A review by machen27
Moby-Dick: Or, the Whale by Herman Melville

challenging dark emotional funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I do not need to sing the praises of this classic, and certainly I believe it deserves that title. Instead, I will offer some advice: this is probably one of the stranger books that I have read. There will be tangents on whale taxonomy. Tangents on chowder. And in-between? Yes, an epic about the ways vengeance and hate will destroy you. My advice is to embrace this strangeness; it is all Moby Dick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism

It's a book about whaling so don't be surprised that it features significant cruelty and violence against animals. It's also a book from the mid -19th century with its associated ideas about "savages."