I finished Old Man and the Sea last night. It was about 100 pages long, so I guess that’s like a novella or long short story or something. I read it in three sittings, and it was really delightful. The story was about an old man, who’s getting closer to death every day. He lives in Cuba, in a small hut. And everyday him and this young boy, Santiago, talk to each other and get their boats ready and set out. And the boy takes care of him, making sure he’s warm, and fed, and has a new edition of the newspaper, which the old man reads every day. It’s very sweet. And the old man hasn’t caught any fish in a long time, and everyone doubts whether he will ever catch anything again.
And then one day the old man sets out, and goes very very far away, and catches a massive fish. It’s one of the largest he’s ever caught. And then for like three days he’s just holding this fish, making sure it doesn’t break the line or tip him over or anything. And it’s just him thinking on his life, willing his old body to muster the strength one last time. It was really brutal. Very good though. And in the end, he catches the fish, kills it, and starts to head back home. And on the way, he gets attacked by sharks, who take parts of his fish, and he fights them off and kills them.
Finally, after like three to four days, he returns back home, on the brink of death. And the boy finds him, helps him not die, and the old man falls asleep dreaming of his glory days.
It was a very reflective story about an old man who’s travelled far and done a lot, and kind of this horrific last hurrah and mental battle that he fights with this fish. I really enjoyed it.