The Old Man and the Boy
by Robert Ruark
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert RuarkEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-08-15
ISBN: 080502669X
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The Old Man and the Boy
Book Review: This is what every man's boyhood should have been like
Summary: 5 Stars
This book contains 29 quasi-biographical short stories about Ruark's youth in North Carolina during the Depression and Prohibition. These stories are about fishing and hunting and appreciating nature and, most importantly, learning life's lessons. The narrator (The Boy) describes his fishing and hunting adventures with his grandfather (The Old Man). The Old Man teaches the Boy how to shoot, how to safely handle a gun, how to maintain a boat, the habits of various types of fish and game, etc. At the same time, the Old Man is giving the boy many of the more important life's lessons about respect (for both oneself and others), the value of education, women, and a sense of responsibility. This is a great book. Each of the stories is relatively short (say 10 pages) and written with an easy prose. You could easily sit down and blow through this book in an afternoon, but after I read the first few stories, I wanted to savor every one and draw it out. As you're reading these stories, you'll smell the salt air of the ocean or the smoky aroma of game cooking over an open fire. Ruark may not satisfy the literary critics and write prose like Hemingway or Faulkner, but he is certainly one of America's greatest writers. I don't understand why he isn't more widely read, I only discovered his writing about a year ago myself. In any case, I can guarantee that you will ponder your own childhood as you read this book, and by the time you finish this book, you'll be thinking about what it is you really want to do with the rest of your life. I agree with one of the other reviewers, I would give this book 6 stars if I could. These are stories about hunting and fishing, but they are also stories about growing up and about life.
Summary of The Old Man and the Boy
This classic captures the endearing relationship between a man and his grandson as they fish and hunt the lakes and woods of North Carolina. All the while the Old Man acts as teacher and guide, passing on his wisdom and life experiences to the boy, who listens in rapt fascination.
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