We meet again, Mr. Hemingway. This time, it was a more fortuitous meeting.
Funny that I read two books, back to back, dealing with men stuck out at sea. "The Life of Pi" is often compared to "The old Man & the Sea."
Here we meet an old man, past his fishing prime. He has lost the young buy who was apprenticed to him, but he's not angered. He understands that he is old. He is old and poor and living in Cuba. He sets out one morning with the rest of the fishermen and ends up going far out to sea, being pulled by the larges Marlin he has ever seen. He considers it a battle of wills, that lasts for days and days. He respects this fish and knows in the end, he (the man) will win out.
I enjoyed Hemingway's writing this time. The old man has such a strength of character. He is a good man and you can feel it in his words and actions. He reveres things that the younger generation takes for granted or mocks. He is no longer proud in the sense of being stubborn. He is proud is being quiet, meek, and with a strong belief in his relationship to God, the sea and this fish, his brother.
He succeeds and also fails. I cringed at his return and all that happened, but I was glad he got home and everyone saw what this old man did - something they could never do.
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