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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
2.5*
Novela que es 30% sopor, 30% divulgación sobre las ballenas y 40% interesante. La parte donde no se va por los cerros de Úbeda está muy bien, la obsesión de Ahab, la "malvada" Moby Dick, el mundo marítimo... pero entre tanta paja se hace difícil disfrutar de la historia.
Novela que es 30% sopor, 30% divulgación sobre las ballenas y 40% interesante. La parte donde no se va por los cerros de Úbeda está muy bien, la obsesión de Ahab, la "malvada" Moby Dick, el mundo marítimo... pero entre tanta paja se hace difícil disfrutar de la historia.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first and last quarter of this book was the parts I was most into. once they got on the boat Melville hits you with massive amounts of encyclopedic chapters on whaling and boating and other intricacies, these could be hit or miss. The chapters are fairly short for the most part, so even if theres a dud or a chapter that flew right past me, the next chapter could be a straight banger
I should have known I couldn’t read this. It’s a bunch of masculine men on a ship, hunting and butchering gorgeous sentient whales. My fault for thinking this was for me. I’m sure there’s interesting analysis where it critiques colonization, whaling, empiricism. I just couldn’t stay plugged in long enough.
I like the gay main characters! That was a pleasant surprise. Even though one of them is a caricature of the noble savage native barbarism, I found their relationship cute, odd, and endearing.
I like the gay main characters! That was a pleasant surprise. Even though one of them is a caricature of the noble savage native barbarism, I found their relationship cute, odd, and endearing.
It's not everyday I read a novel this old (1851) or this long or on such a strange topic. But it's a classic and it's a target of mine to read or re-read at least 2-3 classics a year. A classic in my book, however, can also be a book written in the 1960's. Or perhaps even later.
Anyway, I must have read a Reader's Digest version of this one as a young girl, because some central bits of the action were known to me. But I certainly didn't read the whole thing - omg, it's so comprehensive. At the end, there's simply nothing the reader doesn't know about whaling in the 1800's.
Sometimes I almost gave up - when it was at its most long-winded. But then it would pick up its pace again and I'd be breathless. I listened to it in a slightly dated audio version, chosen among a large selection. I chose this one, because the narrator's tone of voice fits the novel's.
Melville must have been a very learned man, because he quotes the Greeks and he quotes this that and the other that I don't know. And he can alliterate! And he does it all the time. Amazing.
This novel is demanding and probably not for everyone. I notice that there's a book called Why Read Moby-Dick (by Nathaniel Philbrick). That might be an idea for those who think it's too massive an undertaking to read the original work.
It took me 2-3 months to get through it... Have read a couple of other books in between.
Anyway, I must have read a Reader's Digest version of this one as a young girl, because some central bits of the action were known to me. But I certainly didn't read the whole thing - omg, it's so comprehensive. At the end, there's simply nothing the reader doesn't know about whaling in the 1800's.
Sometimes I almost gave up - when it was at its most long-winded. But then it would pick up its pace again and I'd be breathless. I listened to it in a slightly dated audio version, chosen among a large selection. I chose this one, because the narrator's tone of voice fits the novel's.
Melville must have been a very learned man, because he quotes the Greeks and he quotes this that and the other that I don't know. And he can alliterate! And he does it all the time. Amazing.
This novel is demanding and probably not for everyone. I notice that there's a book called Why Read Moby-Dick (by Nathaniel Philbrick). That might be an idea for those who think it's too massive an undertaking to read the original work.
It took me 2-3 months to get through it... Have read a couple of other books in between.
It took me almost a month to read it, because it's super boring. I thought it would be a great adventure, but it's really not; I still haven't figured out if it was a novel, an essay or a play.
I think the book is split in 3 parts. The first one was okay, it settles everything and we learn more about the main characters and the narrator (God, he is boring that one). And the third one was the most interesting, cause it's what we read the book for. But the second one? That one was so boring, it's just explanations about the ship or whales.
It's not a bad novel, it's well written, but it's definitely not what I expected nor what I enjoy reading.
I think the book is split in 3 parts. The first one was okay, it settles everything and we learn more about the main characters and the narrator (God, he is boring that one). And the third one was the most interesting, cause it's what we read the book for. But the second one? That one was so boring, it's just explanations about the ship or whales.
It's not a bad novel, it's well written, but it's definitely not what I expected nor what I enjoy reading.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the theatrical writing of Moby Dick - the character asides, the ‘setting’ of the Pequod, especially the way tension was built in the uneventful, quiet days leading up to ‘The Chase’ chapters.
But there were too many chapters on dense cetology and focus on the technical detail of whaling for me to appreciate right now.
But there were too many chapters on dense cetology and focus on the technical detail of whaling for me to appreciate right now.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Excellent book but definitely requires a reread to truly understand.
Melville manages to fill his book's hull with blubber and everything that isn't hunting Moby Dick -- with almost pinpoint comedic timing. The first chapters are a honeypot trap: I was kinda getting into the dark mysteries of Queequeg the cannibal and Captain Ahab (there was even some kinda homoerotic subtext in the 'bed' scene that was unexpected and hinted at some complexities behind Ishmael)...and then that old tease Herman pulled the rug out with Chapter 32: Cetology.
From that point on, except for little incidents and gams here and there, Ishmael shines and dazzles as he demonstrates what a boring narrator he is. He explains factoids galore about whales that I could not give less of a crap about (we get it, they're big). I got a real sickening feeling in my stomach when it became apparent that the Moby Dick films had been mercifully hiding, for our sake, a thousand barnacles clinging to what oughtta be an awesome story of God vs Man vs Big Ass Whale.
That said, the last fifth is pretty great. Love it or hate it, I appreciate that he constructed his massive, unwieldy epic with no concern if the reader would follow him. For those who read it all the way through, you have to end up sympathizing with Ahab and crew while they're on their own equally nonsensical journey.
From that point on, except for little incidents and gams here and there, Ishmael shines and dazzles as he demonstrates what a boring narrator he is. He explains factoids galore about whales that I could not give less of a crap about (we get it, they're big). I got a real sickening feeling in my stomach when it became apparent that the Moby Dick films had been mercifully hiding, for our sake, a thousand barnacles clinging to what oughtta be an awesome story of God vs Man vs Big Ass Whale.
That said, the last fifth is pretty great. Love it or hate it, I appreciate that he constructed his massive, unwieldy epic with no concern if the reader would follow him. For those who read it all the way through, you have to end up sympathizing with Ahab and crew while they're on their own equally nonsensical journey.