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kirsten0929's review against another edition
4.0
[1851] Five stars for literary merit - I get it, I see why it has endured. Two-stars for me and my failure to get all the deeper meaning. Two-stars for character development and interpersonal relationships - surprisingly little, not nearly enough for me. Four stars for setting - bold move going with only ocean for eight-hundred plus pages but he made it work. Three-stars for plot - one, long, overarching plot point, doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that, which is actually fine with me. Four-stars for learning more about whales and whaling than I ever thought I’d want to know. Five-stars for writing - there were sections that I flat out didn’t understand no matter how many times I read them, but then I just let the words wash over me and got the gist, kind of like reading poetry that I don’t understand but still find beautiful. I think the writing is why I was never bored. Five-stars for William Hootkins, the audiobook narrator who read along with me while I read the text. And finally, five-stars for this gorgeous song that I had going through my head the entire time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIt2yZUT9P8 . I don’t know how all that averages out but based on my overall impressions, my personal reading experience, it’s probably a three-and-a-half-star but I’m comfortable rounding up to a four; it certainly earned the benefit of the doubt.
ameliaow3ns's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars ⭐
"Forty years of continual whaling! Forty years of privation, and peril, and storm-time! Forty years on the pitiless sea! For forty years has Ahab forsaken the peaceful land, for forty years to make war on the horrors of the deep!"
And I thought it would be forty years of me reading this book. But thank the whaling gods that I can finally say that I am free from the brick, the whale encyclopedia, the monster that is Moby Dick.
While Melville's writing is exquisitely detailed, 9 times out of 10 I wouldn't recommend getting to know the narrator on a first name basis, for your own personal wellbeing.
"Forty years of continual whaling! Forty years of privation, and peril, and storm-time! Forty years on the pitiless sea! For forty years has Ahab forsaken the peaceful land, for forty years to make war on the horrors of the deep!"
And I thought it would be forty years of me reading this book. But thank the whaling gods that I can finally say that I am free from the brick, the whale encyclopedia, the monster that is Moby Dick.
While Melville's writing is exquisitely detailed, 9 times out of 10 I wouldn't recommend getting to know the narrator on a first name basis, for your own personal wellbeing.
thefool0's review against another edition
So boring and tiring, I didn't feel like finishing the whole thing
em_5's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nicandherbooks's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
jkammann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"All visible objects, man, are but as pasteboard masks. But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask. If man will strike, strike through the mask! How can the prisoner reach outside except by thrusting through the wall? To me, the white whale is that wall, shoved near to me."
This sums up Ahab. He's a great man who understands he can't be understood by those on board for his journey, so he bears the heavy burden of his determination alone. Extremely powerful symbolism throughout the book, much of which I'm sure was lost on me. I did find some parts a bit boring, but I attribute that to my fault, not the book's.
This sums up Ahab. He's a great man who understands he can't be understood by those on board for his journey, so he bears the heavy burden of his determination alone. Extremely powerful symbolism throughout the book, much of which I'm sure was lost on me. I did find some parts a bit boring, but I attribute that to my fault, not the book's.
minakoreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.5
didntheramble's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5