“The Old Man and the Sea” is a short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 19521. It tells the story of Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman who has not caught a fish for 84 days.
Determined to break his unlucky streak, Santiago sails far into the Gulf Stream, where he hooks a giant marlin. The fish pulls the boat for three days, during which Santiago endures constant pain from the fishing line. He finally manages to kill the marlin and lash it to his boat. However, sharks are attracted to the marlin’s blood and eat the fish, leaving only its skeleton. Despite his loss, Santiago remains a symbol of resilience and dignity.
This hugely successful novella confirmed Hemingway’s power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Illustrated with many wonderful woodcuts by C. F. Tunnicliffe and Raymond Sheppard.
