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mass's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
5.0
im going attempt to jot down my thoughts for this while the novel is still fresh in my mind, before the emotions im currently feeling inevitably simmer down and dissipate. there are very few novels that id say genuinely give you everything, whether it be in terms of subject matter, tone, or style, but man, melville delivers. profound, funny, emotional, harrowing; a novel, a play, a prose poem; a narrative, an encyclopedia, a philosophical marvel -- it has it all. melville really aims for the goddamn moon here, making the work so all encompassing, and theres hardly one singular thing that makes the novel good.
i think what resonated with me the most, however, (and i imagine this is the case with many other first time readers, too), is the timeless story and conflict the novel revolves around -- ahab's quest for vengeance after being disrespected by a big dumb whale. its the classic problem of evil, making the novel eternally relevant, as the question of why we suffer will never truly fade away. ahab feels slighted by the indifference of the universe towards his problems, and is met with silence. he misconstrues the universe's indifference and all pervasive blankness for overt malice and evil, perhaps stemming from some deeper force, and rebels against god. we are all ahab in the sense that weve all felt unjustly hurt by the world in some way or another, with the difference ultimately being in how we grapple with said seeming indifference. ahab ultimately lashes back at the world to a literal extreme, killing what in actuality is really just an innocent whale, and loses himself in the process, giving himself up to the fire, so to speak. theres also a silently deterministic streak to his character, in which he believes that everything in his life was fated to happen, and that he feels the need to rebel and preserve his pride and character despite this. the allusions between him and satan from paradise lost were interesting, resulting in some very intense and heart wrenching parallels and monologues.
as if one goated character wasnt enough, we have starbuck and stubb. stubb is just a troll and a hilarious character, love that guy. he fr diddled his way to the bag. starbuck's dynamic with ahab is really interesting, and that scene at the end of the novel where starbuck appeals to ahab's seemingly lost humanity was extremely touching. characters such as queequeg and daggoo, despite unfortunately being described with outdated and derogatory language from that time, are ultimately characters treated with the utmost respect, both in the world they inhabit and by melville himself. there is an undercurrent of spirituality in moby dick, in which physical appearances are perhaps not what they seem, and that everyone is ensouled or has some degree of inherent value or dignity.
all the people on the internet who said this book was dry lied to me. the prose was amazing to put it lightly (i mean seriously, some of the monologues in this thing rival shakespeare imo) and the encylopedic chapters were interesting as all hell. chapters that stray away from the plot always add something else of value to the story, whether it be thematic layers, enrichment of the world or simply being funny as shit. melville takes the simple premise of whale based chapters and uses it as a spring board to talk about absolutely everything, whether it be philosophy, history, biology, etc. ishmael is one hell of a narrator and can weave even the most seemingly mundane thing into something poetic or profound. i mean, the ending of the whale line chapter, goddamn ! and the chapter on the whales whiteness takes a seemingly simple concept and stretches it to its absolute limit, making it extremely metaphysical and introducing a tinge of near cosmic horror to the novel. its just great, great stuff, the novel is so varied in what its doing both in terms of subject matter and form that it never misses a beat.
for a book so sprawling and seemingly meandering, i actually wish it was longer. by the time i was nearing the end i was actually kind of dreading the novel being over, which is something that almost never happens to me. simply a confounding, mesmerizing masterpiece with the profundity of the fucking ocean itself. a definite must read and deserving of its reputation.
"then all collapsed, and the great shroud of sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."
i think what resonated with me the most, however, (and i imagine this is the case with many other first time readers, too), is the timeless story and conflict the novel revolves around -- ahab's quest for vengeance after being disrespected by a big dumb whale. its the classic problem of evil, making the novel eternally relevant, as the question of why we suffer will never truly fade away. ahab feels slighted by the indifference of the universe towards his problems, and is met with silence. he misconstrues the universe's indifference and all pervasive blankness for overt malice and evil, perhaps stemming from some deeper force, and rebels against god. we are all ahab in the sense that weve all felt unjustly hurt by the world in some way or another, with the difference ultimately being in how we grapple with said seeming indifference. ahab ultimately lashes back at the world to a literal extreme, killing what in actuality is really just an innocent whale, and loses himself in the process, giving himself up to the fire, so to speak. theres also a silently deterministic streak to his character, in which he believes that everything in his life was fated to happen, and that he feels the need to rebel and preserve his pride and character despite this. the allusions between him and satan from paradise lost were interesting, resulting in some very intense and heart wrenching parallels and monologues.
as if one goated character wasnt enough, we have starbuck and stubb. stubb is just a troll and a hilarious character, love that guy. he fr diddled his way to the bag. starbuck's dynamic with ahab is really interesting, and that scene at the end of the novel where starbuck appeals to ahab's seemingly lost humanity was extremely touching. characters such as queequeg and daggoo, despite unfortunately being described with outdated and derogatory language from that time, are ultimately characters treated with the utmost respect, both in the world they inhabit and by melville himself. there is an undercurrent of spirituality in moby dick, in which physical appearances are perhaps not what they seem, and that everyone is ensouled or has some degree of inherent value or dignity.
all the people on the internet who said this book was dry lied to me. the prose was amazing to put it lightly (i mean seriously, some of the monologues in this thing rival shakespeare imo) and the encylopedic chapters were interesting as all hell. chapters that stray away from the plot always add something else of value to the story, whether it be thematic layers, enrichment of the world or simply being funny as shit. melville takes the simple premise of whale based chapters and uses it as a spring board to talk about absolutely everything, whether it be philosophy, history, biology, etc. ishmael is one hell of a narrator and can weave even the most seemingly mundane thing into something poetic or profound. i mean, the ending of the whale line chapter, goddamn ! and the chapter on the whales whiteness takes a seemingly simple concept and stretches it to its absolute limit, making it extremely metaphysical and introducing a tinge of near cosmic horror to the novel. its just great, great stuff, the novel is so varied in what its doing both in terms of subject matter and form that it never misses a beat.
for a book so sprawling and seemingly meandering, i actually wish it was longer. by the time i was nearing the end i was actually kind of dreading the novel being over, which is something that almost never happens to me. simply a confounding, mesmerizing masterpiece with the profundity of the fucking ocean itself. a definite must read and deserving of its reputation.
"then all collapsed, and the great shroud of sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago."
chedwards72's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
animeetwas's review against another edition
It’s beautifully written, but I don’t care about fishing/whaling. So it got boring quickly for me. Probably will revisit this book in the future because some quotes are wonderful but that’s not enough to keep me interested in a nearly 700 hundred paged book.
sialia95's review against another edition
3.0
Decent story but don't waste your time unless you're really into maritime history
archerr's review against another edition
5.0
Five stars because this has fundamentally altered who I am as a person. But I also would literally never recommend it to anyone
emily_mad's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sophia_a_a's review against another edition
3.0
okay so this bookkkkkk it wasnt AMAZING it wasnt MINDBLOWING but it wasnt bad either. to be blunt i dont see why this is such an important novel in american culture. theres so many books out there that are better. however, i still enjoyed reading this because i dont typically read things with plots like this. i think the ending was nicely written and i like how it didnt end up as might be expected. overall, the book itself isnt bad, but its not great.
lbarsk's review against another edition
4.0
SO GOOD. Even the "Cetology" chapter, which often scares readers away. A definite American classic, and 100% worth the read. I was surprised to find that I liked it so much--Melville is as sharp and witty as they come, and the tale is riveting.