The Old Man and the Sea

Last week I finished listening to a recording of The Old Man and the Sea, the 1952 Pulitzer Prize-winning classic by Ernest Hemingway. It is, of course, a great book - if you've never read it, I heartily recommend it. The old man's struggle with the fish is captivating (and I'm not a fisherman), the friendship between the old man and the boy who helps take care of him is endearing, and the glimpses into life in pre-Castro Cuba are enlightening.

I was reminded of something I learned in junior high English class - how most novels are about man versus man, man versus nature, or man versus himself.

I recently listened to The Road, which has been compared to some of Hemingway's work, and I could hear why - the styles are quite similar. The plot moves along with just enough description to set the emotional tone. In The Road, the man and the boy are never named; in The Old Man and the Sea, the characters have names, but the story refers them almost always as The Old Man and The Boy.

Next: Something completely different: The Princess and the Goblin.