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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
This book is most unfortunate. It's exceedingly long and contains a lot of encyclopaedic material which in itself is interesting but adds nothing to the story. Presumably its sheer size is supposed to symbolise both the scale of North America and of whales themselves, and the idea of slaughtering the largest animals on the planet would presumably appeal to some kind of stereotypical idea of American culture being all about the gigantic, but I simply refuse to believe that that can really be much to do with real American culture.
Above all, however, this book has as its topic the murder of beautiful and quite possibly intelligent life forms which are now, thanks to the activity of whalers, on the brink of extinction, and glories in it, and I don't care if my attitude is anachronistic, but this book is practically a celebration of genocide.
Above all, however, this book has as its topic the murder of beautiful and quite possibly intelligent life forms which are now, thanks to the activity of whalers, on the brink of extinction, and glories in it, and I don't care if my attitude is anachronistic, but this book is practically a celebration of genocide.
My own personal white whale, finally slain. The last seventy-five pages or so are spectacular, and almost everything before that is like listening to a drunk uncle tell you everything he knows about classic cars while you’re trapped at the dinner table waiting for dessert.
I really, really wanted to like it... but ended up abandoning it.
If he just took out all the parts about "rope", we'd be looking at 5 stars instead of 4...
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Das Buch war immer wieder eine Qual, vor allem bei den detailverlorenen Beschreibungen von Walen und Walfang. Die Geschichte an sich jedoch ist spannend und überzeugend. Falls ich das Buch irgendwann ein zweites Mal lesen möchte, werde ich mich nur an die eigentliche Geschichte halten.
Die tragischste Gestalt war für mich nicht Ahab, der ist (beinahe) über Mitleid hinaus. Nein, für mich ist es Starbuck, der nicht anders kann, als "richtig" zu handeln, damit aber genau daneben liegt. Es läuft auf die Frage hinaus, ob man einen Tyrannen töten darf. Für mich beantworte ich diese Frage mit einem Ja, Starbuck tat dies nicht. Das Ergebnis war er Untergang von 30 Mann und einem Walfänger,
Die Charaktere sind allesamt interessant und detailliert dargestellt. Am spannendsten finde ich Quiqueg, den Kannibalen, der Ismael anfangs eine solche Furcht einflößt, um dann innerhalb weniger Tage, die beide zusammen verbringen bevor sie auf der Pequod anheuern, sein bester Freund zu werden.
Ein Highlight war definitiv das Kapitel "Gleichklang", in dem Ahab und Starbuck auf die milde, sonnige See blicken und sich nach ihren Familien sehnen. Das hat Ahab sehr menschlich gemacht.
Die drei Tages des Kampfes stellten eindeutig den Höhepunkt in diesem Buch dar. Moby Dick triumphiert wieder und wieder, und doch lässt Ahab nicht ab von ihm.
Die Entdeckung des toten Parsen - ein wahrhaft cthulhuesker Moment! Schaurig (aber etwas vorhersehbar).
Die initiale Beschreibung von Moby Dick als elegantes, majestätisches Geschöpf lässt den Leser rufen: "Lasst ab!"
Die tragischste Gestalt war für mich nicht Ahab, der ist (beinahe) über Mitleid hinaus. Nein, für mich ist es Starbuck, der nicht anders kann, als "richtig" zu handeln, damit aber genau daneben liegt. Es läuft auf die Frage hinaus, ob man einen Tyrannen töten darf. Für mich beantworte ich diese Frage mit einem Ja, Starbuck tat dies nicht. Das Ergebnis war er Untergang von 30 Mann und einem Walfänger,
Die Charaktere sind allesamt interessant und detailliert dargestellt. Am spannendsten finde ich Quiqueg, den Kannibalen, der Ismael anfangs eine solche Furcht einflößt, um dann innerhalb weniger Tage, die beide zusammen verbringen bevor sie auf der Pequod anheuern, sein bester Freund zu werden.
Ein Highlight war definitiv das Kapitel "Gleichklang", in dem Ahab und Starbuck auf die milde, sonnige See blicken und sich nach ihren Familien sehnen. Das hat Ahab sehr menschlich gemacht.
Die drei Tages des Kampfes stellten eindeutig den Höhepunkt in diesem Buch dar. Moby Dick triumphiert wieder und wieder, und doch lässt Ahab nicht ab von ihm.
Die Entdeckung des toten Parsen - ein wahrhaft cthulhuesker Moment! Schaurig (aber etwas vorhersehbar).
Die initiale Beschreibung von Moby Dick als elegantes, majestätisches Geschöpf lässt den Leser rufen: "Lasst ab!"
One of the funniest books ever written. Melville is a comic genius.
3.5/5
This is one of those books with a reputation for being intimidating. I'm glad to say I found it much more enjoyable than I was expecting to.
It is a book about obsession: Ahab's, Ishmael's, and Melville's. Through Ishamel, Melville gives a detailed exploration of the whale as a species and whaling as an industry. Rather than finding that tedious, I found it interesting, particularly in light of what we now know about whales, and current ecological work to preserve marine species. Through Ahab, Melville explores the danger and futility of obsession. It's quite a heartbreaking story, especially because, through Ishmael, we meet all the sailors who sail with Ahab on his ill-advised voyage.
The characters are very interesting. Ahab is by turns mad and unyielding, by turns sympathetic and generous. Starbuck, his first mate, is both moral and somewhat weak willed. Ishmael himself is more of a shadowy figure (we don't even know if Ishmael is really his name), a wanderer who tells stories and has an open mindedness that's refreshing. His friendship with the 'savage' Queequeg was my favourite part of the story. Here, Melville reveals an acceptance of difference that would probably have been rare enough in his time.
I did find the book began to drag once they got out to sea. It got a bit repetitive, and I found myself wondering when the encounter with the white whale would finally happen. You have to wait quite a long time for that, and what disappointed me most about the book is how anti-climactic that all was. I was expecting much more on Ahab's grudge agains the whale, and much more on the chase and the aftermath.
I'm really glad I read this. It's really interesting as a novel, and there are some great characters. I think everyone should read it, but I don't think it's one I'd reread.
This is one of those books with a reputation for being intimidating. I'm glad to say I found it much more enjoyable than I was expecting to.
It is a book about obsession: Ahab's, Ishmael's, and Melville's. Through Ishamel, Melville gives a detailed exploration of the whale as a species and whaling as an industry. Rather than finding that tedious, I found it interesting, particularly in light of what we now know about whales, and current ecological work to preserve marine species. Through Ahab, Melville explores the danger and futility of obsession. It's quite a heartbreaking story, especially because, through Ishmael, we meet all the sailors who sail with Ahab on his ill-advised voyage.
The characters are very interesting. Ahab is by turns mad and unyielding, by turns sympathetic and generous. Starbuck, his first mate, is both moral and somewhat weak willed. Ishmael himself is more of a shadowy figure (we don't even know if Ishmael is really his name), a wanderer who tells stories and has an open mindedness that's refreshing. His friendship with the 'savage' Queequeg was my favourite part of the story. Here, Melville reveals an acceptance of difference that would probably have been rare enough in his time.
I did find the book began to drag once they got out to sea. It got a bit repetitive, and I found myself wondering when the encounter with the white whale would finally happen. You have to wait quite a long time for that, and what disappointed me most about the book is how anti-climactic that all was. I was expecting much more on Ahab's grudge agains the whale, and much more on the chase and the aftermath.
I'm really glad I read this. It's really interesting as a novel, and there are some great characters. I think everyone should read it, but I don't think it's one I'd reread.
Herman Melville pretty much narrates this story himself, thinly disguised as Ishmael. It often veers off into long philosophical musings or technical descriptions of the business of whaling, particularly in the middle of the book. It can tend to drag down some in those instances. Yet all of this explanation serves to convey the author's obvious passion for this unique way of life. It's written with such enthusiasm that I couldn't bring myself to do anything but indulge him. I feel now as if I probably know more about that lost vocation than anyone save historians, and my fellow Moby Dick readers. And when he does return to his story, it's worth the wait as the characters are astoundingly real and simple yet powerful. There's something there that drew me in, even when struggling through the most ponderous and antiquated phrasings. Melville's writing isn't always easy to swallow, but it is deep, and at times in its own way as elemental as the sea he writes about. Paragraph by paragraph it seeps into you, and even when you don't follow him completely on one of his discourses, his passion and eloquence elevate the experience of reading to the point where it becomes difficult to stop yourself from diving into the next short chapter. This is a novel that will stick with me awhile; bits and pieces of it kicking around in the back of my head for probably years as I digest them. I'll probably go back years from now and read it again, just to see if I glean anything new from it.
Hate this book! I was definitely rooting for the whale. I think Melville is highly overrated!