this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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I finally read "Old Man and the Sea". I have tried to start it many times, but the beginning was just so slow. Has anyone here read it? What are your thoughts on this Ernest Hemingway classic?

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[–] angel@triptico.com 5 points 1 year ago

Not his best book (in my opinion), but a great one. It's a remarkable example of the "whole is much better than the parts": the start is a bit boring, the pseudo-dialogs with the fish are a bit silly and the climax is a bit disappointing, but when you close it you get the feeling that you experienced something great.

What is always superb in his work is the language economy, the to-the-point sentences, the lack of useless words and meaningless descriptions. Hemingway invented the modern prose and all of us readers and writers owe him a drink.

[–] shaknais@mastodon.social 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

@MariaRomanov A few people have told me that the whole thing needs to be read in a single sitting for it to work.

Personally... It's just slow and depressing. Nothing that really keeps me, and nothing that makes it feel worth reading.

[–] MariaRomanov@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago

It was very depressing, but I think it has a cool message towards the second half. I agree that it's probably something to read in a single sitting.

[–] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 year ago

I'm with you. I didn't manage to get through the whole thing.

[–] Notnotmike 1 points 1 year ago

I agree with others that a single sitting improves the book. I'm not sure why it has such acclaim, but it was at the very least memorable to me. I read it a year or so ago now and I can still recall the plot