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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
embarrassed that it took me so long to finish it... fukn rocks, though.
really breaks down like this:
- first 200-250 pages or so are some of, if not the, best pages of literature ever written.
- 100 or so pages after that is when the whale taxonomy stuff begins, and it is actually a blast! the funniest pages of this very (intentionally!) funny novel are here
- the next 200 or so get really, really, really in the the book feels like work weeds of whale taxonomy and biology. that's when
- the final remaining pages are when Ahab shines, the chase begins, and it all feels like even more of a revelation after you've finished 300 pages of whale taxonomy and biology
really breaks down like this:
- first 200-250 pages or so are some of, if not the, best pages of literature ever written.
- 100 or so pages after that is when the whale taxonomy stuff begins, and it is actually a blast! the funniest pages of this very (intentionally!) funny novel are here
- the next 200 or so get really, really, really in the the book feels like work weeds of whale taxonomy and biology. that's when
- the final remaining pages are when Ahab shines, the chase begins, and it all feels like even more of a revelation after you've finished 300 pages of whale taxonomy and biology
the annoying thing about this book is that the racist attitudes and language pepper such a great story and narrative. I liked it, but the cringing was a lot.
I first bought a copy of Moby Dick while on a short break in Hong Kong over 20 years ago. Numerous false starts, aborted read throughs, replacement copies, 2 kids and 2 dogs later, and I’ve finally restarted AND finished this leviathan of a book. Despite the occasional slog (chapter upon chapter of whale biology; or a 10 page word salad chapter about the evilness of the colour white) this is a fascinating and remarkable book; packed with evocative, other-worldly language and a climatic three chapter showdown that absolutely rocked me.
Still great. Read this as an RSS feed or like a blog this go round, and it's not my favorite format for this book (great format for Dracula, though!)...
I struggled with how many stars I should give this book. It was long, it was tedious, and it taught me more about whaling than I ever wanted to know. Seriously. Did not need all of that information.
But! Herman Melville wrote beautifully. I actually found myself chuckling here and there and there were a few passages I thoroughly enjoyed. There was a lot of quotable stuff (which I'm not looking up because I'm tired and lazy) and, when he wasn't rambling on about the exact process of beheading a whale or some such thing, the action was truly exciting.
The problem, though, is that there was a LOT of rambling. A lot. I could probably man a whaling vessel myself with all the detail Mr. Melville gave me about whaling. Never would because whaling is awful... but you get what I'm trying to say. No one needs that much information about whaling unless they are, in fact, about to man a whaling vessel. I like detail in a story, don't get me wrong, but there is a fine line between just enough and too much and Herman went WAY over that line.
In the end, I get why this is a classic, but it's really not my cup of tea.
But! Herman Melville wrote beautifully. I actually found myself chuckling here and there and there were a few passages I thoroughly enjoyed. There was a lot of quotable stuff (which I'm not looking up because I'm tired and lazy) and, when he wasn't rambling on about the exact process of beheading a whale or some such thing, the action was truly exciting.
The problem, though, is that there was a LOT of rambling. A lot. I could probably man a whaling vessel myself with all the detail Mr. Melville gave me about whaling. Never would because whaling is awful... but you get what I'm trying to say. No one needs that much information about whaling unless they are, in fact, about to man a whaling vessel. I like detail in a story, don't get me wrong, but there is a fine line between just enough and too much and Herman went WAY over that line.
In the end, I get why this is a classic, but it's really not my cup of tea.
It was hard to rate Moby Dick. The story is wonderful. The last several chapters were absolutely spellbinding. The characters were rich, the story fascinating, however there are many, many chapters devoted to whaling and whales which read like text books. They were difficult to plod through, and did not do much to enhance my appreciation of the rest of the book.
So glad I planned to read this in the winter. This book is very atmospheric and I felt CHILLED. I am a little confused what to rate it. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I would read an abridged version over and over, but there were a few too many chapters of 19th century marine science for me.
Favorite quotes:
The waves rolled by like scrolls of silver.
See how elastic our prejudices grow when once love comes to bend them.
Ignorance is the parent of fear.
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.
Favorite quotes:
The waves rolled by like scrolls of silver.
See how elastic our prejudices grow when once love comes to bend them.
Ignorance is the parent of fear.
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.
If nothing else, I can say that Melville seemed very honest in this book. Perhaps my greatest achievement in lockdown.
i did not read this entire book but i’m counting it because i was assigned to read 275 pages in one night
I only gave this book three stars because I appreciate it for what it was and is; HOWEVER, it is arduous to read. I wish I liked this book.