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A review by woolfen
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
4.0
4 Stars
A ponderous tour-de-force, this is a book about whales and whaling. Not about Moby Dick, Captain Ahab, Ishmael or the Pequod. Melville's own monomania about whaling is so evident, down to every essential (and non-essential) detail, which often gives people cause to complain. It is a revenge story, but the story facilitates two aspects to be vastly more focussed upon.
The first one, is the study of cetology and the contemporary whaling industry. The process, the descriptions of the whales, the habits and questions of sustainability (which Melville errs on the side of 'it will be fine to keep hunting'...). Sperm whales are juxtaposed alongside Right whales and the descriptions of their being processed by the whalers is very in-depth.
Secondly, the story facilitates some of the most enjoyable, impressive and purple prose I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Truly, there are so many scenes which the language; the construction, the richness , the joy of language is so clear. The initial description of Ahab's monomania and relation and vendetta of Moby Dick was truly phenomenal and I read it multiple times to friends. Melville's prose is what makes this book so incredible impressive and engaging. The frankly dull and technical moments which often drag, are rewarded by this process.
Whilst not an ideal tension, between often at times boring jargon and details and hyper purple-prose, I found it to be very worthwhile and enjoyable, but the ending, where you can practically feel Moby Dick hiding around the corner of the final 50 pages, just waiting to be encountered, is a little undercut by the sustained tension not fully carrying through in the finale.
Call me impressed.
A ponderous tour-de-force, this is a book about whales and whaling. Not about Moby Dick, Captain Ahab, Ishmael or the Pequod. Melville's own monomania about whaling is so evident, down to every essential (and non-essential) detail, which often gives people cause to complain. It is a revenge story, but the story facilitates two aspects to be vastly more focussed upon.
The first one, is the study of cetology and the contemporary whaling industry. The process, the descriptions of the whales, the habits and questions of sustainability (which Melville errs on the side of 'it will be fine to keep hunting'...). Sperm whales are juxtaposed alongside Right whales and the descriptions of their being processed by the whalers is very in-depth.
Secondly, the story facilitates some of the most enjoyable, impressive and purple prose I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Truly, there are so many scenes which the language; the construction, the richness , the joy of language is so clear. The initial description of Ahab's monomania and relation and vendetta of Moby Dick was truly phenomenal and I read it multiple times to friends. Melville's prose is what makes this book so incredible impressive and engaging. The frankly dull and technical moments which often drag, are rewarded by this process.
Whilst not an ideal tension, between often at times boring jargon and details and hyper purple-prose, I found it to be very worthwhile and enjoyable, but the ending, where you can practically feel Moby Dick hiding around the corner of the final 50 pages, just waiting to be encountered, is a little undercut by the sustained tension not fully carrying through in the finale.
Call me impressed.