.....but for me, Sun is quite simply a better story. I think I have been honest in the past that I am not an intellectual reader. I love stories.....use of grammar and dialogue are secondary, and so are hidden meanings. Yes, I do recognize and respect these qualities, but I would still love Huck Finn even if it wasn't so damn powerful/important for society back in the day.
As for Old Man, I just love the story. Yes, it is a strong metaphor for the struggles of man (or the working man), but that is icing on the cake.
I am also fond of Old Man because of this quote from EM about it (and writing in general, which supports my idea of story-first):
No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. ... I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things.
Ernest Hemingway in 1954