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 It made me want to jump ship! November 2, 2008
In my quest to read all the literary classics, I do have to keep reminding myself that just because something is a "classic" I'm not necessarily going to enjoy it.
This was certainly the case with Moby Dick. Written in 1850 by a former Whaleman, it follows the story of the monomaniacal Captain Ahab and his ship the Pequod in the relentless pursuit of a fierce white whale - Moby Dick. The story is narrated by Ishmael, a member of the crew who is on his own personal journey of philosophical and spiritual enlightenment.
I enjoyed the book up to the point when the Pequod embarked on its journey, then for 400 odd interminable pages Melville presents you with an encyclopaedic account of a whale voyage, going into mind numbingly tedious detail of almost every aspect of the 19th Century whale industry, Cetology, whale mythology, the physiology and phrenology - Ad Nauseum!
Moby Dick is a hybrid of a novel and a factual book on Whales. The story is continually interrupted, often at exciting parts, by Melville while he indulges in yet another lengthy description. He's clearly far too close to his subject to be objective, therefore characters and plot are sacrificed for factual detail. It's only really in the last 100 pages that the action really gets going and we see the climax of Ahab's self destructive quest. All in all though, I was relieved to finally finish this book!
 Why don't you come a-whaling? July 24, 2008
It's a classic allegory, but Moby-Dick is an arduous experience. I once read a summary that this book is only truly capable of being judged when read all the way through to its climax. The fact is, this book holds true to it, and even if when reading it you feel yourself slipping: keep at it, there is some superb English and some superb thought hidden in this book.
There are two faults with this book. First, and the biggest one, is the many many chapters on the technical aspects of Whaling and Cetology. Although interesting at first, they descend into Minutiae, and even I as a person who loved the book from cover to cover skipped a few chapters of this nature, scanning for any truly important passages. Secondly, in a few scenes the dialogue can get confusing, but these are generally not key scenes- so do not worry. Just remember that nearly everyone refers to themselves in the Third-Person, and Melville's lack of "said -" becomes less vexing and confusing.
The book does, however, contain some of the best prose I have ever read- and I've read a lot of it. Poetic, almost Shakespearean, and above all soaked in atmosphere, there are times when this book just astounds you with the vividness and tenacity of its language. With phrases like "made appalling battle" it sweeps away the less complex and incredibly simple modern bestsellers like The Da Vinci Code.
At the heart of the book is an intense symbolism that would sound ludicrous to those who have not read the book, the fact that one white whale could represent so plausibly so so many things does sound far fetched, but when you read it you find so many different answers. Fate, Providence, Nature, Madness, Death, Predestination- all these things run as Ahab and the Pequod's brave and diligent crew assail Moby-Dick.
Sure to be remembered as one of the greatest books ever written even in the far far future, this novel is an experience like no other- and an incredibly individual and personally driven one too, perhaps why it is the source of so much praise and so much perplexity. This book teaches you the art of writing, and the art of allegory.
 Doesn't even deserve one star, it's that bad June 28, 2008
0 out of 8 found this review helpful
The author seems to think it far more appropriate to let us all know what a well-educated fellow he is by the use of overblown pompous classical waffling, than to tell the story. Avoid this awful book.
a bit drawn out but amazing prose December 1, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow! Every aspiring writer should give this a read...or then again maybe they shouldn't since it may be too depressing to read something this good. Like Joseph Conrad's works, Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, Moby-Dick is somewhat autobiographical, at least in the sense that Melville took to the high seas in a whaling boat in the middle of his life, prior to writing this. As a high schooler I found this book terribly boring, but now I mainly see it as amazingly well written. Kids probably shouldn't be forced to read classic literature because they generally don't appreciate it. In a sense, the whole novel is one long buildup to the final devastating scene, and perhaps there's some Freudian or other indirect psychological meaning to that layout of the story, but you'll have to find an expert for the correct interpretation. Apparently, Melville wasn't particularly commerically successful in his lifetime, partly because he was unconventional in style and wouldn't crank out mindless rubbish. Billy Budd is also certainly worth reading again. In summary, Moby-Dick should be required reading for every adult! Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.
This book took me forever to read! November 6, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is very hard work but it is worth it. It quite like dickens in that you have keep checking the footnotes to understand what on earth they are talking about. I suppose it is the polar opposite to the generic american airport reader. Fortunately I have met few people a cursed as Ahab...
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