fluffybunny Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Before I read this aloud to my ds15, who has HFA and is quite sensitive, does it have any disturbing parts that I could skip over? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 In cases like this, I would recommend that you read the book beforehand. It's a very quick read and you would be the best judge of what would be appropriate. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Before I read this aloud to my ds15, who has HFA and is quite sensitive, does it have any disturbing parts that I could skip over? Thanks IMHO, the whole book is disturbing. I remember being depressed by that book in high school. I think Geezle would be very upset by the unfairness of the whole thing, although that is a valuable life lesson he'll have to learn one way or another. I'm sorry, Fluffybunny, I'm rambling and I don't know if it's a good idea or not. I second Swimmermom's rec to read it yourself first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I had to read this book in high school, and I found it extremely disturbing, I hated it, and it turned me off of Hemingway for 25 years. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Now see, I reread it recently and found a stark beauty there that I did not find before, so I didn't feel that I could comment on it. Again, I think Mom is in the best position to make the call after she has read the book. I'll go ahead and make the blanket sexist statement that many women do not like Hemingway for many reasons, yet he often resonates with young men. Fluffybunny, what books has your son enjoyed and what books have distressed him? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Now see, I reread it recently and found a stark beauty there that I did not find before, so I didn't feel that I could comment on it. Again, I think Mom is in the best position to make the call after she has read the book. I'll go ahead and make the blanket sexist statement that many women do not like Hemingway for many reasons, yet he often resonates with young men. Fluffybunny, what books has your son enjoyed and what books have distressed him? I'm sure I'd experience it differently now, and I have read and enjoyed Hemingway in my 40s. But as a 15 year old girl, I hated it. I agree it's the kind of thing a mom should read and judge for her own kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Mine loved it, but we have roots in the Caribbean. DH is not a big literature guy, but he loves everything Hemingway because of the settings and how he writes. Every other year or so we go salt water fishing and snorkeling, and we know first hand about some aspects of that story. But when I was a land-locked teen who had seen the ocean only once in San Francisco? I barely tolerated it. It is indeed somewhat "raw," but that's Hemingway and typical of the setting of the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristie in Florida Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Every time I read Hemingway I have an urge to throw the book across the room. Pre read it definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I love this book. I didn't read it until i was an adult. It is definitely disturbing and there is no skipping over disturbing parts because it is the whole thing that is disturbing. However, it also holds a power and the relationship bond in it is so pure... I found it so compelling. This is a novella, around 100 pages. Read it yourself. I had both my kids read it, even my sensitive one. However, there is no way I would tell someone it isn't disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcmommy Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 My (autistic) 18 yr old loved it when he read it recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Thanks for your replies everyone. Fluffybunny, what books has your son enjoyed and what books have distressed him? That's a good question: The one thing that disturbs him more than anything is when animals or children harmed. He will totally freak out. If there's none of that in there, and the fish is not 'personified' when it gets killed, then it should be ok. If it's 'depressive' I'll read it with a lighter tone to my voice :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I read this in 8th grade English. It is something I still remember, and I can't remember what else I read in 8th grade (off the top of my head). I liked it, and I found it upsetting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Thanks for your replies everyone. That's a good question: The one thing that disturbs him more than anything is when animals or children harmed. He will totally freak out. If there's none of that in there, and the fish is not 'personified' when it gets killed, then it should be ok. If it's 'depressive' I'll read it with a lighter tone to my voice :p DS and I read it back in (his) 6th grade, and didn't find anything disturbing. The sea itself is personified, and the fish is the external force in the battle between the man and the sea. He does have to eat raw fish to survive, and eventually catches the fish, treating it with great honor. On the way back in (at night), sharks come and eat the fish off the side of his boat. Nothing is recoverable. Does it count as animals being harmed? Very well could be... Best to read it yourself ahead of time. It is a very quick read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 That's a good question: The one thing that disturbs him more than anything is when animals or children harmed. He will totally freak out. If there's none of that in there, and the fish is not 'personified' when it gets killed, then it should be ok. If it's 'depressive' I'll read it with a lighter tone to my voice :p The fish is a bit personified. It takes days to catch it. The man respects the fish and as I recall gives it credit for some emotions. However, you certainly don't see things from the fish's perspective, and other than the fish, no animals and no children are harmed :). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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