the hardship and triumph of marlin fishing, but a tale of an aging champion. It is anything but boring.

Rating:
Summary: This book was about a three.
Review: The reason that I gave this book three stars was because it was a good writing. It had good descriptions and good details. Overall I did not enjoy the book very much, because basically throughout the whole book it talked about a man catching a fish. I liked the way the author made the story a little more interesting, the way he explained the old man being there for three days and all the details he had in that section. The thing I didn't really like was that the story kept dragging on and on about the same thing. That is why I gave the book a three because there were some good points and some bad points.

Rating:
Summary: It was an ok story but far from great
Review: This is an ok story if you enjoy fishing. I personally don't enjoy fishing that much so this book did not hold my interest for very long. The story was far too tragged out when the author starts talking about his battle of the fish. Again, if you are a fisherman this will hold your interest to the final page. For me, however, this book was a bit boring. The part I did like about the book was when the sharks ate the fish that Santiago had fought so hard to catch. The description about the big, white Mako eating the fish caught my interest. Hemingway describes the head and the jaws of the fish very well. If I had written the book I would have not written so much about Santiago catching the fish. Instead I would have written more about the sharks and Santiago fighting for the fish. There are some parts of the book I would have understood better had I been a fisherman myself. The book was easy to read because the beginning about Santiago not catching a fish for 60 days and the end when the shark eats the fish that Santiago caught are the reasons that make this book good. If you mix the good with the bad you get an ok story.