content: I was looking forward to read this acclaimed book but in honesty, was just disappointed by it. Not that the writing style isn't good, not that the story isn't interesting. Yes, as many critics say, the book touches on many topics of human personalities, flaws and qualities. But when they say "touch on", that's really all it is. If you are looking for insights, for inspiration in any of these topics, I think you are better off reading Herman Hesse. So much that it's clear to me that the level of awareness that Hemingway had was quite lower than that of Hesse. Where Hemingway saw that there was more to man than his action and thoughts, Hesse saw emotions, yearning and melancholy.Perhaps 50 years ago, with the level of consciousness society had, this was a good novel. But today, the main value of this book is the details of fishing at the time.