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adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such an amazing journey. Had to knock off half a star because it does get pretty slow in the middle but frankly even the slow bits, every page had something good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry
Minor: Death, Gore, Cannibalism, Alcohol
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism, Cannibalism
Moderate: Slavery
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book lures you in with its moody, foreboding first chapters but be prepared to spend 70% of the book learning a mix of true and false whale/whaling facts. The ending brings it back as do the moments of gut-punching poetry sprinkled throughout the text but only you can determine if the many whale facts chapters are worth reaching these moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hope Hootkins got some type of award for the reading of this book. He was very fun and engaging.
I liked this book tho all the tangents meant I had a very low chance at knowing what was actually happening at any given moment 😂
I liked this book tho all the tangents meant I had a very low chance at knowing what was actually happening at any given moment 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Blood
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism
Minor: Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
This is a tedious and excessively verbose book with some genuinely good writing and interesting construction beneath all of it, but it is challenging to get past its downsides. As you might expect from a classic from this time period, the racism and Christian-centric thought is prevalent and pretty exhausting. It is interesting and informative to a certain degree if you want to learn a lot about whales, whaling, and a more archaic perception of cetaceans as a whole, but the plot momentum is pretty non-existent and you will be forced to read dozens of inane metaphors about things you don't care about and paltry attempts at Shakespearean dramatics whether you like it or not. I'm glad I read it but I'll be glad to never read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Racism
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally it’s done… Three months of reading but it’s over and I can’t say it was exactly worth it.
There’s very little story for the amount of text here. I feel like Brendan Frazer’s teenage daughter when I complain that the whale is only present for 10% of the book but I stand by my grievance. The book would be less than half the size only for the fact that, any time a character picks up a rope, Melville will wax lyrical for 20 pages about how ropes are made, the various uses for ropes, the history of rope, and his favourite type of knot.
At times, the prose is quite impressive. At times, it’s leaden and overwrought. Sometimes, Melville styles the writing like a Shakespearean play. Sometimes, it’s written like a bad science assignment that’s trying to ramble over its lack of content to make the word count.
With an editor, this could be a peerless work of classic literature. That it still makes that grade for all its flaws is a remarkable achievement but the book itself is 60% authorial hubris, 40% magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is more than a book, HOWEVER you WILL NOT enjoy this read unless you really give yourself entirely up to it. You have to allow Ishmael to take your hand and guide you through his winding, obsessive mind. It’s a wild ride. You have to be willing to read so many passages of whale facts that you find it funny that keeps continuing. You must be willing to learn about the disputes among the whaling community. You must be willing to read the ramblings of a narrator who gets lost in their own head every other paragraph with strange historical allusions. If you can do that you will be rewarded with a book that encompasses introspection into life, fate, religion, the depths of human character; all while keeping a hilarious, self-aware sense of humor. It really is a complete multi-faceted journey, if you can give yourself over entirely to a comedy of the mundane.
Also keep in mind this guy wrote this pre-American civil war. So there are some tough chapters, but he actually manages to have some fairly progressive takes (sometimes).
Also keep in mind this guy wrote this pre-American civil war. So there are some tough chapters, but he actually manages to have some fairly progressive takes (sometimes).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Racism