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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
The opposite of a hot take but I hated this book. The industrial whaling era is such an indictment of humanity. That's not the only reason I hated Moby Dick, but it is a major one.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very good if you like facts about whales
“There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.”This is an extreme novel. Everything is heightened: language, characters, events, emotions. The beginning feels like the start of a light-hearted adventure in the vein of Robinson Crusoe, with wacky characters, funny misunderstandings, and a protagonist in search of excitement. You only hear whispers about the strange captain who will be manning the Pequod, the ship our protaganist will be leaving on, and hints of madness. As the book goes on, though, the stakes get higher and higher as Ahab and his mad pursuit of the famous white whale dominates the narrative. Our narrator barely even mentions himself in the last half of the book. The danger and insanity gleaming in the captain’s eye is both intriguing and clearly going to lead to disaster, but he’s all the more fascinating for it, arrogantly casting himself as a worthy opponent of not just the white whale but the world itself:
“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. […] Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me.”
The ornate, beautiful language — “the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude” — is great to read, and references to the Bible, ancient Greece, Rome, Shakespeare, and others feel purposeful rather than solely as something meant to be impressively ‘learned’, as they make small events feel like they’re part of something large and important. These influences, combined with how difficult life on the seas was in this period, mean you almost believe Ahab when he speaks as though they’re hunting Gods rather than leviathans. All of this, combined with the sheer length of this thing, make the book almost as epic in scale as the whales it’s so fixated on.
The middle was why this was not an easy read, though, specifically absolute pain-staking detail in the sections where Ishmael puts the stories’ momentum on hold to talk to us about whale biology. Some of these help you better grasp the bravery and difficulties in the life of whale hunter, not to mention the the dangers posed by the white whale Moby Dick himself, but others drag the pacing to a grinding halt. These aren’t weaved very carefully with the narrative, mind, or explained by characters; they’re just detailed, over and over again, as though you’re reading an encyclopaedia.
Still, taken as a whole ‘Moby Dick’ is an obviously great novel. The beginning and ending 200 pages were some of the best prose I’ve ever read (Melville has earned his reputation), and there was even a surprising amount of action. The characters are engaging, too. If you’re a patient reader, don’t let this book’s reputation fool you. With a great sense of humour tempering the more serious moments, it’s more fun to go through than you might expect.
I never want to read about cetology again, though.
I am very surprised that I liked this novel. I would describe it as interesting, boring, and surprisingly funny.
This is an interesting look into a world that really does not exist anymore. These sailors are very superstitious creatures, but they are also very Christian. Watching the dynamic as they try to integrate the two is bizarre. Ishmael is very into science and I was shocked at how advanced some of the science he talked about was, while at the same time being completely backwards in other (often what I considered simpler) concepts.
Ishmael is funny. He has an entire section discussing the fact that whales do not have noses that stick out of their heads like human noses. He also speaks directly to the reader on a regular basis.
This is an interesting look into a world that really does not exist anymore. These sailors are very superstitious creatures, but they are also very Christian. Watching the dynamic as they try to integrate the two is bizarre. Ishmael is very into science and I was shocked at how advanced some of the science he talked about was, while at the same time being completely backwards in other (often what I considered simpler) concepts.
Ishmael is funny. He has an entire section discussing the fact that whales do not have noses that stick out of their heads like human noses. He also speaks directly to the reader on a regular basis.
würde ich empfehlen das buch zu lesen? nein. ist es eines der besten bücher die ich je gelesen habe? ja! habe ich jetzt eine wal obsession? JA
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Finally read it. It was a struggle honestly. I was amazed at how little plot there was. So many philosophical asides!
Extraída de mi IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2fmphMPBGY
•
Recientes Impresiones: La lucha dentro de la circunferencia del horizonte en "Moby Dick"
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¿Es toda la empresa de este mundo la venganza del Caído en contra de su creador?
Desde los inicios de su obra Melville fue atacado. Ya en “Typee” expuso lo que muchos de los misioneros enviados a predicar hacían; lo que muchos de los marineros, frente a hombre o mujer, hacían; lo que pasaba con los supuestos nuevos faros de la civilización. A partir de la experiencia y del deseo interno, expresó su apreciación por la vida fuera de una sociedad asfixiante ya desde los inicios del siglo XIX.
Por todo esto, no debería de impresionarnos el rango de crítica y confesión que existe en "Moby Dick," su sexta obra. Desde relaciones homosexuales, avaricia, locura y rigidez humana; todo en potencia de rebelarse contra uno mismo y contra “Dios.” Pero, aún sobre esto, este drama, este teatro, es justamente una obra que debe de ser llevada a cabo. ¿Es Ahab, Ahab? ¿Es Ishmael, Melville? ¿Eres tú, tú? ¿Es toda lucha contra el destino una burlona predestinación, y es todo lo que dislumbramos en la similitud entre lo que existe bajo la mar y bajo nosotros una rebelión en contra del sistema o un mecanismo más de su estelar línea de producción pro-equilibrio?
Y nadie obtiene respuestas. ¿Deberíamos de? ¿Las hay? ¿Es el Pequod Estados Unidos? ¿Son Tashtego, Queequeg, Daggoo y Fedallah, una demostración de cómo nos hemos unido, nosotros en el “3er mundo,” a un viaje con finales marcados desde el inicio como mortales, con un capitán dispuesto a perderlo todo en contra de la Naturaleza —Naturaleza que todos en la novela niegan a ceder ante—…? Probablemente sea, como todas las grandes novelas —notese la gran similitud entre esta y "Gravity Rainbow"— el descubrir que la realidad no es más que un paisaje de espejos que vislumbran prismaticamente nuestro profundo azul.
•
Recientes Impresiones: La lucha dentro de la circunferencia del horizonte en "Moby Dick"
•
¿Es toda la empresa de este mundo la venganza del Caído en contra de su creador?
Desde los inicios de su obra Melville fue atacado. Ya en “Typee” expuso lo que muchos de los misioneros enviados a predicar hacían; lo que muchos de los marineros, frente a hombre o mujer, hacían; lo que pasaba con los supuestos nuevos faros de la civilización. A partir de la experiencia y del deseo interno, expresó su apreciación por la vida fuera de una sociedad asfixiante ya desde los inicios del siglo XIX.
Por todo esto, no debería de impresionarnos el rango de crítica y confesión que existe en "Moby Dick," su sexta obra. Desde relaciones homosexuales, avaricia, locura y rigidez humana; todo en potencia de rebelarse contra uno mismo y contra “Dios.” Pero, aún sobre esto, este drama, este teatro, es justamente una obra que debe de ser llevada a cabo. ¿Es Ahab, Ahab? ¿Es Ishmael, Melville? ¿Eres tú, tú? ¿Es toda lucha contra el destino una burlona predestinación, y es todo lo que dislumbramos en la similitud entre lo que existe bajo la mar y bajo nosotros una rebelión en contra del sistema o un mecanismo más de su estelar línea de producción pro-equilibrio?
Y nadie obtiene respuestas. ¿Deberíamos de? ¿Las hay? ¿Es el Pequod Estados Unidos? ¿Son Tashtego, Queequeg, Daggoo y Fedallah, una demostración de cómo nos hemos unido, nosotros en el “3er mundo,” a un viaje con finales marcados desde el inicio como mortales, con un capitán dispuesto a perderlo todo en contra de la Naturaleza —Naturaleza que todos en la novela niegan a ceder ante—…? Probablemente sea, como todas las grandes novelas —notese la gran similitud entre esta y "Gravity Rainbow"— el descubrir que la realidad no es más que un paisaje de espejos que vislumbran prismaticamente nuestro profundo azul.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes