emilyb775's review against another edition
5.0
Although this book is hefty, I didn't find it difficult to find the motivation to get through it. Somewhere after the 100 page mark it turned from, "This book is alright," to "Nothing else matters except finishing this story." Some readers may be turned off by the heavy-handed political preaching, but I didn't mind because I happened to agree with the author. My only complaint would be the seemingly out-of-the-blue personality change of one of the main characters toward the end of the story. I understand why it happened, but I think that Naslund could have framed the character's development in a way that made the transformation more believable.
marilynsaul's review against another edition
1.0
Well, I made it through the requisite 25 pages (my standard for whether to keep going or jetison the book), and it's going back to the Friends sale. I just could not wrap my head around a quiet, sensitive, poetic, loving, considerate Ahab (or any man from that time period, actually). Too out of character.
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
2.0
Ultimately this book didn't come together for me, and given its size and all the individual moments that did work for me, that was a real disappointment. The language was a big problem. There are times when Naslund was mimicking the Melville's style but those times fell completely through because it lacked the sly humor and genuine bombastic passion that's all over Moby-Dick. When Naslund was solely in Una's perspective, the novel read better but then I was left wondering what was even the point of calling her Ahab's wife. Ahab doesn't show up until halfway through the book and they only get a handful of good scenes together. The rest of the time Una is traipsing about New England meeting famous historical people like Margaret Fuller and Maria Mitchell (who think she's nifty-keen of course). The first half of the book was pretty exciting, even if I did get tragedy-fatigue--once you've hit cannibalism, everything else seems superfluous--but after Una met and married Ahab, the rest of the book was a real slog. Which is a shame since that seems like it would be the focal point of this alternative look at Moby-Dick.
sweetpeppah's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't read Moby Dick but this seems a well-crafted tribute. The writing style and depth of character seems consistent with what little I know of the original. It's a long winding life story, be prepared for a patient journey; every detail is interesting and rings true. Immersive and epic.
mcbalick's review against another edition
Didn't love it and Book Group finished talking about it.
sarahbliss's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
apetruce's review against another edition
2.0
Good writing, very feminist-liberal. Neat descriptions and plot but not a page-turner for me.
janetreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
5.0
Simply excellent, loved every moment of reading this
colleenbee's review against another edition
5.0
Really beautifully written, but sometimes gritty. I read Moby Dick about seven years ago and really loved it and found this book to be a worthy companion.
bjrbeau's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not for everyone and could be condensed to about 350 pages, but it’s model is Moby Dick, so to be expected. Ina is more interesting than Ahab, but I can’t handle so many coincidences.