Moby Dick

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Job419
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Re: Moby Dick

Post by Job419 »

I just got an Easton Press edition of Moby Dick and am looking forward to reading it again. I read it when I was young and enjoyed it, the descriptions of life on board a whaling ship were fascinating.
uab_blazer
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Post by uab_blazer »

I don't want to stray to far from the topic of Moby Dick, but has anyone else read Cloud Atlas? I only ask because of how closely David Mitchell was able to imitate Melville in the Adam Ewing story line. I read (actually I listened) both of these book within the same year and I immediately noticed the similarities.
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Post by Fran »

uab_blazer wrote:I don't want to stray to far from the topic of Moby Dick, but has anyone else read Cloud Atlas? I only ask because of how closely David Mitchell was able to imitate Melville in the Adam Ewing story line. I read (actually I listened) both of these book within the same year and I immediately noticed the similarities.
See forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php ... loud+atlas :)
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
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sissybear
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Post by sissybear »

I have not read this book but I do want to read it!
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Post by KLyons1 »

There's also a (much shorter!) book titled "Why Read Moby Dick?" by Nathaniel Philbrick which is interesting ...
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Post by Ian »

Go for it, some parts of the book is hard going, but it tells a story of a life that is long gone. Parts of the story can be taken as a history lesson.
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Post by KLyons1 »

And if you ever read any nonfiction about whaling, you'll definitely encounter references to Moby Dick - as well as coming across all the real-life stories which inspired events in the novel. I've learned a lot about it from other books I've read.
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Post by rachelseamount »

I found that I really enjoyed reading most chapters of Moby Dick. I was lucky in that my professor only had us read the chapters that were necessary to move the story along, so I knew when I could skip chapters about whale anatomy. After hearing so many disparaging things about the pacing of the book and how tedious it could be, I was really happy to find myself so engrossed by the pursuit chapters. The final encounter with the whale himself actually thoroughly freaked me out: I found myself shivering! I would recommend it, and maybe suggest skimming the factual sections that don't really grab your interest. Happy reading!
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Post by PashaRu »

One of my favorites. Yes, it can be quite pedantic in places. Yes, there are "entire chapters" devoted to minutiae (such as the whale's penis), but to be fair, many chapters are only a page or two (135 chapters in all). The book is actually a valuable resource for researchers of 19th century whaling. There are few archival documents or records as thorough or detailed.

I love Melville's writing in this book. (Unlike Typee, which I found excruciatingly boring.) And different chapters/subjects bring different styles of writing. For example, Chapter 40 is written as a play - complete with some "stage direction!" Chapter 99 is positively riveting and the writing will take your breath away. Chapter 9 contains a wonderful passage where Jonah's conscience is compared to a swinging lamp in his room on the ship. And passages such as these:

"Top-heavy was the ship as a dinnerless student with all Aristotle in his head." (ch 110)

"Hither and thither, on high, glided the snow-white wings of small, unspeckled birds; these were the gentle thoughts of the feminine air; but to and fro in the deeps, far down in the bottomless blue, rushed mighty leviathans, sword-fish, and sharks; and these were the strong, troubled, murderous thinkings of the masculine sea." (ch 132)

"Whale, this high and mighty god-like dignity inherent in the brow is so immensely amplified, that gazing on it, in that full front view, you feel the Deity and the dread powers more forcibly than in beholding any other object in nature." (ch 79)

"Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian." (ch 3)

What's not to like?

The Norton Critical Edition is great, with a wonderful 250-page appendix.
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Post by bookworm1990 »

I'm about halfway through this book and I've gotten to the non - fiction-esque part. Although I enjoyed his chapter entitled The Advocate because it defends a profession that has historically received bad press. However the chapter on classifying whales has literally taken the wind out of my sails. Where's Ahab? Where's the white whale? It seems like the story of Ahab has been muted in favor of a whale lesson.
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Post by Aussie-reader »

jellymonty wrote:Moby Dick is a MUST READ whether you like it or not! I enjoyed doing a book report on it in school and also enjoyed the movie with Patrick Stewart. It's a classic book and anyone that hasn't read it really should it. I found it exciting and thrilling and i just love his passion to kill the whale at any cost!! I encourage you to read it. You'll love it :D
Why is it a must read, whether I like it or not??
I'm not in habit of reading books I don't like :?

I mean,its not my sort of book and I am not a fast reader and my "to read list" is over flowing already - sorry, not going to find room on it for Moby Dick, there are so many other books I want toread.

Just as an aside though, I did read a very good book called Ahab's wife: the Stargazer, by Sena Jeter Naslund - written in 2005 (so, no, not a classic, as such :lol: ) a fictional account of Ahab's wife and her life at sea and on land.
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PashaRu
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Post by PashaRu »

bookworm1990 wrote:I'm about halfway through this book and I've gotten to the non - fiction-esque part. Although I enjoyed his chapter entitled The Advocate because it defends a profession that has historically received bad press. However the chapter on classifying whales has literally taken the wind out of my sails. Where's Ahab? Where's the white whale? It seems like the story of Ahab has been muted in favor of a whale lesson.
Hang in there! See my post above for my thoughts on this book. As you get toward the end, the action picks up and you'll have a hard time putting it down. It's well worth it to stick with it.
[Insert quote here. Read. Raise an eyebrow. Be mildly amused. Rinse & repeat.]
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bookworm1990
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Post by bookworm1990 »

I just finished this book and I have to admit that I was disappointed. It started strong with the story of Ishmael joining the whaling crew but the book lost me when it began to sound more like an encyclopedia than a novel. At one point the author states that no books have been written about whales or whaling, hence his decision to write the book but I wanted more story. At the time of publication this book was probably controversial and exciting because it discussed a crucial but misunderstood vocation but to a modern reader the information about whales is largely inaccurate and whaling is considered cruel. This book may have been a classic a century ago but I'm not sure if I would consider it a must read for modern readers.
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Post by Titanoboa92 »

I read this years ago, but couldn't get into it. I would like to give it another try.
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Timea
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Post by Timea »

I really loved this one, it is so well written... there are a lot of powerful images throughout the book, and human nature is explored in depth.
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