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marsh_nichols 's review for:
Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville
Let’s start with the good: First, this book is more of a piece of modern (or postmodern maybe?) art than a book. It’s a ton of research papers, several philosophical treatises, and a few mediocre short stories haphazardly stitched together. It is truly unique, unlike anything written before or since, and just flat out weird. Plus, it is a figurative Leviathan itself. That most certainly deserves respect and appreciation. I don’t particularly like it - I think the pacing is atrocious and the structure nonsensical at best. But I get how that might attract others.
Second, Moby-Dick does a great job giving us a snapshot of so many American philosophies and qualities. You can’t ignore its significance for that fact alone.
Third, some of the narrative and characters are very entertaining. Queequeg and Stubb were my favorites. Ahab and Pip were also interesting. I’ll note that most characters (not all) are just different voices of the same elitist prick. Let’s call that prick Ishmael.
Now for the bad:
Moby-Dick is a terrible book. People will wax poetic about how all of the chapters about the whaling industry, whale anatomy, and mundane day-to-day in the fisheries are so incredible because - you probably weren’t smart enough to realize it - they are actually about the aforementioned culture and philosophies of 19th century America, as well as even broader more universal truths of Man and Nature. There are plenty of condescending reviewers here that say if you don’t appreciate those chapters, then you are just a simpleton - you didn’t get it and you should go read Colleen Hoover instead.
Here’s the thing. None of those philosophical chapters are unique or interesting in any way. I figured out all of this stuff on my own by the time I was 16. And what’s worse? They were written so heavy handed, so on the nose, with absolutely no subtlety, that it baffles me that there are so many reviewers here that think we actually missed the point. It’s impossible to miss for anyone with a 9th grade reading level.
That brings me to my next point. Moby-Dick is very poorly written. The prose is dense, borderline unapproachable. I’m not just talking about the outdated vocab here, which wouldn’t be fair to hold against Melville in 2024. I’m also talking about the run-on sentences that add no value to what is being said. And those sentences just keep coming. Like many of the people that give this book 5 stars and get so mad when others don’t, Melville is often just talking to talk (cue the people saying I didn’t get it). Sure, sometimes he catches you with a great line, but those moments come so few and far between that it isn’t worth it. And there is no variation!!! So many wasted words.
Isn’t one of the tenets of great writing supposed to be the ability to show rather than tell? I think one of the best things a writer can do is leave some blank space on the page. Pick their words carefully, set the scene, use sentence structure and word choice with a purpose and awaken the readers mind to the endless possibilities, narrative or otherwise. Instead, Melville is going to shove it down your throat whether you like it or not.
If the contest for the title of “THE Great American Novel” is between this and Huck Finn…Huck wins by a landslide.
Second, Moby-Dick does a great job giving us a snapshot of so many American philosophies and qualities. You can’t ignore its significance for that fact alone.
Third, some of the narrative and characters are very entertaining. Queequeg and Stubb were my favorites. Ahab and Pip were also interesting. I’ll note that most characters (not all) are just different voices of the same elitist prick. Let’s call that prick Ishmael.
Now for the bad:
Moby-Dick is a terrible book. People will wax poetic about how all of the chapters about the whaling industry, whale anatomy, and mundane day-to-day in the fisheries are so incredible because - you probably weren’t smart enough to realize it - they are actually about the aforementioned culture and philosophies of 19th century America, as well as even broader more universal truths of Man and Nature. There are plenty of condescending reviewers here that say if you don’t appreciate those chapters, then you are just a simpleton - you didn’t get it and you should go read Colleen Hoover instead.
Here’s the thing. None of those philosophical chapters are unique or interesting in any way. I figured out all of this stuff on my own by the time I was 16. And what’s worse? They were written so heavy handed, so on the nose, with absolutely no subtlety, that it baffles me that there are so many reviewers here that think we actually missed the point. It’s impossible to miss for anyone with a 9th grade reading level.
That brings me to my next point. Moby-Dick is very poorly written. The prose is dense, borderline unapproachable. I’m not just talking about the outdated vocab here, which wouldn’t be fair to hold against Melville in 2024. I’m also talking about the run-on sentences that add no value to what is being said. And those sentences just keep coming. Like many of the people that give this book 5 stars and get so mad when others don’t, Melville is often just talking to talk (cue the people saying I didn’t get it). Sure, sometimes he catches you with a great line, but those moments come so few and far between that it isn’t worth it. And there is no variation!!! So many wasted words.
Isn’t one of the tenets of great writing supposed to be the ability to show rather than tell? I think one of the best things a writer can do is leave some blank space on the page. Pick their words carefully, set the scene, use sentence structure and word choice with a purpose and awaken the readers mind to the endless possibilities, narrative or otherwise. Instead, Melville is going to shove it down your throat whether you like it or not.
If the contest for the title of “THE Great American Novel” is between this and Huck Finn…Huck wins by a landslide.