Review Detail

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is the story of an aged fisherman. The entire book takes place in a couple of days and almost none of the characters are ever named, although it is more about the old man’s thoughts and speculations than anything else. When the story starts out the old man hasn’t caught a fish in eighty-five days and the boy who has helped him for years has been forced to go to a different boat. But he is still hopeful and not at all discouraged. One morning he goes out to sea farther than any of the other boats in the hopes to catch “a big fish” as he puts it.
The Old Man and the Sea is a many layered and yet very small book. If just read passively without really contemplating it the book could appear overly simple and maybe even a little dull. But then if you go deeper it appears more and more intricate and becomes obvious how much the old man and the boy really care about each other, even though neither of them ever says so.
Even between the old man and the fish he strives to catch there is a sort of relationship. The old man respects the fish and in a way it seem as though the fish feels some sort of regard for the old man.
This is a thoughtful book, it may not spark a great epiphany, but at least while you’re in-between the pages you will think a little more about the world. One of the main themes of the book is that we, as humans, are not alone in the world, nor are we necessarily the most powerful; Hemingway does a very good job of getting this point across.
The Old Man and the Sea is written in third person which gives it a slightly detached feel that suits the story well. For most of the book the old man is alone in a boat so you get a very insightful view of his mind. All and all The Old Man and the Sea is a calm, deep book with occasional bursts of action. It is the sort of book that I think anyone could enjoy, seeing as it is sort enough that it won’t bore those who like more action and yet thought provoking for those who lean towards the deeper stuff.