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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I finally understand the hype
The first 20-30 pages are really good, establishing the friendship between Ishmael and Queequeg, and how they find themselves aboard the good ship Pequod. The last fifteen pages are pretty good, as they finally meet the whale and have their fateful confrontation.
In between, Melville weaves 300 pages of digressions - about the physiognomy of whales, about whaling, about sea life and boats, about the literary history of whales - many of which are completely fascinating, many of which are not even close to being so. I'll leave you and your unique tastes to determine which digressions are to your favor and which are not. Sometimes, he even offers you to some character scenes of life on the Pequod and gives you a peek into the madness of Captain Ahab. Those scenes are usually treats.
In between, Melville weaves 300 pages of digressions - about the physiognomy of whales, about whaling, about sea life and boats, about the literary history of whales - many of which are completely fascinating, many of which are not even close to being so. I'll leave you and your unique tastes to determine which digressions are to your favor and which are not. Sometimes, he even offers you to some character scenes of life on the Pequod and gives you a peek into the madness of Captain Ahab. Those scenes are usually treats.
Not a fan but I finished it because it was such a thing! It was just okay; did learn a LOT about whales and whaling.
This book was 75% encyclopedia. I️ wanted the story of Ahab and Ishmael. But instead, I️ got just a little of that and a whole lot of information on the classifications of whales.
Yes, the writing was masterful, and I️ enjoyed the biblical Jonas and the Whale stories, but man alive—it was a lot of wading through to get back to the narrative.
Yes, the writing was masterful, and I️ enjoyed the biblical Jonas and the Whale stories, but man alive—it was a lot of wading through to get back to the narrative.
Somehow I thought there would be more about the final encounter with Moby Dick.
Have been working on this one a while and only finished reading it today. So if you look up omen in the dictionary, I am pretty sure it says "... see Moby Dick." From the very first chapter this book it is portending its eventuality, and all the metaphorical angels (characters names Elijah and Gabriel, both quite insane in their own way) in the world can't stop what's about to happen. When Melville addresses his characters he does so with such acuity as to make the unmistakable and unforgettable. The wild Quequeg, the stoic, upright Starbuck, the unpredictable Mr. Stubbs, and the monomaniac Ahab. Never has a case of "romantic" obsession been so twisted. Never has the whale and whaling ever been so completely comprehended.
I have not read this book. I have, however, read a 200,000-word fanfic in the span of 4 days, and I'm not NOT going to count it in my yearly reading goal. So I'm using this book as a placeholder since the fic isn't in Goodread's database.
Oh my god I finished. Ummm there were some cool parts but on the whole this book is too long and I hated it and I'm gonna fail English this year.