The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway + Savennières

It has been a long time since I wanted to read Hemingway’s short story. I finally found it by chance last weekend in a Parisian train station bookshop, while I was waiting for a train to my parents’.

To be fully honest, it was really intimidating to read a book that received both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, The Old Man and the Sea is actually very approachable. Simple. Both in the style and the plot. In a few words, it is the story of Santiago, an old fisherman in Cuba, who catches the biggest fish he has ever seen after struggling for three days.

Some say it is disappointing. I do not think so, but I must admit The Old Man and the Sea is not my favorite book. To be more precise, even if the style is profoundly admirable, there is a little something that makes Hemingway’s work not as impressive as critics claim.

As Anthony Burgess – renowned English author, A clockwork orange – stated about the short story: “Every word tells and there is not a word too many.” This is the magic of Hemingway’s style. He writes without ostentation and does not lose himself in useless interminable descriptions. He goes straight to the point without being too abrupt. He stays down-to-earth yet manages to engage his readers with very lively scenes.

Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, there is a little something that left me unsatisfied. It is probably the impression – my personal impression – that Hemingway tries to expand the time, to stretch the action in order to have a story long enough for the reader.

In order to occupy this time Hemingway gives you, it might be wise to go open a bottle of wine, don’t you think so?
I would go for a Savennières, a dry white wine from the Loire Valley, made with Chenin Blanc grapes.

You wonder why?

Because of Santiago, the old fisherman. His traditional way of fishing reminds me of Savennières, a rather confidential appellation tied to its patrimony. Producing full-bodied and long-lived wine, striking with its simplicity, the western Loire appellation seems to be the very mirror of Santiago’s personality: honest, precise in his gesture and nurtured with an incredible experience. Yet, Savennière wine does not lack of finesse and elegance. Indeed, it offers an agreeable freshness that perfectly accompanies and balances the complexity of the wine.

If you are looking for a more precise reference, you should probably taste Château de Varennes’ Savennières – thanks to which I discovered the wine – it is a good ambassador for the appellation.

In case you want to learn more about it, go check Jancis Robinson’s – one of the most influent personalities in the world of wine – article: Revived Savennières.

We Could Almost Eat Outside, Philippe Delerm – Bière de Brie

We could almost eat outside: an appreciation of life’s small pleasures is a series of short texts, describing simple moments of life that brings happiness and make everything worthwhile, such as the very first sip of a fresh beer, the moment when you read a book on the beach, or when you look through a kaleidoscope.

Philippe Delerm’s style is astonishing by the sharpness of the descriptions he makes and the delicacy of the metaphors he uses. He knows how to find the exact right words to express some very abstract feelings. He perfectly renders the ephemeral impressions a small pleasure of life can give you with his sensory language.

Personally, it reminded me a lot from my childhood; like when I helped my mother shell peas. It was usually during summer, we were sitting at the garden table, enjoying the sun while filling a bowl of freshly shelled green peas and chatting about everything and nothing. Philippe Delerm’s short story took me back instantly to these cherished moments I spent with my mom.

We could almost eat outside appears as a collection of ordinary souvenirs. It goes from the countryside with short stories like the afternoon when you go pick blackberries and then jump to more urban frameworks with the croissant you go buy for breakfast and you eat in the street, before getting back home. This book appeals to everyone; you will undoubtedly find at least one anecdote that remind you of something you lived, and it will surely make a feeling of nostalgia emerge in your heart.

Obviously, tasting a delicious glass of wine can be classified as a “small pleasure of life”. However, today I will break with tradition and go for a beer. Why a beer? you may ask me… Probably because one of my favorite short story describes the moment when you have the very first sip of a beer. Nonetheless, I am not talking about having an ordinary beer. I am thinking about having a Bière de Brie (Beer made in the Brie region, a charming region in the East of Paris). Made by the farm/brewery Rabourdin with a very traditional method, the Bière de Brie is declined in three varieties in order to satisfy all tastes: the Blanche one, the Blonde, and the Ambrée.