The Old Man and The Sea review

Long heard of this famous book, I just finished it few hours ago. It makes me want to head to the sea right now and fish like the old man did. It is my first book from Hemingway and he didn't disappoint me. The words seem carefully chosen for the narration, simple but powerful and makes you want to read them out loud. I think it would make an awesome audiobook. Reading the story out with a deep voice and with the power of the story, of the narration, might even makes you think you are Morgan Freeman. For anyone new to Hemingway, there is an extract from the movie "Midnight in Pairs" which can show how his way of writing is. It captures the essence of his writing beautifully. 

What I like the most in the book is how he wrote about the giant marlin. I really didn't expect the fight between the old man and the marlin to be long. It is not a physical fight but rather mental. Both endured the agony for two days and two nights before one prevailed as the winner. To the old man, the marlin was both his enemy and his friend. The fish appeared almost as if his own reflection in a mirror, his alter ego.

I also like the way he describes the sea, and the following is the quote I like the most from the book.

But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

I always thought the sea is woman too.

So in the end, it is an underdog story and I think everyone loves underdog. This book would make you believe in the strength within yourself to stand against the odds, like David defeated the goliath and the heroic old man against the elements. I am looking forward for another book from Hemingway.