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yrlaevelyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Cannibalism
seanml's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In some circles this has been referred to as the greatest of American novels. I wanted to know the basis for this, because surely there must be some merit if it is still brought up today. What did I find? I found that Moby Dick is, in a way, two separate books. First, there is a book of whale anatomy. Our narrator Ishmael, being a member of the crew, has many things to say about the process and subject of the whaling industry. Dozens of chapters will go by that are more educational than narrative, and that is why the book is so vilified: This educational content is like 80% of the book. Or at least it feels that way. The second part of this book is the story of our ship, the Pequod, and Captain Ahab’s relentless search for the malicious white whale. And this, surprisingly, was everything it was said to be. The sea is described like the primordial all-encompassing force that it is, and Melville through Ishmael taps into the innate fear of such an alien place, making this book scarier than many books in the horror genre. And within this void is Moby Dick himself, who comes and goes like a cosmic horror of the great deep, presaged by strange omens and otherworldly harbingers. So I recommend the narrative portion of the book, despite it being the minority of the page count. So why might this be called the greatest American novel? There are two possibilities. One, it is, but this is unlikely. Or two, this book was written in the mid-1850s, and there were like two books back then, so it was either this or Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and this one is pretty cool. 8/10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
lowpolylea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Child death, Cannibalism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
lesyich's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
angherr2009's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Let me preface this by saying that I like whales. I have read 'In the Heart of the Sea', which partly inspired Melville to write 'Moby Dick.' I absolutely enjoyed 'In the Heart of the Sea,' and I absolutely loathed 'Moby Dick.'
This felt like I was being told 25% a story and 75% the long-winded and unnecessary tangents from someone who can't take the hint that NO ONE CARES.
I can slightly understand the literary merit this book holds but it's not enough to make it interesting or redeemable.
This felt like I was being told 25% a story and 75% the long-winded and unnecessary tangents from someone who can't take the hint that NO ONE CARES.
I can slightly understand the literary merit this book holds but it's not enough to make it interesting or redeemable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Racial slurs
msjenne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
a_niche_ferret's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It only took me 5 weeks, but I was finally able to get through this book. I genuinely think Moby Dick is a good book, but geez the tedium! I found it extremely difficult to get through, not only because of the encyclopaedia-like chapters on everything cetology, but also because it's written in an archaic style with archaic language and lots of references to Western culture that makes it hard to follow. We don't see much of the narrator, Ishmael once the actual whaling voyage begins, except when he pops in to lecture the reader about whales and other whaling-related topics. There are several good bits in this book, but most of the time I found myself struggling to understand what was going on in each scene.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
sherbertwells's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The sole survivor of a shipwreck immortalizes its ill-fated final voyage: its crew, its prey and its captain’s monomaniacal obsession with the titular white whale. Verbose and glorious, and if Melville is not quite the American Shakespeare he is something deeper altogether.
“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure. Consider also the devilish brilliance and beauty of many of its most remorseless tribes, as the dainty embellished shape of many species of sharks. Consider, once more, the universal cannibalism of the sea; all whose creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the world began. Consider all this; and then turn to this green, gentle and most docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself?” (283)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism, and Cannibalism
yavin_iv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Racial slurs and Medical trauma
Minor: Antisemitism and Cannibalism
isabeldotml's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
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