Ernest Hemingway: Il vecchio e il mare (Italian language, 1996, Mondadori)
135 pages
Italian language
Published June 5, 1996 by Mondadori.
The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal -- a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.
Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
I was not impressed, but definitely entertained. Good writing, it made me feel things, definitely. But at the end of the day... that is it. Just a single-afternoon short story about an old man having a very rough couple days at work trying to gain back some respect from himself. I hope he is fine, now.
Kocham tę książkę
For how much can you break the human spirit?
Ernest Hemingway starts by building up the story in a seemingly dry, straight-forward fashion — here, Hemingway starts, introducing the wise fisherman of the story, this is an unlucky old man.
During the first few pages, I found myself at odds with his way of writing. Where was the beautiful prose? It's my very first book from this author. I did not find his words as striking and vivid as I'd expected them to be. However, as the story continued on, I realized that the beauty was contained in the old man's experiences — not confined in the way of its retelling.The resilience, passion, hope, sadness, and suffering that made up the themes of the story were beautifully explored in a fisherman's experience at the sea.
Overall, this book has left me with various emotions to struggle with. I found parallels …
For how much can you break the human spirit?
Ernest Hemingway starts by building up the story in a seemingly dry, straight-forward fashion — here, Hemingway starts, introducing the wise fisherman of the story, this is an unlucky old man.
During the first few pages, I found myself at odds with his way of writing. Where was the beautiful prose? It's my very first book from this author. I did not find his words as striking and vivid as I'd expected them to be. However, as the story continued on, I realized that the beauty was contained in the old man's experiences — not confined in the way of its retelling.The resilience, passion, hope, sadness, and suffering that made up the themes of the story were beautifully explored in a fisherman's experience at the sea.
Overall, this book has left me with various emotions to struggle with. I found parallels in the slow tearing of the old man's spirit to my own experiences having been undiagnosed for much of my life for a well-masked neurodevelopmental disorder. The consistent failures from something seemingly innate but unknown had been a source of hopelessness, and this book has thoroughly presented what it's like and elicits the same emotions. It is, in a deranged comforting way, a testament that the human experience is shared in the many variations of our day-to-day lives.
There is much meaning to be gained from this book, and I've no doubt that the story is something that I'll carry with me and revisit every so often.
The ending disappointed me. The fact that the old man had this great accomplishment in his life, but received no credit for it, while realistic, is truly tragic.
Swift and plain read, pretty simple in terms of writing and story but rather wholesome. Whilst it may not be the most thrilling read, it was not entirely bad...
Quite a few reviews actually led me to believe this book would be utterly disappointing but it only really turned out to be a product of unrealistic expectations for this short story. Take it simply and it'll prove a rather wholesome read, 3/5.
I picked up this book while in Havana myself, and I think it helped me visualize the story a bit better.
Although a lot of time has past since the book was written, I feel a lot of the athmosphere is still here and I could easily imagine the old man in his village.
The book is written in such a flow that you breeze through it. And I liked the story a lot.
The old man lives his life by his own values, and I can respect that. You could say he's a bit too stubborn and should have given up multiple times in the book, but then again, as an old man, fishing seems all that he has left. So kuddo's to him for sticking his stubborn ground.
But I love his positive attitude towards life:
~ But every day is a new day! Maybe today his luck …
I picked up this book while in Havana myself, and I think it helped me visualize the story a bit better.
Although a lot of time has past since the book was written, I feel a lot of the athmosphere is still here and I could easily imagine the old man in his village.
The book is written in such a flow that you breeze through it. And I liked the story a lot.
The old man lives his life by his own values, and I can respect that. You could say he's a bit too stubborn and should have given up multiple times in the book, but then again, as an old man, fishing seems all that he has left. So kuddo's to him for sticking his stubborn ground.
But I love his positive attitude towards life:
~ But every day is a new day! Maybe today his luck would change! ~
I didn't think I would enjoy a book about a guy catching a fish this much.
i dont know how what when or why this story about an old man catching a damn fish touched me as much as it did. i started off like any other impatient idiot in their early 20s, cynical and afraid of sentiment. thought this was gonna turn out real cliche and quaint. i didnt believe that an old man could teach me a life lesson by catching a fish. i put it down because it was slow, i thought i would forget about it. but for some reason, when i picked up any other book, the pace felt too rushed and i found myself missing the open sea.
longest 50 pages of my life! cant believe how much i love and respect that fish!
Re-read it after about 40 years
This book was amazing and definitely the antidote to some of today's twisty, obfuscated stories.
Coming off of recent Pulitzer fiction that seems to pride itself in being spoken word deep in vernacular and circumlocution this story was so refreshing.
I read it in one sitting, it's only 120 pages, but every single sentence held meaning and advanced the beautifully simple story. In true Hemingway fashion the old man is great at what he does and focused with purpose that's a joy to read about, but the book was captivating as a Zen like meditation on dealing with life as it comes. I felt the whole spectrum of emotions as I read it, and never once did a passage feel weak or unnecessary.
Truly a great work of fiction.
Es un libro bien escrito y muy fácil de seguir. Sin embargo es extremadamente lineal y para mi gusto bastante plano. Definitivamente Hemingway no es mi escritor favorito.
A hero's journey Hemingway style. This is the perfect novella - there is just one train of thought running the whole time on the journey. Its spare and stripped down. Hemingway takes you along for a fantastic dream. You wake up in the same place as you were but different.
An amazing and moving story. A true classic of literature.
a short, easy-to-read and enjoyable book
Futility and existence is wrapped in this marvel of a book, that uses its simplicity and Hemingway's sublime storytelling to bring out a powerful message about humanity.
