Moby Dick

Why don’t you come a-whaling?
It’s a classic allegory, but Moby-Dick is an arduous experience. I once read a summary that this book is only truly capable of being judged when read all the way through to its climax. The fact is, this book holds true to it, and even if when reading it you feel yourself slipping: keep at it, there is some superb English and some superb thought hidden in this book.There are two faults with this book. First, and the biggest one, is the many many chapters on the technical aspects of Whaling and Cetology. Although interesting at first, they descend into Minutiae, and even I as a person who loved the book from cover to cover skipped a few chapters of this nature, scanning for any truly important passages. Secondly, in a few scenes the dialogue can get confusing, but these are generally not key scenes- so do not worry. Just remember that nearly everyone refers to themselves in the Third-Person, and Melville’s lack of “said -” becomes less vexing and confusing.The book does, however, contain some of the best prose I have ever read- and I’ve read a lot of it. Poetic, almost Shakespearean, and above all soaked in atmosphere, there are times when this book just astounds you with the vividness and tenacity of its language. With phrases like “made appalling battle” it sweeps away the less complex and incredibly simple modern bestsellers like The Da Vinci Code.At the heart of the book is an intense symbolism that would sound ludicrous to those who have not read the book, the fact that one white whale could represent so plausibly so so many things does sound far fetched, but when you read it you find so many different answers. Fate, Providence, Nature, Madness, Death, Predestination- all these things run as Ahab and the Pequod’s brave and diligent crew assail Moby-Dick.Sure to be remembered as one of the greatest books ever written even in the far far future, this novel is an experience like no other- and an incredibly individual and personally driven one too, perhaps why it is the source of so much praise and so much perplexity. This book teaches you the art of writing, and the art of allegory.

Very Good in Parts…
I have been meaning to read ‘Moby Dick’ since I was a teenager and although I’ve read a large amount of classic literature over the years, I’ve somehow never quite got around to Herman Melville’s novel which tells of Captain Ahab and his quest to kill the whale that removed one of his legs in a previous encounter. So when I spotted this very attractively presented Penguin Classics Deluxe edition, I decided that now was the time to read it – but was it worth the wait? Well, this is a difficult question to answer because this book is one that totally engaged me in some respects, but not in others.Firstly I very much enjoyed the beginning of the book where Ishmael meets up with the tattooed Queequeg at the Spouter Inn and of the start of their ‘bosom’ friendship; I also enjoyed reading how Ishmael and Queequeg get taken on to work as whalers on the ship ‘Pequod’ and of Ishmael’s initial meeting with the grizzled one-legged seafarer, Captain Ahab, who is intent on exacting his revenge on Moby Dick; and I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of situation and setting aboard a nineteenth century sailing ship.What I found a bit difficult was the amount of information about the whaling industry, some of which I found rather upsetting, especially where the author writes about the hunting of female whales with calves, and although some of the information was very interesting (for example: how if a male whale is attacked its fellow males will hastily make their escape, but if a female whale is attacked, other females will try to help her) there was too much that I found discomfiting. I also found there to be a little too much in the way of extraneous information and too many digressions for this story to work well for me and although I know the author had a purpose in writing in this way, I have to admit to finding parts of this book rather wearing.I am aware that this book is a great American classic and has other themes apart from those that are immediately obvious, and I did enjoy parts of the story and found the ending totally gripping – however, despite being informed that this novel improves with subsequent readings, it’s most probably not a book I would pick up again. In summary, I’m glad I finally got around to reading ‘Moby Dick’, but I’m also rather glad I’ve finished it too.3 Stars.

Perhaps one off the greatest books ever written
I held off reading this book until I was well in adulthood as I was traumatised by the film and the whale killing. To be fair it haunts me in the book as well. That aside this is a book of startling brilliance. Melville shows his deep knowledge of the western canon, including the Bible and it requires you to take a deep dive into other literature if you haven’t already – read alongside King Lear, Wuthering Heights, Blood Meridian, The Odyssey, Job and Kings II.The book is about a person’s monomania and just how far they’ll go to acquire the object of their obsession, which in itself is reflected by Melville’s/Ishmael’s obsession with the whale throughout history, hence the sections on cetology, etc. While some may see those as unnecessary because they punctuate the main story throughout the book and force you out of it, but I view them as vital to the monomania theme running throughout.However, I don’t see this book as merely an exercise in obsession. The book is beautifully written and I adore Melville’s prose. It’s sad that there’s rarely anything of his calibre today. I highly recommend.

book received in excellent condition

Perfect book for my needs. This isn’t a story synopsis, but a review of the quality of this paperback edition in its physical condition.I wanted a cheap paperback edition of this classic, which I’m thoroughly enjoying reading. I bend this book, and have creased the spine well in my handling of it. None of the pages have torn out and the binding and glue are holding fine. It’s not nearly as immortal as a hardcover, but as a beater book to toss in my backpack and give away after I’ve read it, this is perfect.