The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man And The Sea is a great book. It is small in terms of text but comprehensive in terms of the emotions and thought processes of a solitary man fighting his seemingly invincible bad luck.

I had not read fiction in a long time. On reading somewhere that research proves reading fiction helps in improving brain connectivity and empathy, I decided to give it a try.

This is the story of a fisherman down on his luck, who decides to not come back from a trip without a fish. And his thoughts, his emotions, his memories along with the constant struggle.

Having one's own pride take over safety and sanity is something we all do at one point or the other. The old man did the same, and his pride was all he had at the end. That he had to gain a lot and then lose a lot and fight all through it made for a very motivational reading.

Here are a few execepts:

Positivity in the face of pessimism.

Fiction in daily life: something I was not aware of.

"You'll not fish without eating while I'm alive."

Fiction seems to be the antitode to misery.
Guilt seems to be the domain of the kind hearted.

Imagination does not need big words or clever phrases.

And the journey begins!

This guy generates fiction in his own life.
He talks to himself.
But seems very sane to me.

The part where you suspect all won't go the old man's way.

I loved the love-hate relationship the man's mind had with the fish.

Being a strange old badass.

"All I must do is keep the head clear."

A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

Here comes the realisation of ego, and the complexity of thought.

"..from his pain he knew he was not dead."
-- I wonder if Hemingway was
the first to use this theme.

This is the kind of book where everyone reading it will come up with different thoughts. I highly recommend it.