First published in 1952, nine years before his suicide, this parable of Biblical simplicity towers above the rest of Hemingway's oeuvre. The bonestark economy of the prose and the sympathetic portrayal of an aged fisherman down on his luck yet refusing to rail against the gods provides a profound insight into the importance its troubled author placed on honour and courage. While the poetry of the young boy's exchanges with the old man whom he loves is unconvincingly lyric as dialogue, the narrative acquires true grandeur as Santiago, through his struggle with a giant fish and his battle with maurauding sharks, becomes a philosopher, a warrior, a hero and, eventually, a victor.
Eileen Battersby