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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Overall I enjoyed this book, however, it is sort of like multiple books in one. The best part to me was the main plot told by the narrator "Ishmael." There is also a significant amount of non-fiction information related to the state and history of whaling as it stood in the mid 19th century which is related in the author's rather than the narrator's voice. These are interesting but distract from the narrative at hand. There are also several short stories set in the fictional narrator's timeline but which are really asides that could be presented as a collection of short-stories. These are variable in value but again derail the main narrative thrust.
I mostly enjoyed the writing style. When Ishmael narrates his own experiences, it is surprisingly funny with a lot of double-entendres (not all scurrilous ones). The many passages full of rich figurative language and imagery were somewhat mixed. I enjoyed catching many of the literary/biblical illusions, and I can appreciated the novelty of the elaborate language. However, it mostly took a long time to say simple things, so it got a little tedious when it became more and more common in Ahab's soliloquies at the end.
I mostly enjoyed the writing style. When Ishmael narrates his own experiences, it is surprisingly funny with a lot of double-entendres (not all scurrilous ones). The many passages full of rich figurative language and imagery were somewhat mixed. I enjoyed catching many of the literary/biblical illusions, and I can appreciated the novelty of the elaborate language. However, it mostly took a long time to say simple things, so it got a little tedious when it became more and more common in Ahab's soliloquies at the end.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read because it's my husband's favorite book. Parts were incredible - the whole beginning and the end. The middle had so much that could've been condensed, but there was some humor and great lines and writing mixed in, but it got a bit middled by the dry parts. The ending was extremely dramatic and made me cry
Wow, the most difficult read I have ever made it through. The language and imagery was amazing, this is one I am going to have to read once or twice more to really get.
Melville combines high Shakespearean tragedy with what must be at least partially facetious tangents on whaling and whales. At times these tangents are cute and entertaining ("to be short then, a whale is a SPOUTING FISH WITH A HORIZONTAL TAIL"), at others they grow so verbose and specific as to become tedious, even if they do sometimes also function as literary devices. If I had to guess, I'd say at least a third of the book is dedicated to such tangents. These become so frequent in the latter half that you almost forget about the tragedy. Of course, when the story does pick up, it does so with a vengeance, inducing such richly satisfying introspection that distinguises the book as a true masterpiece. In other words, when it's good, it's great, but you need to withstand more than a few gratuitous intermissions.
I understand why this book is considered a masterpiece but it was too heartbreaking for me to really enjoy - so much blood, savagery, and darkness. I'm glad Moby Dick was triumphant in the end and I wish the other whales who were slaughtered earlier in the book would have somehow escaped too because I had to pause the book and cry a little bit each time. I'm looking forward to watching Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab in the miniseries though, and then will be glad to move on to another book.
Overall, it deserves its stature. Very engaging, very lived-in.
I read this (for the second time) over the course of about three years. The first time I skipped the technical whaling chapters; this time I read it all. My advice: skip the technical chapters. Stick to the narrative.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Funny story about this book. I wrote a research paper my junior year of high school about the religious symbolism in Moby-Dick and got an A. I never read the book. I tried. I really did but everytime I sat down to read, I never got past "Call me Ishmale" without falling asleep. So finally after months of attempting to read this book, I broke down and got the Cliff's Notes, but I had the same problem - I would open them up and automatically fall asleep. So, while I have never actually read this book, I still regard it as a literary great. The reading of "Moby-Dick" has become my own "white whale."