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thegordianknit 's review for:
Moby Dick
by Herman Melville
Probably should give this a slightly lower star rating but I’m on the high of the end of the book so here we are. What an end it was. There are of course all sorts of things that haven’t aged fantastically in this book, but the core narrative and how it’s delivered is an utter experience. Anyone who says Ishmael digresses too much knows not what they ask for, in my opinion - every dithering digression and pretentious aside and weirdly articulated scene built the claustrophobic immensity of [waves hand at both the events and the themes of the book], and I don’t think the pre-epilogue end of this book could possibly have hit the way it hit me without every word of it. Yes, even the seven billion minutes of Why White Is Unsettling and the aside about Why Sailors Are Weird About Seals. I am compelled by whatever the fuck Ahab and Starbuck have going on. I am ofc compelled by Ahab’s whole deal. A lifetime of osmosis about this book did not prepare me for how much this climax was about aging and regret and the sunk cost fallacy and choice. I was prepared to ask questions about what we are in the face of the inevitable enormity of the sea and fate, but wasn’t prepared to feel them quite this hard. I should really have expected the sheer quantity of words I’ve heard about blubber.
Absolutely elevated by the audiobook format - Ishmael is conversational and at times insufferable and deeply incessant, and having him live in my car for days on end while he talks my ear off and sometimes I even zone out felt perfect. Like, sometimes you sure are stuck on a ship with the same guy for dealing with Yet Another Whale Sighting (or worse, lack thereof) for way too long, and you sure aren’t getting off this ride until your unhinged boss finally chases down his psychological issues and either kills them dead or takes you all down trying, and if that feels like it takes forever it’s because there’s nothing but salt water as far as the eye can see on all sides and it does in fact take for-flipping-ever. Many times I let the cadence of it all wash over me without worrying about rewinding for content, and I suspect I will not recall much of the events of this book even as the vibes and themes stick with me. Which, again, feels right. William Hootkins was a phenomenal reader; cannot recommend highly enough.
Absolutely elevated by the audiobook format - Ishmael is conversational and at times insufferable and deeply incessant, and having him live in my car for days on end while he talks my ear off and sometimes I even zone out felt perfect. Like, sometimes you sure are stuck on a ship with the same guy for dealing with Yet Another Whale Sighting (or worse, lack thereof) for way too long, and you sure aren’t getting off this ride until your unhinged boss finally chases down his psychological issues and either kills them dead or takes you all down trying, and if that feels like it takes forever it’s because there’s nothing but salt water as far as the eye can see on all sides and it does in fact take for-flipping-ever. Many times I let the cadence of it all wash over me without worrying about rewinding for content, and I suspect I will not recall much of the events of this book even as the vibes and themes stick with me. Which, again, feels right. William Hootkins was a phenomenal reader; cannot recommend highly enough.