The Old Man and the Sea - E. Hemmingway

But, Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. - E. Hemmingway

So tells the wise man in about 100 pages of genious and original work which brought him the Nobel prise for literature. Written in simple English the novel is a characteristic monologue of Santiago an old man who fights eighty-three days without a fish and finally catches a large fish to be eaten away by sharks. But, he leaves no hope and brings the skeleton back to the shore as the prowess of his skill and pride.

I started reading novels very late in life. And this was my first novel and was in my school curriculum in class XII. One of the most powerful and impacting stories I have ever read in my life. I have read it numerous times when I felt down, bored or have doubted my potential.