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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
If you're going to embark on this voyage do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook read by Frank Muller. His narration makes it all worthwhile.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed reading this on many levels, but it was a slog to get through. The moments of brillance are deep, but the boring parts are wide, at least for this contemporary reader.
I found Ahab's wreckless vengance a useful allegory for any human attachment. I particularly liked it when, despite recognizing all the signs, even those heaven sent, telling him to let go, he knowingly clung even tighter to his irrational attachment...in the end predictably being drug to the bottom by a hemp rope. Karmic justice. God save the whales!
I found Ahab's wreckless vengance a useful allegory for any human attachment. I particularly liked it when, despite recognizing all the signs, even those heaven sent, telling him to let go, he knowingly clung even tighter to his irrational attachment...in the end predictably being drug to the bottom by a hemp rope. Karmic justice. God save the whales!
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The characters are not archetypes, they are vehicles for deeper concepts.
"Melville allows us to consider various possibilities in his conceptions of the nature of evil and of the universe:
1. That the universe and God are all-good, essentially spiritual. This is the transcendental view that unites God, man, and nature in mutual perfection.
2. That the universe is controlled by an omnipotent and benevolent God who permits evil in man and nature. This is Christian dualism [..]
3. That good and evil are independent, equally powerful principles at war for control of the universe. This is Zoroastrian or Manichaean.
4. That the universe or God is essentially evil.
5. That the universe is chaotic.
6. That the universe is orderly but godless, therefore indifferent."
(Text from the introduction of the Bantam Classic edition)
"Melville allows us to consider various possibilities in his conceptions of the nature of evil and of the universe:
1. That the universe and God are all-good, essentially spiritual. This is the transcendental view that unites God, man, and nature in mutual perfection.
2. That the universe is controlled by an omnipotent and benevolent God who permits evil in man and nature. This is Christian dualism [..]
3. That good and evil are independent, equally powerful principles at war for control of the universe. This is Zoroastrian or Manichaean.
4. That the universe or God is essentially evil.
5. That the universe is chaotic.
6. That the universe is orderly but godless, therefore indifferent."
(Text from the introduction of the Bantam Classic edition)
I was really into the beginning of the story, the relationship build between Queequeg and Ishmael, but the endless facts about whales were not my cup of tea.
I don't even know where to begin. I've never read anything close to this good. It was funny, thoughtful, intense, dense, emotional, playful, pedantic, obsessive, wonderful, and any number of other adjectives. It's as good as everyone says it is and maybe even better. I'm slightly shaking still from the last bit. Awesome. Without question my favorite book ever.
Maybe I'll come back to edit this after I decompress a bit. That last stretch was intense.
Maybe I'll come back to edit this after I decompress a bit. That last stretch was intense.
I LOVED the first bit of this before Ishmael et al went to sea especially queequeg (more like queer coded badum tish amirite)
But holy shit I don’t understand how a retelling of a man literally going to the ends of the earth to seek vengeance against another creature can be so… lacking in any passion or emotion?? And so unbelievably boring?? I know it’s your classic 19th century one degree removed narration (not sure if this is the right thing to call it?) but that is NO excuse, look at how amazingly frankenstein did it and that’s technically a narration like 3 degrees removed from the story, nevermind Ishmael literally directly retelling his own story he experienced
Also it just does like that dramatic language really badly and not in a way that is remotely interesting- again other similar books like frankenstein or especially the scarlet letter do that almost Romanticist level of excessive description and hyperbole so well and this one just really doesnt and also i am sick of reading the word monomaniac
ETA: especially since i just found out this book is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne which is straight up an insult to his work
It just does a really bad job of building up to the final confrontation with moby dick, every time a bit of tension is built or you get some sort of foreshadowing/symbolic event, the build up is then totally destroyed by 30 pages of a taxonomy of different types of whales and a description of their different bones in their skeleton
I did enjoy the ending, I think it was the right narrative choice to make instead of a triumphant ending but it was so SO short it was absolutely not worth the hundreds of pages before it. Also it was Far too quick, i get its not ishmaels story and hence v little about him but like 3 pages or so and then its done? I don’t think ! !
Overall this is my least favourite 19th C book i’ve read so far, and i’ve read the entire works of Hans Christian Andersen
But holy shit I don’t understand how a retelling of a man literally going to the ends of the earth to seek vengeance against another creature can be so… lacking in any passion or emotion?? And so unbelievably boring?? I know it’s your classic 19th century one degree removed narration (not sure if this is the right thing to call it?) but that is NO excuse, look at how amazingly frankenstein did it and that’s technically a narration like 3 degrees removed from the story, nevermind Ishmael literally directly retelling his own story he experienced
Also it just does like that dramatic language really badly and not in a way that is remotely interesting- again other similar books like frankenstein or especially the scarlet letter do that almost Romanticist level of excessive description and hyperbole so well and this one just really doesnt and also i am sick of reading the word monomaniac
ETA: especially since i just found out this book is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne which is straight up an insult to his work
It just does a really bad job of building up to the final confrontation with moby dick, every time a bit of tension is built or you get some sort of foreshadowing/symbolic event, the build up is then totally destroyed by 30 pages of a taxonomy of different types of whales and a description of their different bones in their skeleton
I did enjoy the ending, I think it was the right narrative choice to make instead of a triumphant ending but it was so SO short it was absolutely not worth the hundreds of pages before it. Also it was Far too quick, i get its not ishmaels story and hence v little about him but like 3 pages or so and then its done? I don’t think ! !
Overall this is my least favourite 19th C book i’ve read so far, and i’ve read the entire works of Hans Christian Andersen
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably should give this a slightly lower star rating but I’m on the high of the end of the book so here we are. What an end it was. There are of course all sorts of things that haven’t aged fantastically in this book, but the core narrative and how it’s delivered is an utter experience. Anyone who says Ishmael digresses too much knows not what they ask for, in my opinion - every dithering digression and pretentious aside and weirdly articulated scene built the claustrophobic immensity of [waves hand at both the events and the themes of the book], and I don’t think the pre-epilogue end of this book could possibly have hit the way it hit me without every word of it. Yes, even the seven billion minutes of Why White Is Unsettling and the aside about Why Sailors Are Weird About Seals. I am compelled by whatever the fuck Ahab and Starbuck have going on. I am ofc compelled by Ahab’s whole deal. A lifetime of osmosis about this book did not prepare me for how much this climax was about aging and regret and the sunk cost fallacy and choice. I was prepared to ask questions about what we are in the face of the inevitable enormity of the sea and fate, but wasn’t prepared to feel them quite this hard. I should really have expected the sheer quantity of words I’ve heard about blubber.
Absolutely elevated by the audiobook format - Ishmael is conversational and at times insufferable and deeply incessant, and having him live in my car for days on end while he talks my ear off and sometimes I even zone out felt perfect. Like, sometimes you sure are stuck on a ship with the same guy for dealing with Yet Another Whale Sighting (or worse, lack thereof) for way too long, and you sure aren’t getting off this ride until your unhinged boss finally chases down his psychological issues and either kills them dead or takes you all down trying, and if that feels like it takes forever it’s because there’s nothing but salt water as far as the eye can see on all sides and it does in fact take for-flipping-ever. Many times I let the cadence of it all wash over me without worrying about rewinding for content, and I suspect I will not recall much of the events of this book even as the vibes and themes stick with me. Which, again, feels right. William Hootkins was a phenomenal reader; cannot recommend highly enough.
Absolutely elevated by the audiobook format - Ishmael is conversational and at times insufferable and deeply incessant, and having him live in my car for days on end while he talks my ear off and sometimes I even zone out felt perfect. Like, sometimes you sure are stuck on a ship with the same guy for dealing with Yet Another Whale Sighting (or worse, lack thereof) for way too long, and you sure aren’t getting off this ride until your unhinged boss finally chases down his psychological issues and either kills them dead or takes you all down trying, and if that feels like it takes forever it’s because there’s nothing but salt water as far as the eye can see on all sides and it does in fact take for-flipping-ever. Many times I let the cadence of it all wash over me without worrying about rewinding for content, and I suspect I will not recall much of the events of this book even as the vibes and themes stick with me. Which, again, feels right. William Hootkins was a phenomenal reader; cannot recommend highly enough.