The 306 Greatest Books #2 - The Old Man and the Sea

I am going back and posting all of my previous book reviews so that they are listed on my site in chronological order. The reviews are dated for the time when I read the book, hence the reason many of them will be listed for times before this website existed. 

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. This book can be found on the Sybervision and Norwegian Book Lists. 

The Old Man and the Sea was another high school book that was on my "adult re-read list", so reading it some-30 years later I revisit what I once truly loved. I said this about the book before and it still truly holds up, this is Hemingway's Moby Dick type story, however the titular "old man" of the book doesn't see the fish as his enemy but as his brother, one which he is destined by fate to either kill or be killed by. It is a sentimental story about aging, ableism, and the loneliness that comes as we age. A story where, more than half of, covers his battle with the fish, with the final quarter covering him trying to get home with his catch. Even though this is truly a fantastic story, I felt kinda bored by it. There was little desire to "see what happens next". It moved pretty slow for me, even while listening to it on audiobook, and was repetitive, although purposely so. So overall, while it is a short story, and a well written one with some great lessons, it still falls short of Hemingway's other works. 

The 306 Greatest Books #1: Of Mice and Men

I am going back and posting all of my previous book reviews so that they are listed on my site in chronological order. The reviews are dated for the time when I read the book, hence the reason many of them will be listed for times before this website existed. 

The first up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This book can be found on the Sybervision, BBC, and My Book Lists. 

While I had read this book in high school and I consider this the first book I have read on my list, I have since gone back and reread it. And my, what a depressing story this is. It has a very strong Great Depression vibe to it as well, although the Great Depression is never mentioned in the story. The plot follows two companions, one of which would be considered to have a learning disability today, Lennie, while the other individual, George, is the one that takes care of him and tries to make sure he doesn't get into trouble. Which doesn't always work out the way that he hopes. While the story is very short and follows only one instance of them as traveling farm hands to a new farm, the story itself delves into racism, ableism at the time, and in some instances men's mental health. It is a profound reading experience coming at it from a 21st century mind frame. I don't think I got anywhere near all those details in high school and this is one I was happy to travel back to. A must read in my opinion.