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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this because I follow a handful of people on Tumblr who, seemingly independent of each other, adore the book and will sometimes blorbopost about the characters. It turned out it's one of my close friend's favourite book, too!
And you know what? I get it!!
The narrative structure is very unusual. I would say the best way of describing it is by comparing it to listening to a story told by someone prone to infodumping about tangential topics. The story itself will pause for Ishmael to discuss the specifics of ropes on a boat, or the symbolism of the colour white, or the whale as food. It seems many people consider this frustrating, but I found it very charming, and I think Melville uses it effectively both as a demonstration of Ishmael's character and as a method of foreshadowing.
The book is dense and the prose is purple, but I found it very readable nonetheless.
Also, less important, I knew people had said the book was rather gay, but I expected, I don't know, innuendo and subtext. There was plenty of that (yes, I DID giggle at some of the passages about sperm...), but I didn't expect Ishmael and Queequeg snuggling and being described as akin to husband and wife, complete with bridal imagery!!
And you know what? I get it!!
The narrative structure is very unusual. I would say the best way of describing it is by comparing it to listening to a story told by someone prone to infodumping about tangential topics. The story itself will pause for Ishmael to discuss the specifics of ropes on a boat, or the symbolism of the colour white, or the whale as food. It seems many people consider this frustrating, but I found it very charming, and I think Melville uses it effectively both as a demonstration of Ishmael's character and as a method of foreshadowing.
The book is dense and the prose is purple, but I found it very readable nonetheless.
Also, less important, I knew people had said the book was rather gay, but I expected, I don't know, innuendo and subtext. There was plenty of that (yes, I DID giggle at some of the passages about sperm...), but I didn't expect Ishmael and Queequeg snuggling and being described as akin to husband and wife, complete with bridal imagery!!
I liked it a lot but also genuinely what the fuck was that
I remember loving the children's version of Moby Dick, so I was a bit wary when it came to reading it for I was afraid I'd be left disappointed. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was a pretty neutral read.
What was slowing the experience down was the amount of "unrelated" scientific data on the whales and the reasons why they were hunted that was talked about extensively. When the story was actually moving somewhere, it was a pretty pleasant experience, the ending especially hit me quite hard.
Now having also read Moby Dick and knowing the story that inspired it, I can definitely see correlations between it without just saying 'oh, they were all hunting for whales'.
The biggest surprise, however, was the pretty obvious gay relationship. I don't care if scholars and upstuck people say that they were just best friends, the two men were described to lie in bed together as man and wife with their legs intertwined and foreheads pressed together.
I gotta say that I definitely expected it to be worse. I expected lengthier and never-ending Ahab's speeches, like in Frankstein when the Creature's describing the family he was observing for some time. Of course, this was still written in the 19th century, but I would say it's one of those books that are proof how well some of the classics really are.
What was slowing the experience down was the amount of "unrelated" scientific data on the whales and the reasons why they were hunted that was talked about extensively. When the story was actually moving somewhere, it was a pretty pleasant experience, the ending especially hit me quite hard.
Now having also read Moby Dick and knowing the story that inspired it, I can definitely see correlations between it without just saying 'oh, they were all hunting for whales'.
The biggest surprise, however, was the pretty obvious gay relationship. I don't care if scholars and upstuck people say that they were just best friends, the two men were described to lie in bed together as man and wife with their legs intertwined and foreheads pressed together.
I gotta say that I definitely expected it to be worse. I expected lengthier and never-ending Ahab's speeches, like in Frankstein when the Creature's describing the family he was observing for some time. Of course, this was still written in the 19th century, but I would say it's one of those books that are proof how well some of the classics really are.
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So I’ve just finished reading this complex, multi-dimensional book for the first time and I can confidently say I loved it as a whole. I will be straight up and say I couldn’t fully understand what was going on/ being said in a fair few places in the novel, yet I was still sucked into reading more. And this was even so for sections which were simply discussing the whaling encyclopaedia or whaling industry as a whole. The writing style and the way the book FORCES you to take an interest in the whale and see it as a sort of higher being is mesmerising. So in that aspect I can say I was certainly not put off by these encyclopaedic sections which I have found to be the big pitfall for many reviews. As for the actual narrative of the novel, it was entertaining for the great majority and the small number of sections which were slightly underwhelming weren’t enough to detract from the rating (although I must say the ending and how it could be difficult to understand precisely what was happening is one of the most underwhelming sections of the book).
Both the exploration of how race and background affects our perception of individuals and how a whole range of vengeful emotions (as shown by the maniacal Ahab) can be detrimental to the individual, were especially interesting aspects of the narrative to reflect on.
In short, Ismaels telling of what is more-or-less ahabs story of the whale, and even the subjective sections on the whaling industry as a whole, to me, were enthralling, and presented some of the most intriguing imagery/ reflective material to be found anywhere in a novel. Even the small sections which were less engaging weren’t enough to prevent the book from receiving the highest praise and recommendation.
5 STARS*
Both the exploration of how race and background affects our perception of individuals and how a whole range of vengeful emotions (as shown by the maniacal Ahab) can be detrimental to the individual, were especially interesting aspects of the narrative to reflect on.
In short, Ismaels telling of what is more-or-less ahabs story of the whale, and even the subjective sections on the whaling industry as a whole, to me, were enthralling, and presented some of the most intriguing imagery/ reflective material to be found anywhere in a novel. Even the small sections which were less engaging weren’t enough to prevent the book from receiving the highest praise and recommendation.
5 STARS*
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
dark
sad
tense
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes