Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea (1980)
127 pages
Published Nov. 21, 1980
The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to their awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.
Written in very simple English, it's easy to understand and doesn't hide behind flowery language. The story and mood are powerful, and really make you identify with the old man. Above all, it's short.
