Craig Caldwell

Just completed "The Old Man And The Sea." Having now read Hemingway's best, I am greatful that English and American Literature can be enjoyed via a wide variety of genres! Stream of Consciousness, character driven, Realism is not what I enjoy. This is not to downgrade these works, in the least bit. Simply a matter of preference. There are people who do not eat steak, regardless to what extent it is cooked!

After ALL his years of deep-sea fishing, how, exactly, did the old man neglect to learn, and master, the timeless notion of "Catch & Release?" Both he and the sharks bit off far more than they could chew! On a positive note, this story held my attention better than the other three (Sun Also, Farewell, and AT&T!)

At age 59, this four-volume, unabridged collection [The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell To Arms, For Whom The Bell Tolls, and The Old Man And The Sea] is my first exposure to Hemingway. No one forced my reading of any during my formative years. Now that I find myself residing in the thriving metropolis of Piggott AR, (Pop. 3623, Clay County, extreme NE corner) where some of these works were written, I have chosen to read these four, in the order they are presented. Thus far, I have completed two. First off, I despise Fiction...Being lied to...well you get the point! Secondly, Naturalism: stream of consciousness realism does not appeal to me. In the end, the "good guy" SHOULD win! AFTA, for me, was an improvement on TSAR.

Getting through this narrative? What I can only imagine what would be required to chew through, and force down a medium-well done, honey-baked slab of Styrofoam! I kept waiting for SOMETHING to develop--a congame, a caper to undermine the French economy, anything!!! People interacting within their tight little isolated circle--Whatever! People who behave as such? I avoid. No clearly-identifiable villain! No flawed protagonist! I expected an action-packed adventure, and instead found myself trudging through one's daily travel journal. Major disappointment. Drinks, anyone? Who's buying, this time?