To catch a big one...

Book 18 - A Pulitzer Prize-winning book

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 

One could say that this book and I had sort of a blind date. I had never heard of this novel before embarking on the task of finding a Pulitzer Prize-winner that I would enjoy. I had also never read a book written by Mr. Hemingway. The entire idea of Book 18 was indeed a mystery.

If you know me well enough, you will note that I rather detest a pause of reading when there is no chapter, part or section to stop at. I enjoy the ability to read till the next chapter and then stop, knowing that I won't be at all confused when I return to the novel, because I am ready to start a new part of the story. Novels that aren't separated in such a way force the reader to stop reading in the middle of a page or even at the end of a sentence.

To my delight, the novel was such an easy, flowy read that I was able to read it in the span of one day. 

I awoke at 6:23am and proceeded to prepare myself for a trip into town for my 7am chiropractor appointment. Whilst sitting in the waiting room, I began to read the novel. About 6 pages in, I was interrupted and forced to pause my reading. 

That same day, I sat down with my lunch in hand and began to read. I was again interrupted by the call of 1pm when I had reached 53 pages. 

To my delight, with supper finished, I was able to retire to my bedroom to finish the remainder of the novel. 

Throughout the entire story, I kept thinking that there was a metaphor there. I would eventually come across some part of the story that would just about blow my mind to bits. 

I arrived at the end of the story to discover that I had either not looked hard enough for the metaphor, or had been looking too hard and had completely missed it. 

As the title suggests, this novel is about an old man and...wait for it...the sea. 

The old man is a fisherman who hasn't caught a since fish in eighty-four days. He is determined that the eighty-fifth day is going to be the day he catches a big one. Rowing out much farther than most fishermen dare, and casting his lines, the old man begins a journey that will involve days of being pulled across the ocean by a marlin only to end the story wishing he had never caught the marlin in the first place. 

There is a great deal of strength and self-encouragement in the old man's heart; these both lead him to make the great catch. 

I would deem this sort of story to be one of those feel-good, inspirational sorts. Even when faced with a task that appeared impossible, the old man pushed on.

This novel is a simple read, and a very entertaining piece of literature. I believe I would rather enjoy reading more of Mr. Hemingway's novels. I suppose only time will tell.

Happy Moma's Day! this is t-bear signing off