The old man and the sea

Some time ago, I read "The Old Man and the Sea", a portuguese version by Jorge de Sena. Jorge was a Portuguese who died in 1978. Thus, the Brazilians readers might wonder a little the language.

It's short. I read in two hours, between calls to my family in another state, but make no mistake ... This is a powerful writing, born from the hands of Ernest Hemingway, a beautiful capture of the individual conflicts of those in end of his tether physical and psychological.

I recommend, especially for those who have fought and fought for a long time, trying to get something that looks like the solution of all troubles, but at the end, "died on the beach" like we say in Brazil. Disappointment and frustration, but never self-pity or withdrawal.

It was for me a lesson by which I learned that success may be not to reach the final goal, but the way we pursue it, the struggle, the perseverance and the dignity. The recognition and admiration of those around us always come in some way, at some time, and become part of our personal legend.

Perhaps the book is just a metaphor of life as a permanent arena for our fights in which not always we find the the success or even the meaning of it, thus making more important the way that trailed to the last breath, when the prize is revealed as just having around us the people we love.