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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Only took me about 10 years and 4 attempts to finish this
Honestly what a huge accomplishment. I’ve spent years shit talking Moby Dick and have never been able to get into it. Through an odd chain of events I picked it up and was HOOKED. Is there too much whale info? YES. It is very long? YES. Are Ahab and Ismael hilarious? YES. Am I Team Moby Dick? YES.
Ended up being a fun read
Ended up being a fun read
If this book had been edited down to an action packed 200 pages it would have been quite a good book, instead it's stretched out to 660 with endless rambling chapters on random whaling facts, like how to get the blubber off a whale, what kind of rope is useful at sea, or whether a whale is a fish or not.
It's bizarre because the start and the end of the book are quite compelling, but the middle just wanders about aimlessly. Maybe it's supposed to conjure up the feeling of aimlessly floating about waiting to find whales but I just found it so dull and dense I stopped reading for about six months.
It's bizarre because the start and the end of the book are quite compelling, but the middle just wanders about aimlessly. Maybe it's supposed to conjure up the feeling of aimlessly floating about waiting to find whales but I just found it so dull and dense I stopped reading for about six months.
O que Butcher's Crossing fez na terra, Moby Dick fez no mar. O godzilla americano (mesmo que profético): um monstro que tanto é um fenômeno da natureza como um prelúdio de uma prática econômica decadente.
Entre muitas outras, nunca vou esquecer da breve, mas fascinante passagem em que Melville narra sobre as sombras dos navios da perspectiva das baleias.
Entre muitas outras, nunca vou esquecer da breve, mas fascinante passagem em que Melville narra sobre as sombras dos navios da perspectiva das baleias.
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Queequeg and Starbuck are the only likeable characters. Everyone else is a piece of shit who forces everyone to suffer because he can't process emotions in a healthy way (Ahab), or a sheep or just lets themself be pulled down with said POS. Ishamel fauning over him is disgusting and not something anyone being abused by an authority figure they can't escape anytime soon should be reading.
I actually liked the initial part of this book. Chapter three was a somehow hilarious account of Ishmael failing to fall asleep on a bench. But it was all downhill from there. Whales are not fucking fish, Melville! Signed, a taxonomist who lost a few braincells reading Ishmael's illogical treatise chapter misclassifying them while being insufferable, thinking he was a smart cookie (no Ishmael does not understand that all amniotes are descended from fish; and scientists joke that all amniotes are fish because we're descended from them, but that's tongue-in-cheek because the "fish" is not an actual taxonomic term).
I actually liked the initial part of this book. Chapter three was a somehow hilarious account of Ishmael failing to fall asleep on a bench. But it was all downhill from there. Whales are not fucking fish, Melville! Signed, a taxonomist who lost a few braincells reading Ishmael's illogical treatise chapter misclassifying them while being insufferable, thinking he was a smart cookie (no Ishmael does not understand that all amniotes are descended from fish; and scientists joke that all amniotes are fish because we're descended from them, but that's tongue-in-cheek because the "fish" is not an actual taxonomic term).
Content Warnings
If you are or have ever been stuck under the thumb of someone controlling and abusive, this book is liable to dredge up some really dark shit.
Genuinely funny moments ✅
Brilliant dialogue ✅
Metaphor and allusion rich✅
Philosophical reflections ✅
Mosaic of multiple genres unified to tell a story ✅
Brilliant dialogue ✅
Metaphor and allusion rich✅
Philosophical reflections ✅
Mosaic of multiple genres unified to tell a story ✅
This was not one of my favorites, and I really think it just boils down to personal preference.
I had been wanting to read this when it was assigned to my English class my senior year of high school. I honestly think that being able to discuss it and write short essays on it helped me understand it more, and ultimately helped me enjoy it more. While I definitely recognize that it is one of the great classics, it just wasn't a favorite for me.
I would still recommend it for people who want to read more classics or more books in general, because I think it is one of those books that is important to read in your lifetime.
Good book, just not my cup of tea.
I had been wanting to read this when it was assigned to my English class my senior year of high school. I honestly think that being able to discuss it and write short essays on it helped me understand it more, and ultimately helped me enjoy it more. While I definitely recognize that it is one of the great classics, it just wasn't a favorite for me.
I would still recommend it for people who want to read more classics or more books in general, because I think it is one of those books that is important to read in your lifetime.
Good book, just not my cup of tea.
I did it! It took me almost four months but I finally finished reading the classic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. This may be a record for the length of time it took me to complete a book {not a record I am exactly proud of though}.
I don't even know what to say about this book. The beginning was interesting. Starting with the most famous line, "I am Ishmael" it tells a first hand account of how Ishmael ends up on the Peaquad with Captain Ahab. But about a quarter of the way in, the book gets really heavy on details. Everything you could possibly want to know about whales and then some.
Melville goes on to write very graphic descriptions of hunting and then gutting the whale. It was almost too much.
Mostly I felt like I was trying to read the book of Leviticus {from the Bible}... the details go on and on and and on and on. The end of the book transitioned to reading more like a play. Overall it never really engaged me like the book Ahab's Wife that I read earlier this year {hence the four months of reading} .
My husband asked if I was glad I finished it. I told him that it was kind of like running a half marathon – it was not that enjoyable but since I did I am glad that I finished in a "I'm not a quitter" sense.
I don't even know what to say about this book. The beginning was interesting. Starting with the most famous line, "I am Ishmael" it tells a first hand account of how Ishmael ends up on the Peaquad with Captain Ahab. But about a quarter of the way in, the book gets really heavy on details. Everything you could possibly want to know about whales and then some.
Melville goes on to write very graphic descriptions of hunting and then gutting the whale. It was almost too much.
Mostly I felt like I was trying to read the book of Leviticus {from the Bible}... the details go on and on and and on and on. The end of the book transitioned to reading more like a play. Overall it never really engaged me like the book Ahab's Wife that I read earlier this year {hence the four months of reading} .
My husband asked if I was glad I finished it. I told him that it was kind of like running a half marathon – it was not that enjoyable but since I did I am glad that I finished in a "I'm not a quitter" sense.
Sorry, I know it's a classic and there are sections that are good even interesting but...
It's simply to long and goes on and on listing details....
Maybe the first time I've seriously considered an abridged version
It's simply to long and goes on and on listing details....
Maybe the first time I've seriously considered an abridged version
I enjoyed all of the imagery of unknowable depths and the foreshadowing of death and coffins. There was a good part of the book that I just could not understand. And all of the lingo and nautical terms were a big mystery. Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as Madame Bovary!