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A review by patrickwadden
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
3.0
I mean, it's good.
It's Moby Dick. Surely, it has to be good!
Alas, certain chapters of this novel fiercely pulled me under its lulling waters as I tried to tread around its poetic phrase into the depths of boredom. It's written beautifully but some passages added weights unto my eyelids that made it impossible to keep open, while others invigorated me and left me racing.
Due to the novel nature of each chapter, intertwining fiction and non fiction, switching perspectives and even multiple sections written as a play, you would think I just didn't connect with one facet of this book. But to Melville's credit, he makes some of the unappealing non-fictious delvings into whalery great pieces of art full of knowledge and social critique while some action packed sequences fall flat. I wish I could explain it, but sometimes I'm along for the ride and sometimes I'm rereading the same page three times trying to get my brain to discern what's happening.
Call me l8r
Notes:
Loved the Fast and Loose Fish chapter
Loved the perspective and sympathizing of the whale sequence
Liked the switching of styles and genre
Liked the beggining
Like thinking about it, thinking about Ishmael and thinking of Ahab
It's Moby Dick. Surely, it has to be good!
Alas, certain chapters of this novel fiercely pulled me under its lulling waters as I tried to tread around its poetic phrase into the depths of boredom. It's written beautifully but some passages added weights unto my eyelids that made it impossible to keep open, while others invigorated me and left me racing.
Due to the novel nature of each chapter, intertwining fiction and non fiction, switching perspectives and even multiple sections written as a play, you would think I just didn't connect with one facet of this book. But to Melville's credit, he makes some of the unappealing non-fictious delvings into whalery great pieces of art full of knowledge and social critique while some action packed sequences fall flat. I wish I could explain it, but sometimes I'm along for the ride and sometimes I'm rereading the same page three times trying to get my brain to discern what's happening.
Call me l8r
Notes:
Loved the Fast and Loose Fish chapter
Loved the perspective and sympathizing of the whale sequence
Liked the switching of styles and genre
Liked the beggining
Like thinking about it, thinking about Ishmael and thinking of Ahab