Customer Reviews

The Old Man and the Sea (Modern Standard Authors Series - Student's Edition)

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Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" was almost instantly recognized as a classic when it was published in 1952...and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature not long after its publication. Part of this was due to a near panic on the part of the Nobel Prize committee in 1953 after seeing headlines flashed around the world that Hemingway was near death from two separate plane crashes on his safari in Africa- and not wanting to fail to recognize the literary genius who had produced several memorable works. Hemingway also won the Pulitzer Prize around the same time.

"The Old Man and the Sea" shows an older, wiser Hemingway...and it was somewhat of a surprise to many people when they read it. Readers had been used to stories of barroom brawls...fistfights along the waterfront...battling determined enemies who wanted to kill him....yet this story- a novella- tells of an old fisherman who tries for many days to catch a fish to feed himself....and he has gone weeks without catching anything to bring home....The story is apocryphal and supposedly based on a true account of a Cuban fisherman (Hemingway was living in Cuba at the time) who went out to sea and finally caught a huge fish...but by the time he made it back to shore, the fish had been ravaged by sharks and nearly destroyed...The fish of the news accounts would apparently have been one of the largest sailfish on record- if it had survived intact...Hemingway was intrigued by this account and determined to make the story his own....

Hemingway allows us to see through the old man's eyes....sense his emotions...feel the pain in his hands as he tugs on the fishing line that cuts through his well-worn fingers...The old man senses a camaraderie with the huge fish he has just killed...and loves it even though he has taken its life away...Hemingway understood that fight...he had been through it many times...and survived to tell his stories...and this one allows us to sense what is within the mind of the fisherman...and in Hemingway's mind as he enters his later years....The story describes both the outer landscape of the boat on the open ocean...and the fight for the huge sailfish....but also the inner landscape within his mind...truly Hemingway's mind as he faces perhaps his last good fight....The old man knew he had one good fight left in him...so did Hemingway....they both won...as we gain insight into what it means to struggle...to fight against long odds....and succeed....only to be beaten at the last moment....

"The Old Man and the Sea" brings us a new awareness not only of age...and what it means to struggle...but also tells us that we are all in the same struggle...against the grim reaper who will come for all of us someday...and despite our efforts...will win the last fight...However, Hemingway knew that the only way to truly win in life was to create something of value...something that would stand the test of time...and he succeeded with this great work...
-by Gene Pisasale
Author of "Vineyard Days"

How can one review "The Old Man and the Sea"? It is poetry, it is prose, it is a deep look into an aging fisherman who catches the largest fish of his life...and the sharks that are his enemy and that he becomes one with. And a young boy who comes of age spiritually and mentally.

This book has stood the test of time and there are several reasons for this. The story is easy to read and at 140 pages, easily read in a short period of time. IT is about an old man in Cuba who pits his wits against a marlin. It is a wonderful story of perseverance and friendship through the eyes of an old fisherman. I enjoyed it a great deal and would recommend it to anyone.

I wanted a first addition to add to my new library. Well, this book was signed, "To Jeffrey, 1963"...he never read it. There were four blank pages, and four pages that needed to be sliced open. It left "blanks" in the story, got a copy from the local library to finish the story.

I was under the impression from the seller's description that the book was in better condition than it actually was/is. I found it interesting that there was a price (from obviously a yard sale or something of that nature) of "1.50" written in pencil on the inside cover....congratulations, you made over a $35.00 profit with that sale.