Rating: Summary: A Slow Journey Superbly Told Review:
Una Spenser narrates her life from a childhood in Kentucky to an upbringing in Nantucket to life aboard a whaling ship and all of her marriages in-between. But Ahab's Wife is less of tale of events and more a tale of a young woman's spiritual journey. So readers should not expect a twist-turning plot or cliff-hanging suspense. Rather the reader should expect a creative tale richly told.
I would have given Ahab's Wife 5-stars but I thought author Sena Jeter Naslund's prose was a little heavy-handed. I just feel that written prose should be like perfume where a little is intriguing but a lot becomes overpowering. I thought Ms Naslund's prose-rich writing made for a rather slow read. Enjoyable but slow. If you have the time Ahab's Wife would make a rewarding effort.
Rating: Summary: a good if not long winded read Review: Ahab's Wife suffers from being perhaps a little too long. I had to struggle to finish the final quater of the book because it seems to lack a certain dramatic impact, especially when compared to the rest of the book. However, in general, this novel is still a fabulous read. I found it epic in scope and extremely poignant. I loved Naslund's initial premise - placing a woman with 20th century morality and "modern" fears, desires, loathings and hopes in the middle of the 19th century just as the age of industrialisation was dawning. We are witness to not only Una's incredible adventures but also her uncanny ability to rise above the social restrictions of the day and develop a wonderfully liberal, tolerant and free thinking attitude towards life. The novel reads like an ocean going sailing ship, swaying and flowing gacefully across the sea. And the cast of characters are truly eclectic: From intelligence and sexual ambiguity of Una's fellow sailors Giles and Kit to the staunchly seaman like Captain Ahab. Naslund introduces to many memorable people. Naslund also raises some delightfully "modern" issues: Cannibalism, the nature of sexuality, single parenthood, feminism and the state of the man and his psyche in a time when the individual was becoming increasingly aware of his position in the universe.Although the length is an issue this is still a fine novel which certainly packs a wallop and it surely begs a sequel. Michael Leonard
Rating: Summary: There's Something Fishy About Ahab's Wife... Review: Ahab's Wife will have you sad, chuckling, charmed, and very irritated. You can expect to experience all this at the beginning, which is actually the middle, of this marvelous, rediculous novel.
The story begins with Una in the throes of a horrifying labor. She is alone and perplexed as to why her mother has not returned with the doctor and so engages in flights of fancy when she is not sleeping. I assumed she had grown slightly deranged from her ordeal but, no, Una is just enjoying a child-like mystic contemplation, as she does throughout the novel, and you come to understand Una is simply shallow. Though author Naslund attempts to give Una depth, Naslund waffles between pathos and silliness, often ending with the rediculous, as when Una is divorced by Ahab and married to Ahab- by Ahab- within a moment- and is accepted by an entire town as married.
Naslund seems to have difficulty deciding whether she is writing a significant historical novel, a seedy True Romance, or fantasy. Once Una finally starts at her story's "beginning" you find yourself delighted with the character and her adopted family on their little island. The writing was so beautiful my toes curled with the rich imagery. Then Una does an abrupt personality change, chops her hair, and goes to sea as a boy - and the fantasy begins! Una skips from one preposterous scenario to another so fast your head spins, with Naslund working overtime to explain how she gets away with it all, while characters we have come to adore and admire are either literally or figuratively tossed into the ocean. Like Indiana Jones, Una always lands on her feet, alone, but never for long.
Ahab's Wife is at it's best when,through Una eyes, we are given the opportunity to "see" so much of all that surrounds us in a new light. As an artist I relished the manner in which author Naslund sparked my imagination, The novel is also full of intelligent bits that are charming, from golden byssus to Augustin Fresnel to Maria Mitchell. It's great fun but, like Una, shallow.
Rating: Summary: A Woman worthy of Ahab Review: Any book that rekindles my interest in Captain Ahab and crew, sufficiently enough to go back and read Moby Dick - this time in it's entirety - deserves praise. This is the story, told in the first person, of a girl from Kentucky whose life becomes inextricably linked with New England whaling and the legendary captain of the Pequod. Herman Mehlville briefly mentioned the existence of a partner for Ahab in his illustrious tome; Ms. Naslund takes that reference and imagines an entire life intertwined with people and events both real and literary. Naslund's heroine, Una is a strong character worthy of her fictional husband Ahab. Hers is a life that is rich and multi-textured as any you'll ever encounter. In fact, Ahab enters Una's life relatively late in the novel, long after she has been through her own whaling adventures, which include a ship that meets its demise via whale attack. This might not become the timeless classic of it's literary relation, but it's worthy of the association. It's an incredibly skillful piece of literary craftsmanship!
Rating: Summary: What a yarn, what a novel! What a writer! Review: Author Naslund takes up the tale of the young wife Ahab mentions but briefly in Moby Dick. It takes place during and after the loss of the Pequod during its fatal hunt for the great White Whale and is the first-person memoir of Una Spenser. This book is so literary, so well crafted for its subject that I can't believe it was written in 1999 and not in the late 1800's. Only a few anachronisms betray the modern date for Ahab's Wife. (A mention of kiwi fruit for one, they were not cultivated outside of China nor known as Kiwi until the early 1900's) Una Spenser (named for Spenser's character in the Faerie Queene) is a courageous yet imaginative heroine. She struggles against God, against slavery, against traditional women's' roles in pre-Civil War America, runs away to sea, and meets Captain Ahab after a harrowing experience aboard ship. The scope of this book is grand and it is written a bit in style that pays homage to Melville, grasping some of Melville's poetry and symbology of Nature and also the sexual ambiguity. But Naslund also stitches in a bit of Virginia Woolf and To The Lighthouse. Sections of Melville's work are patched in to form a smooth story of Ahab's soul mate, his female side, Una, whom he loved and abandoned for his destiny with Moby Dick. In fact, this book reminds me of the patchwork quilts mentioned many times in Ahab's Wife. The pieces are stitched together (12 stitches to the inch, Una can sew) in colors that blend to make a pleasing whole. Yet pieces of fabric come from many diverse sources, such as the Melville classic and Woolf as well as others. This is a brilliant achievement of a novel yet reads like a magnificent yarn. Naslund is not only a master writer but also a master storyteller. I could not put this book down until I finished every last page and I am going to re-read it immediately.
Rating: Summary: More Than Ahab's Wife Review: I earned my MA in English, and I must admit, I managed to escape without reading _Moby Dick_. But there's something alluring about _Ahab's Wife_ that kept me reading, as much as the book annoyed me because of its attempts to encompass the whole of 19th century experience. The story of the lighthouse Una (certainly she represents both "one" and "everywoman") and her ordeal on board the Sussex draws us in: she seems to have insight that comes from the double life she leads. When she emerges a woman, settles in Nantucket, and starts running into people like Margaret Fuller, though, I became a bit impatient. This is a big book, and there are some compelling threads in Naslund's tapestry, provided you ignore the overt philosophizing (which the book does much more effectively when it's not pounding you over the head with it but considering it through the eyes of the characters). I may almost need to read _Moby Dick_ for the sake of completeness.
Rating: Summary: Abridged audio version may be better? Review: I have read several of the other reviews here and noted that, for many, the book was over long and could have benefited from some more severe editing. Perhaps, then, for once an abridged version is an improvement.
I did not read the unabridged text, but made an exception to my usual rule and listened to the abridgement (approx. 6 hours running time). I found it fascinating and beautifully written. The characters were finely drawn, despite the shortening of the content, and the book felt complete, not chopped up or episodic, as happens so often with abridged versions.
The reader, Maryanne Plunkett, was excellent, making it sound as though the protagonist was actually telling the tale.
I particularly enjoyed some of the "sideline" elements of the book, such as the references to Unitarianism and Universalism (I am a UUer) and to Maria Mitchell, one of my historical heroes.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and think it might be just the ticket for those wanting to taste the flavor of the original without wading through all seven courses.
Rating: Summary: Gazing at 5 stars Review: I just finished this tremendous work of literary art and couldn't wait to tell someone how great it is.
I've never read a book that moved and enlightened me in quite the same way as Ahab's Wife. It has everything: spirituality, adventure, intellect, social commentary, history, humanity, and even a touch of humor. In some ways, it's the intelligent woman's counterpart to the famous Melville novel (definitely a guy story). On the other hand, there's so much more to Una than simply being the wife of a whaling captain. Given that she marries Ahab halfway through the 600-plus pager, you realize this is no ordinary 19th century housewife you're dealing with. The first line tips you off, "Ahab was not my first husband nor my last." As that marriage came to its inevitable end, (most of us know what happens to Ahab even if you haven't read Moby Dick) it becomes suspenseful as you wonder which of the fascinating men she has met becomes her 3rd spouse. Isaac Starbuck, the "gaoler"? The Judge? Rodden, the woodcarver? David, the midget bounty hunter turned abolitionist? You won't believe who it is. A surprising and deeply satisfying turn of events ends the story, but not the life, of this remarkable woman.
Rating: Summary: Moby Dick's Red Tent Review: I love the idea of looking into the lives of women through a popular history that ignores them. It gives the book a flavor with which one is familiar but the textures are all different. Though ultimately a little long, and some of the more spiritual portions seemed unrealistic and self absorbed, the Story of Una's life, of contemporary sensibilities in Old New ENgland make for wonderful reading; a true companion for all of its 688 pages.
Rating: Summary: Great Book Review: I read this book for the first time this summer. I loved the imagery the words created and the story told from a woman's point of view. Even though there is no great adventure going on, I had a hard time putting the book down.
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