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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
Had to go back to the library and I wasn’t enjoying the dense writing style enough to get it again to finish.
dycook's review against another edition
4.0
Part of me wants to give it the full 5 stars, but I have to admit that the first half of the story bogs it down a bit. Still, the second half sees Melville thinking through moral and social questions even more inscrutable than what he ponders in Moby Dick.
kygpub's review against another edition
not to my taste sorry :( really flopping at this last month of my reading stats oops
ablotial's review
3.0
Rating 2.5/5
For the July Challenge for the [info:]50bookchallenge community, I decided to re-read Billy Budd. I was forced to read this during my senior English class and truly hated it. For the required "Opinion Paper" dealing with each book we read (we could choose our own topics as long as they had well thought out arguments and proof) I actually wrote a paper about why this book should not be required reading in high schools.
Don't get me wrong - I understand why they wanted us to read it. The moral dilemma posed in the book is quite intreguing. And related to a lot of the "real world" things we hear about today with soldiers doing things "because they were ordered to" or they were "enforcing the law" even though they don't believe in it, because that's their job. The book is pretty thought provoking - that is, if you can find the plot and message.
This was my major complaint at the time. Melville's writing style is ... ok, I know there's a word for what I'm trying to say, but I can't think of it. Basically, I find it incredibly difficult to wade through his ridiculous wording and outrageously long descriptions and diversions into historical background of things and figure out what the hell was going on. The plot was completely lost to me. Something would happen on one page. Then 5 pages later, something else finally happened but by that time I'd forgotten what had happened before. Reading the book for the first time, without knowing anything at all about the plot ... it just took me forever to figure out what was going on.
I'll admit, it was somewhat easier this time, since I knew the progression of the story and what would be coming next. But this time in reading it, I got incredibly impatient. Something happened on one page, and I knew what would happen next. And then I went pages and pages and pages wondering when he was going to get to the point and make it happen already! It drove me crazy. I do think I enjoyed the book a lot more this read-through, but there were still a lot of parts where, had I not been -forcing- myself to read everything for the sake of this chapter, I would have skipped a few pages. And since the books is pretty short to begin with, skipping pages leads to approximately 10 pages worth keeping. I really, really think this would have made a GREAT short story.
And when I came to chapter 26, which was titled "A Digression", I literally burst out laughing in the middle of the library and got a few evil glares. The whole damn book is a digression if you ask me.
Anyway, the story is good and the moral dilemma is interesting, but I'd still suggest the Cliff's Notes version.
For the July Challenge for the [info:]50bookchallenge community, I decided to re-read Billy Budd. I was forced to read this during my senior English class and truly hated it. For the required "Opinion Paper" dealing with each book we read (we could choose our own topics as long as they had well thought out arguments and proof) I actually wrote a paper about why this book should not be required reading in high schools.
Don't get me wrong - I understand why they wanted us to read it. The moral dilemma posed in the book is quite intreguing. And related to a lot of the "real world" things we hear about today with soldiers doing things "because they were ordered to" or they were "enforcing the law" even though they don't believe in it, because that's their job. The book is pretty thought provoking - that is, if you can find the plot and message.
This was my major complaint at the time. Melville's writing style is ... ok, I know there's a word for what I'm trying to say, but I can't think of it. Basically, I find it incredibly difficult to wade through his ridiculous wording and outrageously long descriptions and diversions into historical background of things and figure out what the hell was going on. The plot was completely lost to me. Something would happen on one page. Then 5 pages later, something else finally happened but by that time I'd forgotten what had happened before. Reading the book for the first time, without knowing anything at all about the plot ... it just took me forever to figure out what was going on.
I'll admit, it was somewhat easier this time, since I knew the progression of the story and what would be coming next. But this time in reading it, I got incredibly impatient. Something happened on one page, and I knew what would happen next. And then I went pages and pages and pages wondering when he was going to get to the point and make it happen already! It drove me crazy. I do think I enjoyed the book a lot more this read-through, but there were still a lot of parts where, had I not been -forcing- myself to read everything for the sake of this chapter, I would have skipped a few pages. And since the books is pretty short to begin with, skipping pages leads to approximately 10 pages worth keeping. I really, really think this would have made a GREAT short story.
And when I came to chapter 26, which was titled "A Digression", I literally burst out laughing in the middle of the library and got a few evil glares. The whole damn book is a digression if you ask me.
Anyway, the story is good and the moral dilemma is interesting, but I'd still suggest the Cliff's Notes version.
fxdpts's review against another edition
I love Melville’s contortions of language. The trial is played out in much less opulent vocabulary and much more standard grammar.
He loves calling sources he references “long-forgotten” and “a writer whom few know.” Very funny habit.
He loves calling sources he references “long-forgotten” and “a writer whom few know.” Very funny habit.
juliaeconner's review
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
meghanh2020's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
topbob's review
4.0
Unlike Benito Cereno, the meandering prose is not clarified but is instead left hanging. Regardless, the last 10 chapters stand out as a masterpiece of literature, and the somber end was quite profound.
askmashka's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced