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2.85 AVERAGE
2.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mi sono approcciata per la prima volta a questo autore e ho voluto scegliere un romanzo breve, non sapendo se mi sarebbe piaciuto. Per fortuna.
La storia in sé sarebbe anche carica di significato (il potere costituito che invita a parlare ma contemporaneamente soffoca la voce della vittima) ma la prosa è talmente contorta e ritorta su se stessa, con continue divagazioni improvvise ed epiteti ripetuti che ho davvero faticato a seguirla in audiolibro.
Essendo un romanzo postumo, devo supporre che lo stile di Melville fosse giunto già a piena maturazione, e che quindi non faccia proprio per me.
La storia in sé sarebbe anche carica di significato (il potere costituito che invita a parlare ma contemporaneamente soffoca la voce della vittima) ma la prosa è talmente contorta e ritorta su se stessa, con continue divagazioni improvvise ed epiteti ripetuti che ho davvero faticato a seguirla in audiolibro.
Essendo un romanzo postumo, devo supporre che lo stile di Melville fosse giunto già a piena maturazione, e che quindi non faccia proprio per me.
honestly i have no idea what happened for the majority of this book…. maybe i should listen to audiobooks at a slower speed…
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As always, Melville's dense, stuffy style, rather than the plot, is the highlight of this story. If you like that sort of thing, like I seem to, it's an enjoyable enough read, very different from modern writing and therefore refreshing.
Billy Budd walked so that Beau Travail could run. Great plot but written more confusingly and without the weirdness and humor of Moby Dick.
I was forced to read this book because of my involvement in my school's literary criticism team since it was the novel chosen for the test that year. I dreaded reading this book so much that I actually went to multiple competitions before even cracking it open (and consequently did not do so well on those first competitions). Eventually I grit my teeth and read the entire novel in one sitting starting at 11 PM the night before a competition. The only way I was able to keep my eyes from glazing over was by reading the entire book out loud.
The characters are predictable, dull, and one-dimensional. (WE GET IT, HE'S A CHRIST FIGURE.) The only thing that makes them interesting is the occasional moment of homoerotic subtext. (I know it wasn't just me who felt something going on. Just look at that cover.)
The plot is also predictable, dull, and one-dimensional. (Except for the occasional interlude in which Melville lectures the reader at length about naval history, which was even more dull but less predictable because these essays come at the most random times.)
This is meant to read like a Greek tragedy played out during the War of 1812, and Melville succeeds there (if only by beating it into our heads). But what's more tragic than the demise of our sweet-summer-child Billy is the fact that no one cares, Melville.
The characters are predictable, dull, and one-dimensional. (WE GET IT, HE'S A CHRIST FIGURE.) The only thing that makes them interesting is the occasional moment of homoerotic subtext. (I know it wasn't just me who felt something going on. Just look at that cover.)
The plot is also predictable, dull, and one-dimensional. (Except for the occasional interlude in which Melville lectures the reader at length about naval history, which was even more dull but less predictable because these essays come at the most random times.)
This is meant to read like a Greek tragedy played out during the War of 1812, and Melville succeeds there (if only by beating it into our heads). But what's more tragic than the demise of our sweet-summer-child Billy is the fact that no one cares, Melville.
Gosh darn do I love Herman Melville. The whole book is strong but the last three chapters as a commentary on how history is remembered and recorded absolutely floored me.