The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway

Ok, this is a long short story rather than a novel, but it was a single (small) volume at the library. I’ve not read any Hemingway before, so I thought it would be interesting.

This is a great story. I think it’s really well known, and I can see why. I felt it started slowly, it doesn’t get going until the man goes to sea, but equally, I can see why the first bit is there.

And then you’re into the main story, and it’s a great story. It has that theme that I love and can really associate with of overcoming a stronger foe using wits and bloody-mindedness. Alongside that is the idea of the value of experience and age. It reminds me of various stories I’ve read about mountaineering, pitting ones wits, skill, and determination against a mountain, not to conquer it but to walk up and down it and live to tell the tale.

I guess it’s partly because it’s a story rather than a novel, but I also liked the pared-down nature of the heart of this story – one man, on his own.

At its heart, I think this story is about what it means to be a man – or at least, one perspective on that. This is probably as male as writing gets.