While the premise of this story sounds exceedingly boring, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed it. A man, going out fishing for however many pages, b to the oring. Really. It was good. Really. It didn't have too much of Hemmingway's typical misogynistic perspective. Now, this may have been because there were no female characters to speak of, but that's fine. There was no need for female characters. It's about a man...an old man, some might say. And the sea. And of course the fish.
It is actually interesting to see what fishermen deal with. See how much work it takes to reel in a marlin. The amount of respect that fisherman has for the fish that he is hunting is incredible. It's actually a beautifully written tale. I can easily see why this is considered one of the 1001 books. It was good. You could see the marlin as it jumped into the air. You could see the flash of color on its side.
Ultimately this story is about not giving up. Plain and simple. The fish drags this man out like two days from shore, and the man has to drag the fish back two days to shore strapped to the side of his boat because of its immense size. It's an interesting story that balances between the man fighting against nature and the man fighting against himself.
And it is relatively short, so even if you don't like it, it's over pretty quick, though there are no chapters or anything like, so you might as well do it all in one sitting.
Moral of the Story: Don't give up, or you won't get the fish. Oh, and don't go out into the ocean for two days without enough water.
No comments:
Post a Comment