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isabellesbooks's review against another edition
1.5
I’m sorry. I wanted to love this so bad, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this bored IN MY LIFE. This entire book is just hundreds of pages of a dude on a boat talking. I committed hard to finishing it, but I am so relieved to be done reading...
eskaywai's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
my goodness, that was a journey.
it’s not a true 5 because there was so much blatant racism in it (for the time it was published, i can understand. it doesn’t justify it though.)
but WOW. i mean wow. i’ve seen so many people hate on this book saying it’s a pain to get through, but i genuinely have no idea what y'all are talking about. i just read a million pages of whale trivia and a crazy captain with a lust for revenge, and i ENJOYED IT? i mean that’s a talented author right there. and it was written in the most poetic and interesting and even, at times, hilarious way.
this is certainly a must read. i understand why some call it one of the best books ever written now. i’m convinced that the people who disliked it either read it for school, or don’t have a large enough vocabulary.
i’m a whale nerd now. i love whales you guys. fun fact: whales are really cool.
also another fun fact: starbucks (the coffee place) is named after the character mr starbuck from this book :)
my goodness, that was a journey.
it’s not a true 5 because there was so much blatant racism in it (for the time it was published, i can understand. it doesn’t justify it though.)
but WOW. i mean wow. i’ve seen so many people hate on this book saying it’s a pain to get through, but i genuinely have no idea what y'all are talking about. i just read a million pages of whale trivia and a crazy captain with a lust for revenge, and i ENJOYED IT? i mean that’s a talented author right there. and it was written in the most poetic and interesting and even, at times, hilarious way.
this is certainly a must read. i understand why some call it one of the best books ever written now. i’m convinced that the people who disliked it either read it for school, or don’t have a large enough vocabulary.
i’m a whale nerd now. i love whales you guys. fun fact: whales are really cool.
also another fun fact: starbucks (the coffee place) is named after the character mr starbuck from this book :)
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
ellieg2604's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is actually a pretty decent book. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was a little hard to get through and hard to keep track of what was going on. But still pretty good.
tberg42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
geriatricgretch's review against another edition
4.0
I honestly can’t believe I finished it! Mostly read along with Whale Weekly (though you can see I wrapped up early). This novel was thoroughly unexpected in many ways.
casual_henk's review against another edition
3.0
Reading Moby Dick left me conflicted on how to rate it. This book has a very unique way of storytelling. You might be disappointed if you want to read a fast-paced, action-packed story about finding and capturing a Dangerous sea monster. That is different from what this story is.
Moby dick felt like a history/Biology book that had some fun anecdotes woven into it. Multiple chapters are devoted to the different types of whales, their anatomy, and the history of whaling. In fact, almost 90% of this book is not about Moby dick. This surprise was disappointing at first because it was not why I wanted to read this book, but once I got over that, I could start enjoying the Whale 101 I was reading instead.
Luckily, these long chapters of Whale info are written in a unique and fun way. The book is relatively easy to follow. So, instead of telling you that this is a must-read. I will warn you that Moby Dick might not be what you expect. If you don't care that the book is mainly info-dumping about all things whales, then you might enjoy the book. Otherwise, Mobydick might not be for you.
Moby dick felt like a history/Biology book that had some fun anecdotes woven into it. Multiple chapters are devoted to the different types of whales, their anatomy, and the history of whaling. In fact, almost 90% of this book is not about Moby dick. This surprise was disappointing at first because it was not why I wanted to read this book, but once I got over that, I could start enjoying the Whale 101 I was reading instead.
Luckily, these long chapters of Whale info are written in a unique and fun way. The book is relatively easy to follow. So, instead of telling you that this is a must-read. I will warn you that Moby Dick might not be what you expect. If you don't care that the book is mainly info-dumping about all things whales, then you might enjoy the book. Otherwise, Mobydick might not be for you.
ebt137's review against another edition
5.0
No one is more surprised than me about how much I loved this book.
meghaha's review against another edition
4.0
Review
This is the most difficult time I've ever had reading a book, as far as I can recall.
I think it's the double whammy of extraordinary language and length that made Moby Dick difficult for me. At times it felt like I was reading a 700-page-long tongue twister. The only other time I've felt a analogous sensation due to language is when I read Shakespeare. But Shakespeare’s plays are usually 80 pages of generously spaced dialogue, a sort of literary sprint, while Moby Dick is a veritable marathon. I mean, I'm kind of terrible at reading long books in general--of course, there are exceptions with books in which the narrative flows so liquidly that I don't feel like I'm reading a doorstopper and am able to finish with ease-- but I'd say in the majority of cases, with books longer than 500 pages, I find it difficult to maintain momentum or keep engaged. So yeah, not my strong suit to begin with.
I read during my commute to and from work, but if I get really immersed in a book, I might read it at night as well, or on the weekends. With Moby Dick that just never happened for me. Often I had trouble even reading it during my commute— in the morning, I'm sleepy; in the afternoon, I'm tired or distractible. I can push past those feelings for books that require less concentration, but Moby Dick is relentless. You don't get a minute's break to let your mind wander, and you really can't be distracted or any less than fully dedicated and engaged to parsing the language of every sentence. I ended up having to re-read things over and over constantly, because I’d realize I hadn’t actually taken the words in. Still, I kept going. I’d already made about three false starts with Moby Dick over the last few years, despite really loving the opening, so I swore I wasn’t going to give up this time.
Having read the beginning a few times, I had an entirely wrong conception of what the rest of the book would be like in my mind for years. Ishmael opens with a close narration; we get a sense of his character; we’re introduced to Queequeg. I had thought it would continue in a similar vein the rest of the book. But once we’re on the Pequod, Ishmael withdraws to a distant omniscience; Queequeg only makes a few other appearances. Instead Melville turns his focus to whales, killing of said whales, countless other cast members I didn’t give a hoot about, and of course, good old Ahab.
Thank god for Ahab — Ishmael having gone AWOL while narrating and Queequeg effectively benched except for the memorable coffin scenes— it’s Ahab, with his ranting and raving, descent into insanity and obsession, and general aura of doom that keep the book alive. Melville is at his best describing Ahab, who “looked like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has overunningly wasted all the limbs without consuming them." Captain Ahab, whose leg was chomped off by Moby Dick during his last voyage, so that now “on life and death this old man walked.” Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick, his "fatal pride" and and his thirst for revenge propel the last third of the book. His obsession is all-consuming, insane, and brilliant to read about: “The White Whale swam before him as the monomaniac incarnation of all those malicious agencies which some deep men feel eating in them, till they are left living on with half a heart and half a lung.” My favorite scene of the whole book, a real gut-punch, is when Ahab refuses to help Captain Gardiner. That scene was the point of no return for Ahab -- despite not being a bad person, he does something cruel and heartless, he trades in his humanity, because he can not renounce his obsession, not for morality, or compassion, or life itself.
Even if Ahab fast became one of my favorite characters from literature, it's the structure of Moby Dick that I had trouble with. The book's a strange mishmash of a treatise on whales and whale-hunting, segues into scenes from a half-finished play, complete with stage directions (and a whole lot soliloquies for Ahab), and spare bits of poetry Melville seems to have un-line-breaked into prose for this book, just because he could. Oh, and let’s not forget the actual nightmare dive into musical theater, where the sailors are literally singing and dancing for the length of a chapter. I could not believe what I was reading at first, it was so bizarre (and excruciating). Speaking of gratuitous musical theater, along with the way Ishmael meets Queequeg , as well as the sperm squeezing scene, Melville’s provided enough material in Moby Dick for a dissertation or two on all the gay subtext.
I blame Nathaniel Hawthorne for how meandering Moby Dick gets in the middle. Apparently Moby Dick was more of a straight-up adventure tale at conception (I presume all that remains from that version is the first part of the book before Ishmael sets off on the Pequod and the final part when Ahab nears the white whale), until Melville became infatuated with Hawthorne and wanted to impress him. Hence what we have today, a book that veers between treatise, play, and poetry, with Melville making kissy faces at Hawthorne as he decides narrative momentum is not something he cares about, after all.
But, even if I would have preferred a novel with close narration from Ishmael, more of Queequeg, less about the technicalities of whales and whale hunting, and less stage direction, I don’t suppose it makes much sense to hanker over it. If Moby Dick was a pure adventure tale, maybe it wouldn't be as great a masterpiece as it is. Melville certainly thought so. At one point, he basically says, you need to write a huge book about a huge subject for it to be great. It's a questionable conclusion for me if applied to all of literature, but perhaps it is true with regard to Melville and Moby Dick. The whaling digressions, as painful as they might be, do make for a book unlike any other.
Sure, if the novel had been more streamlined, it probably would’ve come out being one of my personal favorite books of all time. As is, I can recognize that within the Moby Dick there’s some of the loveliest prose ever written; one of the best tortured, doomed characters in Ahab; and deep insight into human nature. But I don't actually feel much love or tenderness for the book itself. Possibly it’s my bitterness over how long it took me to get through this book that’s cooling my ardor. And my piss-poor attention span, coupled with not being masochistic enough, means I can't wholeheartedly love this book.
Moby Dick demands so much from its reader. I'll admit I didn't really get to process everything I read, even though I read it so slowly, so it'd probably be good to come back to this book at some point. I feel like I've developing a weird relationship with this book -- there's so much about Moby Dick that's frustrating and boring and completely nuts, but it's also so epic and rich and complex. On one hand, I'm so relieved I've finished, but on the other hand, I also kind of want to download the audiobook.
***
Excerpts (from my highlights)
(1) Assorted phrases that made me laugh out loud:
For real, some of the imagery was grotesque, like Parsee's death, or what they do to whales after killing them. The sharks were horror-movie level:
This is the most difficult time I've ever had reading a book, as far as I can recall.
I think it's the double whammy of extraordinary language and length that made Moby Dick difficult for me. At times it felt like I was reading a 700-page-long tongue twister. The only other time I've felt a analogous sensation due to language is when I read Shakespeare. But Shakespeare’s plays are usually 80 pages of generously spaced dialogue, a sort of literary sprint, while Moby Dick is a veritable marathon. I mean, I'm kind of terrible at reading long books in general--of course, there are exceptions with books in which the narrative flows so liquidly that I don't feel like I'm reading a doorstopper and am able to finish with ease-- but I'd say in the majority of cases, with books longer than 500 pages, I find it difficult to maintain momentum or keep engaged. So yeah, not my strong suit to begin with.
I read during my commute to and from work, but if I get really immersed in a book, I might read it at night as well, or on the weekends. With Moby Dick that just never happened for me. Often I had trouble even reading it during my commute— in the morning, I'm sleepy; in the afternoon, I'm tired or distractible. I can push past those feelings for books that require less concentration, but Moby Dick is relentless. You don't get a minute's break to let your mind wander, and you really can't be distracted or any less than fully dedicated and engaged to parsing the language of every sentence. I ended up having to re-read things over and over constantly, because I’d realize I hadn’t actually taken the words in. Still, I kept going. I’d already made about three false starts with Moby Dick over the last few years, despite really loving the opening, so I swore I wasn’t going to give up this time.
Having read the beginning a few times, I had an entirely wrong conception of what the rest of the book would be like in my mind for years. Ishmael opens with a close narration; we get a sense of his character; we’re introduced to Queequeg. I had thought it would continue in a similar vein the rest of the book. But once we’re on the Pequod, Ishmael withdraws to a distant omniscience; Queequeg only makes a few other appearances. Instead Melville turns his focus to whales, killing of said whales, countless other cast members I didn’t give a hoot about, and of course, good old Ahab.
Thank god for Ahab — Ishmael having gone AWOL while narrating and Queequeg effectively benched except for the memorable coffin scenes— it’s Ahab, with his ranting and raving, descent into insanity and obsession, and general aura of doom that keep the book alive. Melville is at his best describing Ahab, who “looked like a man cut away from the stake, when the fire has overunningly wasted all the limbs without consuming them." Captain Ahab, whose leg was chomped off by Moby Dick during his last voyage, so that now “on life and death this old man walked.” Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick, his "fatal pride" and and his thirst for revenge propel the last third of the book. His obsession is all-consuming, insane, and brilliant to read about: “The White Whale swam before him as the monomaniac incarnation of all those malicious agencies which some deep men feel eating in them, till they are left living on with half a heart and half a lung.” My favorite scene of the whole book, a real gut-punch, is when Ahab refuses to help Captain Gardiner. That scene was the point of no return for Ahab -- despite not being a bad person, he does something cruel and heartless, he trades in his humanity, because he can not renounce his obsession, not for morality, or compassion, or life itself.
Even if Ahab fast became one of my favorite characters from literature, it's the structure of Moby Dick that I had trouble with. The book's a strange mishmash of a treatise on whales and whale-hunting, segues into scenes from a half-finished play, complete with stage directions (and a whole lot soliloquies for Ahab), and spare bits of poetry Melville seems to have un-line-breaked into prose for this book, just because he could. Oh, and let’s not forget the actual nightmare dive into musical theater, where the sailors are literally singing and dancing for the length of a chapter. I could not believe what I was reading at first, it was so bizarre (and excruciating). Speaking of gratuitous musical theater, along with the way Ishmael meets Queequeg , as well as the sperm squeezing scene, Melville’s provided enough material in Moby Dick for a dissertation or two on all the gay subtext.
I blame Nathaniel Hawthorne for how meandering Moby Dick gets in the middle. Apparently Moby Dick was more of a straight-up adventure tale at conception (I presume all that remains from that version is the first part of the book before Ishmael sets off on the Pequod and the final part when Ahab nears the white whale), until Melville became infatuated with Hawthorne and wanted to impress him. Hence what we have today, a book that veers between treatise, play, and poetry, with Melville making kissy faces at Hawthorne as he decides narrative momentum is not something he cares about, after all.
But, even if I would have preferred a novel with close narration from Ishmael, more of Queequeg, less about the technicalities of whales and whale hunting, and less stage direction, I don’t suppose it makes much sense to hanker over it. If Moby Dick was a pure adventure tale, maybe it wouldn't be as great a masterpiece as it is. Melville certainly thought so. At one point, he basically says, you need to write a huge book about a huge subject for it to be great. It's a questionable conclusion for me if applied to all of literature, but perhaps it is true with regard to Melville and Moby Dick. The whaling digressions, as painful as they might be, do make for a book unlike any other.
Sure, if the novel had been more streamlined, it probably would’ve come out being one of my personal favorite books of all time. As is, I can recognize that within the Moby Dick there’s some of the loveliest prose ever written; one of the best tortured, doomed characters in Ahab; and deep insight into human nature. But I don't actually feel much love or tenderness for the book itself. Possibly it’s my bitterness over how long it took me to get through this book that’s cooling my ardor. And my piss-poor attention span, coupled with not being masochistic enough, means I can't wholeheartedly love this book.
Moby Dick demands so much from its reader. I'll admit I didn't really get to process everything I read, even though I read it so slowly, so it'd probably be good to come back to this book at some point. I feel like I've developing a weird relationship with this book -- there's so much about Moby Dick that's frustrating and boring and completely nuts, but it's also so epic and rich and complex. On one hand, I'm so relieved I've finished, but on the other hand, I also kind of want to download the audiobook.
***
Excerpts (from my highlights)
(1) Assorted phrases that made me laugh out loud:
“a sort of sea-peasant” (how British sailors regard American sailors)
“A whale is A SPOUTING FISH WITH A HORIZONTAL TAIL”
“Adieu, Sulphur Bottom!”
“SINGS, AND ALL FOLLOW”
“For, upon the great canal of Hang-ho, or whatever they call it” (Melville can’t even by bothered to double check the spelling of the second-longest river in Asia)
“This Right Whale I take to have been a Stoic; the Sperm Whale, a Platonian, who might have taken up Spinoza in his latter years.”
“my numerous fish documents”(2)Ahab's speeches
“Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me."
"What is it, what nameless, inscrutable, unearthly thing is it; what cozening, hidden lord and master, and cruel, remorseless emperor commands me: that against all natural loveings and longings, I so keep pushing, and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts me arm?"(3) Nice passages:
“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; a whose creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the world began.”
“All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life. And if you be a philosopher, though seated in the whale-boat, you would not at heart feel one white more of terror, than though seated before your evening fire with a poker, and not a harpoon, by your side.”(4) Imagery:
For real, some of the imagery was grotesque, like Parsee's death, or what they do to whales after killing them. The sharks were horror-movie level:
“Mingling their mumblings with his own mastications, thousands on thousands of sharks, swarming round the dead leviathan, smackingly feasted on its fatness. The few sleepers below in their bunks were often startled by the sharp slapping of their tails against the hull, within a few inches of the sleeper’s hearts. Peering over the side you could just see them (as before you heard them) wallowing in the sullen, black waters, and turning over on their backs as the scooped out huge globular pieces of the whale of the bigness of a human head.”As was:
“...when seaman fall overboard, they are sometimes found, months afterwards, perpendicular frozen into the hearts of fields of ice, as a fly is found glued in amber.”(5) And last but not least: Epic and/or grand pronouncements:
“all mortal greatness is but disease”
“Oh, life! ’tis now that I do feel the latent horror in thee!”
“Yea, foolish mortals, Noah’s flood is not yet subsided; two thirds of the fair world it yet covers.”
“….for there is no folly of the beasts of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.”
“There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.”
“What is best let alone, that accursed thing is not always what least allures.”