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The Old Man and the Sea  By  cover art

The Old Man and the Sea

By: Ernest Hemingway
Narrated by: Donald Sutherland
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Publisher's summary

The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal, a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss.

Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed Hemingway's power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.

©1952 Ernest Hemingway (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon and Schuster Audio Division, Simon and Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Male, 2007

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What listeners say about The Old Man and the Sea

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Buy it!

If you care at all about the English language you must use 2 1/2 hours of your time on the planet listening to this work. It is possibly the simplest scenario imaginable for a novel but is completed with style and economy which is what made Hemingway unique. The icing on the cake is that Sutherland's narration is nearly as exceptional as the book itself. Buy it!

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61 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Old Man & the Sea

A must buy! Narrated by Donald Sutherland, need I say more.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Donald Sutherland was superb!

You need not be nearly as persistent as "the old man" to listen to this. The narration is about perfect, and as long as you can handle an unassuming, tender story about fishing for days on end you shouldn't have any trouble with this one.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great!

Hadn’t read this in HS so when my son had to I took advantage of it! Thoroughly enjoyed it although he was agonizing through it so this helped him greatly. He turns speed up to 1.5x or 2x and then will read along.
Loved Donald Sutherland’s voice.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

bad sound

I'm not sure if it was bad recorded or what? The base was too high. I had hardtime understanding words.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Essential Info in Becoming a Man

Hemingway has such a basic simple unique style that makes such an easy listen. Required reading for teenage men, you will learn all you need to know about fishing in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Avery good story about values. I wish I was on the boat.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

I keep listening to this classic, over and over, as Donald Sutherland brings the story to life with such perfection.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Understand why its a classic

Donald Sutherland read a fantastic story. An beautiful story of the human spirit and determination.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • R
  • 12-31-18

Story vs narrator

This is a classic must read story that is filled with deep life lessons. Unfortunately, the narrator was lacking in expression and the almost monotone speech made a lovely story boring and difficult to listen to as it induced sleep.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Donald Sutherland's rendition is just brilliant

Donald Sutherland's rendition of this classic tale, is brilliant. He draws you in, very slowly, and keeps you mesmerize with the use of his voice . He is able to bring the lines of text alive. And as most of the book, is a long conversation, between Santiago (the old) and the big Marlin he he was able to catch. This is not an easy feat to pull.

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