A review by mourningrose
Moby-Dick: Or, the Whale by Herman Melville

4.0

Moby Dick contained some of the most emotionally charged passages of any book I’ve read. The lengthy passion of its descriptions rivals those of Victorian bildungsromans, and I enjoy them hugely. 

Ishmael is a very charming in his open-minded naïvety and wonder, his narrative voice suits the American world in which he finds himself. His dynamics with Queegqueg and Ahab are very interesting, and I wished that the latter was more deeply explored. Starbuck and Stubb share a slight bit too much of the focus at times in my opinion. 

The chapters spent with Father Mapple were some of my favourites, his fire-and-brimstone delivery is memorable and imprints upon the rest of the story firmly. Ishmael also shows this ‘imprinting’ in almost every interaction he has, feeling them change him as a narrative voice. Not quite as much change as in a real bildungsroman, but reminiscent, and somewhat deserving of the length of the novel (although not entirely I might argue.)

Truly enjoyed, albeit slowly.