Moby Dick

Rating:
Summary: It deserves 5 *'s, except for the long narrative! (Read On!)
Review: This is an unquestionably classic. Indeed, you know a classic by how many times it has been ripped off, or alluded to in pop culture. In fact, the star Trek franchise's motto is when in doubt; either have a time travel episode, a Borg episode, or rip-off Moby-Dick. See episodes from the original series "Obsession," and movies "The Wrath of Khan," and "First Contact" and "The Voyage Home"

Test: What's the opening line of Moby-Dick? "Call me Ishmael."

So why the four starts for a classic? Basically, because Melvin threw in too much exposition in explaining cetology and zoology, which is helpful in getting a feel for the book, but contributes nothing to the brooding Ahab's story. You get snippets here and there of Ahab's monomania, but it is only in the last several chapters that he blooms from being a poor addled man to a diabolic and satanic force of evil. Baptizing the spear in the name of the devil is what does it!

But do we need to slog through 135 chapters, plus an appendix to get to the point. In reality this book is about the milieu of whaling and the whaling industry as a metaphor for life, not monomania as is popularly believed. He does a wonderful job of catching the salt and blood associated, and his poetic eye catches the glisten of meaning with these events, but he is doing several things at once, and the quest for the whale is only part of the story.

But these cetology matters should have been relegated to an appendix, or the circular file. It was as if Melville was trying to write two books at once: a bouncy book on various whales and whaling in general, and a another being the tale of obsession and revenge. My advice would be to get an abridge version of the book, or skip to the next chapter when the book gets boring.

So what is the appeal? First, Ahab is a strong character with a smoldering motive to get back at the whale that cost him his leg-i.e. Captain Hook. Does he ever get back at the wale? Are we ever Ahab-esque in that we get obsessed with revenge? Come on! Be honest! We feel Ahab burning in our veins at times.

Ahab is crazy. Hannibal Lecter is crazy. But they are crazy for different reasons. You feel that Lecter is really in control of himself, and that he enjoys being evil whereas Ahab has surrendered his will to he appetite and passion for revenge. What wraps my attention is the question why.

Second, the craft. Melville is a master storyteller. We see things through Ishmael's eyes, so we feel the distance between Ahab and us. We are detached from the goings on in the story as Ishmael comments on Ahab's journey downward. It must be read to be understood.

Third, the milieu. Melville certainly did his homework in researching this novel. Indeed, chapter one seems like a brainstorm on all things whale, and he manages to sustain this encyclopedic knowledge throughout the story. Compare this to Jack London and The Sea-Wolf: London has as much technical knowledge, or more so than Melville, but the Sea-Wolf focuses on the characters Humphrey Van Weyden and Wolf Larsen and the idea of a Neitzchean Superman. Moby-Dick, however, is a study of the whaling milieu and the smudge pot Ahab. London skimps on the description of seal hunting "culture," and the nuts and bolts of sailing while Melville revels in telling us everything about whaling. This exposition is what kills the book because the plot grinds to a standstill as Melville throws cetological tidbits and tales at us. It is fun to read, but the plot momentum stops dead. It is almost like seeing an infomercial in the middle of the book! Luckily we can skip ahead, unlike reality where we cannot fast-forward commercial.

This book is part of a trio that deals with evil captains, the other books being Jack London's "Sea-Wolf," and Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues under the Sea." Nemo is just as driven as Ahab, but is more mysterious. We understand Ahab's revenge, since we have all tried to chase down people who have hurt us, or wanted to get back at a barking dog, or barking spouse. That is the appeal-we relate to Ahab better than Nemo, who is cerebral, cold, distant and obscure.

Wolf Larsen is another matter. He belongs in the Villain's Hall of Fame, or is it the Rogue's Gallery? Pure evil, a pure manifestation of "intelligence . . . added to brute power and evil will" (Inferno, 31) that was never matched or equaled until Thomas Harris created Hannibal Lecter. Ahab is obsessed and we understand why someone wants revenge, but Larsen is terrifying in that he enjoys being evil. I just wish that Larsen would get more exposure.

So in a knot, I recommend this book, but advise people to feel free in skipping over the unnecessary chapter, or buying an abridged version. Read "20,000 Leagues" and "The Sea-Wolf" to nail down the image of an evil captain.

FOR ANYONE WRITING A REPORT: This story is a tale of "Man Versus Nature" embodied by the whale. Read Genesis 16-17,21, 25, 28 and 1 Kings 16, 18, 20-22 for Ishmael and Ahab. Aren't I kind!

Rating:
Summary: Books should keep you awake.....this one fails
Review: I am not a literary genius by any means. I don't have the great eye for art. But I'm smart enough to not be talked into believing something is great because someone tells me it is.

Someone telling you an ugly old painting is great art because it "flows" or because the person who painted it was famous should not convince you to like it if you think its ugly.

This applies to Moby Dick as well. I read the book, I understood the symbolism, I studied what people thought about it and how it was written and gave every attempt to like the work. I could not bring myself to like it because of one important thing. Moby Dick is boring. A great work of literature should share symbolism and teach us something and use great language, but it should also keep us entertained enough to finish it. Moby Dick fails to do so and I only finished it because I hate leaving something unfinished.

Just my opinion, most people will be forced to read it in school anyways, so hopefully your opinion of it will differ from mine.

Rating:
Summary: an American trauma
Review: Reading Moby Dick for the first time should make us realize that English is a real language, and not just a verbal substitute for flag-signals. I know how this must sound for an English speaker - no offence intended. People with a bilingual upbringing, with Russian, German, Spanish, French at the side, know what I mean. It is the gift the mono-lingual is taking for granted. Multilingual people probably can never grasp what it means to completely saturate your temperament and persona in the verbal magic of linguistic perceptions. But they may have traded it for a heightened awareness of the complexity of linguistic interfacing with our world and our ideas.

Even people who introduce themselves as professional writers sometimes complain of what they perceive as MelvilleÕs cloying style, especially in the chapter on the WhaleÕs whiteness. But there is a lot more in it than Òthat, although white is frequently considered a good color, in the case of Moby Dick, it is a bad one, because instead of being reminiscent of purity, it is reminiscent of spectrality on no less than seven and a half pages, including a 469 word sentence.Ó With all due respect, if cut and dry ÒmessageÓ is all there is to imaginative literature, than it would not be worth bothering about. Forget the lengthy reflections, forget about plot interest, the Anglo-Saxon readerÕs favorite obsession, even leave the character cast alone, they are weirdos anyway, every single one of them - Moby Dick is not the kind of book where these things matter.

Instead focus on the intensity of a dream. Accept the exotic symbols of an alien world, as alien as the Planet ÒShakespeare.Ó Accept the warped logic of a nightmare. Yet this is not likely how the product of an American high school education is to receive MelvilleÕs gift to his nation. Not before somebody points out the similarities between Melville and Kafka. For such reader, literature hasnÕt moved an inch since the Vikings had landed at the shores of Newfoundland. But should you feel ready to commit yourselves to Rabelais, then you are ready for Melville, because you have reached the point where opinions are no longer taken seriously. Only the mentally adolescent is opinionated, and literally billions of adolescents crawl this plantÕs surface, like lice on a bald midget. Opinions are cheap, everybody can share from his haversack.

However there are things even I rather not see in a book of this nature. Sensitivity, style, rhythm and visualizations are the meat of a poem, great ideas are hogwash. Moby Dick is a prose poem, not an investigative report on the whaling industry. But Melville does not always exactly know where he is going. We know from his letters and messages to Nathaniel Hawthorn, that at times this book had carried away the author. Automatic writing is not exactly my cup of tea, and I suspect, MelvilleÕs absolutely stunning stylistic abilities, cover up a lot of this sort of thing, and I am troubled by MelvilleÕs archaisms. It can be as irritating as in KiplingÕs ÒKim.Ó I just canÕt see people talk like that, at least not people of that period. As a biblical flourish, this kind of rhetorics is just preposterous.

So what is going on here? An Einsteinian time dilation between (former) colonials and motherland? Or a case of Shakespearean intoxication? And yet who fails to be charmed by: ÒTwas rehearsed by thee and me a billion years before this ocean rolled;Ó (task: design at least two or three alternative and complete cosmologies to fit this sentence) or: ÒAll wars are boyish and are fought by boys, the champions and enthusiasts of the state;Ó or the almost Virgilian ÒCharmed circle of everlasting DecemberÓ that continues to Ògoing through young lifeÕs old routine again;Ó and notices that Ò... on the heel of all this ... a cluster of dark nods repliedÓ to Òbisons with clouds of thunder on his scowling browÓ - if that can leave you untouched, go shoot yourself.

If an entire universe can be captured between two book-covers, this is it. A fairy tale, cruel, heroic on the verge of the burlesque, full of hidden gateways to a different matrix in the configuration of things. The whale hunt and AhabÕs hunt for revenge are really the least interesting aspects in this book. But of course one has to know where to look, and I am afraid few are prepared for such examination of the unexpected. Melville was not the type of writer who speaks in bumper stickers nor did he spew fortune cookies (apparently the language of democracy these days.) This accomplishment he left to giggle-peppered sitcoms and squeal-fests with a sprinkle of - whatÕs the word? - Òspirituality,Ó such as OprahÕs show.

Oh, and ÒCall me IshmaelÓ is the most perfect opening sentence of any novel. Nothing ever has surpassed it. Melville gave us the bible of symbolism, but when we try deciphering, we find ourselves confounded by tantalizing signals from deep space - sometimes garbled but always of an overwhelming beauty. This is the word BEFORE the beginning, and before it became flesh.

Rating:
Summary: audio pleasure
Review: Anglo-American character actor William Hootkins gives a passionate and wholly intelligible reading of some six hours of great passages from MD. Ideally suited for driving, a great way to come to know or revisit Melville's masterpiece. Quite funny as well.

Rating:
Summary: This is a Glorious, GREAT, Magnificent Masterpiece !
Review: This wonderful, long novel with its descriptions of the sea and whaling is as timeless as the particulars of its story are specific to the time in which it was written. Loaded with symbolism, and vastness (whale, sea, ship, lookout, etc.), this book lifts the soul onto the very precipice from which a fully realized life is lived. This book will embody the reader himself into the large, mythic world of Captain Ahab and the Great White Whale. This book is a glorious masterpiece! I highly recommend this book to everybody.

Rating:
Summary: The White Whale
Review: Seen through the eyes of one Ishmael, this is the story of Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick. Having lost his leg to the whale, Ahab is now on a mission of revenge upon this mighty leviathan. The whale exhibits odd intelligence and ferocity, having evaded hunters and taken many a man's life. While the book is exquisitely written with intriguing characters, the author tended to slip into page upon page of explanatory notes. This breaks up the story line and is a distraction. The story itself however, keeps you reading. Complete with all the gory descriptions of the whaling business, Moby Dick is a good book, but a slow read. Call me what you like, but not Ishmael...

Rating:
Summary: Long? Yes, but worth every word
Review: What in our own lives is a monster whale? What would we foolishly die for?

Those and other ponderous questions are the drive of Melville's message.

Summed up? Big whale. One man chases whale, bringing others with him. Catches whale, but not until after whale rips apart boat. Problem is whale is stronger than the man and drags him into the sea.

I've given away nothing. The suspense is not in not knowing what will happen, but in how Melville tells it.

Readers without the patience to enjoy an active psychological drama will be bored, but try to see past the drudging of sea life and into the souls of each character.

Man vs. man? Man vs. nature? Man vs. God? Hard call which this is, but it is all of those conflicts wrapped into one.

I fully recommend this book.

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: Just Read It!
Review: This may be the most difficult review I've ever written for Amazon.com. I mean, this is Moby Dick, after all. So many have already written about it, and so many people have preconceived notions about this book, even those who know little about this masterpiece of literature. I will say I tore into this book with an Ahab-like vengeance, and finished it in a mere four days. I broke away only for sleep, food, and work. I actually started this book before I made my final assault on Oswald Spengler's "Decline of the West", a book that has provided its own difficulties. As usual, while taking a break from one difficult book, I decided to read one of the most difficult novels ever written!

There is no denying it; Moby Dick is a challenge, albeit not as severe of one as some would make you think. Since almost everyone has a general idea of the plot, let's focus on what people detest about the book. First, many seem to have a problem understanding Melville's symbolism. Symbolism is often difficult, and I'm under no illusions that I picked up even half of Melville's symbolic usages. What is important to remember about symbolisms, however, is that only the author knows for sure every symbolic stroke of the pen. The rest of us have to do the best we can. Take Queegqueg's harpoon, for instance. He carries it with him wherever he goes, so it must mean something. Since Queegqueg is non-white, and this book was written as the United States was embarking on its last hurrahs over slavery before the Civil War broke out, is Melville trying to tell us something? Maybe Queegqueg's harpoon is his defense against any threats he may receive as he makes his way through white territory. Or is it a phallic symbol? Who knows? Don't be intimidated by the heavy symbolism. It is still possible to get so much out of this book without worrying about arcane references. Many times, Melville hits the reader as hard as he can with symbolism, so that it is easy to get the reference. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the substitution of the coffin for the life buoy means. I do hope any who read this book are at least somewhat familiar with the Bible, because scriptural knowledge will help immensely.

Secondly, some have criticized Melville's prose, claiming it is "turgid" or overly wordy. This is such a wrongheaded criticism that it makes me wonder if the people who make these claims have ever read anything written before 1980. Quit trying to superimpose modern literary style back into the 19th century. Instead, try and get a feel for the time in which the work was written. Life moved more slowly during the 19th century, and brevity was not considered a necessity in writing. I'm often saddened when I read modern literature, which is such a vacuum of description that most of the books churned out today lack the majesty that the English language can often summon up under a brilliant pen (such as Melville). Melville's prose is eye candy, although I do think that Thomas De Quincey is even more spectacular (a quick plug for "Confessions of an English Opium Eater"!). Take this quote from the final showdown between Ahab and the whale:

"Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! And since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!"

This is brilliant stuff! I get chills by just rereading this! Does it not show the absolute depth of hatred that Ahab has for his foe? It sure beats, "I'll be back" any day! Moby Dick contains some of the best prose work ever written. Learn to appreciate it!

Finally, I'm now at a loss when I read reviews that say the 400 or so pages in the middle of the book are boring, useless, or just plain unnecessary. This is just wrong. Many argue that these pages are loaded with scads of cetology and minutiae on the whaling industry. While there is some of this to be found, Melville often takes us back to the Pequod. Who can say that the Town-Ho story is boring? Or that Tashtego's mishap in the head of the whale is totally without interest? I just don't get it! I say it clearly so all can hear: most of the 400 or so pages that make up the centerpiece of this book do not concern whaling minutiae or useless description. There is some, but it is important to know it to understand the unfolding plot. Personally, I found his descriptions of whales interesting and I loved his historical examinations of the whale. Can Moby Dick be read without reading this central section? Yes, in that you will get a bare bones account of a whale hunt led by a crazy old coot named Ahab. What you won't get is why this hunt occurs, and you won't see the gradual disintegration of Ahab as he drags the Pequod and all on it to their doom.

I see Moby Dick as a universe, a total macrocosm in which only those who lead the life can understand this universe. This world has its own laws, its own religions, and its own meanings. Melville wrote this book so that the outsider, the "landlubber", can get a glimpse into this world. What most saw as a somewhat seedy profession, Melville saw as an all-encompassing worldview. Even this short description does not do this book justice because there is so much here. Maybe that is why teachers force this book on students. It is easy to take any method or system and find evidence of it here. I pity those who are forced to read this book. Forced reading is always a chore, and Melville should not be a check mark on a laundry list of literature. Read this because you want to read it, because you want to see into another world, because you believe your horizons will be expanded. It will make all the difference!

Rating:
Summary: Worth Getting the Modern Library Edition
Review: Quite apart from, some might say in spite of Moby Dick's label as "a classic," it has become one of my favorite novels. It breathes with a life that the rest of Melville's work (with the possible exceptions of "Bartelby" and the "Lightening Rod Salesman") lacks.

The reason I'm writing a review of the book (my voice has little to add to what others have already written about the text) is to encourage readers to pick up the modern library version. The illustrations add so much texture to the story. They are not imagination robbing images, their semi-surreality expands rather than narrows mental freedom. Get it. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Just because it's Literature doesn't mean I have to like it
Review: There certainly seems to be a strong polarity on this page about whether this book is or is not deserving of its legendary status. Both sides have strong points to consider. If you watch MTV on a steady basis and think that Shakespeare guy was a dull card, don't even bother. If you are delving into the realm of classics and want a good challenge, this might be the place to start. But then again...

Ignored or scorned upon its release in 1851, Moby Dick didn't achieve fame until the mid 1920's when professional writers and scholars 'rediscovered' the book and, impressed by the sheer volume of ideas and symbolism, gradually forced this monstrous text into the popular consciousness. Who doesn't recognize the words Moby Dick or Cap'n Ahab? -- though I'm sure the familiarity comes from watching one or two of the numerous movies based from the bare-bones plot rather than actually sitting down for a good breeze through Melville's incredibly convoluted prose. No one that I know of *really* reads a book like this for enjoyment; it's the academic masochist's delight, the forging ground of literature. If you can endure this, Faulkner and Dickens et al are cake in comparison.

Well, OK, Moby Dick is not entirely without merit: several passages are extraordinary in design and achievement, notably 'The Whiteness of the Whale,' 'The Pacific,' and a few other random gleams of astonishing prose & profundity. But then there are the endless days at sea described all too well. And the insomnia-curing Cetology section. And the character ambiguities and obscure symbols and layered subtexts all drained of power by a turgid style and a general inability to get to the point. Seriously folks, I'm an avid reader who averages 10-12 books a month...Moby Dick took me five months to slog through.

This isn't quite as unfathomable as, say, the last works of James Joyce-most everything here is understandable. But, as has been proven time and time again, intelligent writing is not necessarily great, or even good, writing. To be blunt, Moby Dick is overwhelmingly boring, a self-indulgent mess.

Is it worth it? If you are simply interested in the story, that of a man driven to insane lengths by an unfulfilled passion, go rent one of the movies. If you are interested in learning about human existence, I could recommend a thousand other classics to start with. If you love whales, I mean if you are _endlessly fascinated_ by the mysteries of the abysses and its myriad denizens, go ahead and give Moby Dick a try. If nothing else, finishing it is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of.