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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
I am neither afraid nor ashamed to admit I am def not the target audience for this. This book did not change my life lol. It had BEAUTIFUL moments of prose and symbolism and also whale textbook excerpts. And I can see how it has become part of like the Canon of Classics.
And now I’m an expert on whales lmao. It really makes you become like part of the crew and there’s a whole new level of context but those first few textbook chapters were… boring. Especially after getting Ishmael’s journey before joining the Pequod I did not expect to not have plot and character development anymore. But it’s like YOU the reader are developing your sea legs and you everything.
But also where is Queequeg supposed to be from? QUICKLY!! I was very uncomfortable with the “noble savage” monolith-ass “ethnic” guy.
And now I’m an expert on whales lmao. It really makes you become like part of the crew and there’s a whole new level of context but those first few textbook chapters were… boring. Especially after getting Ishmael’s journey before joining the Pequod I did not expect to not have plot and character development anymore. But it’s like YOU the reader are developing your sea legs and you everything.
But also where is Queequeg supposed to be from? QUICKLY!! I was very uncomfortable with the “noble savage” monolith-ass “ethnic” guy.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Without knowing much about this book, it still completely upended my expectations. Anticipating a great american adventure on the seas, it was a complete surprise to find a reading experience closer to Ulysses or Infinite Jest than The Old Man and the Sea.
The structure of this book is so strange, with a disappearing narrator, long sections of technical marine fact, and a central antagonist who shapes the entire book without turning up until the last sixty pages.
And yet, all of this serves the themes of the book - the limits of knowledge, the inevitably of death, spirituality within the mundane. This is one of those reading experiences where something large looms deep, deep below the narrative, subterranean and mysterious.
The structure of this book is so strange, with a disappearing narrator, long sections of technical marine fact, and a central antagonist who shapes the entire book without turning up until the last sixty pages.
And yet, all of this serves the themes of the book - the limits of knowledge, the inevitably of death, spirituality within the mundane. This is one of those reading experiences where something large looms deep, deep below the narrative, subterranean and mysterious.
Despite moments of gorgeous imagery and metaphor, one of the most boring books I've ever read, and the one that's taken me the longest.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Legendary book filled with great storytelling and surprisingly comical moments.
I can't give it five stars due to sheer volume of filler material, which, while exciting to some, did not stir the whaler in me
I can't give it five stars due to sheer volume of filler material, which, while exciting to some, did not stir the whaler in me