Moby Dick

I am excited to share that for me Moby Dick lived up to its reputation. It is a brilliant book, in its plot, characters, themes, and writing. The only exception is that I expected it to be so exciting I would not be able to put it down, but for the most part it was sort of slow for me (though it picks up speed towards the end). But not a boring monotonous slow though, more like a savor the flavor slow- which is good. But there is a load of whaling terminology that I probably could and should have skipped. Anyhow, coming to back to how great it is, one of the first things that stood out to me while reading is the writing. The story centers on a captain’s crazed quest for revenge on the white whale Moby Dick. It is told through a very unique narration through the perspective of a rather nobody part of the crew, Ishmael. He is an educated man (a teacher), insightful, but very unassuming and low key, making him discretely very lovable to the reader. However, the narration sort of inexplicitly alternates from his personal experiences to describing situations he would obviously not been a part of (like the captain’s private thoughts). So the narration becomes a sort of all knowing, ambiguous thing that is surprisingly very pleasant. Perhaps I enjoy it because it doesn’t try too hard to disguise the fact that it is in actuality a novel written by a Herman Melville at his typewriter. Another element that adds to it is a sort of self reference within. For example, our narrator could introduce a chapter by explaining the whaling information he is about to present appears now because it will be helpful in understanding the next chapter. In general, the writing is simply stellar. Melville is exceptional in conveying character and thoughts, especially though soliloquies.

I loved the variety and richness of the themes that this novel encompasses. And the lineup isn’t a typical ‘love, family, religion, etc.,’ but more like ‘madness, revenge, power, overwhelming desire,’ and more juicy stuff. In conclusion, awesome.