Herman Melville : Redburn, White-Jacket, Moby-Dick (Library of America)
by Herman Melville
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Ishmael and Queequeg are two guys who are looking for work in 19th Century America. When they come upon a job opportunity aboard the Pequod, a whaling vessel led by Captain Ahab, they feel they've found their ideal jobs with Ishmael working as an oarsman and Queequeg as a harpooneer. Things go awry early when Ahab makes his intention known to hunt down the great white whale named Moby-Dick that severed his leg years earlier. The first half of the book as well as the ending are incredibly well wr...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommended to JenKazoo by:
Dr. Brennanrecommends it for: People who can look beyond the surface
I always planned on reading this book but just kept putting it off until I took an Great American Novels Course. A lot of people think the novel is overrated and while I can see thier point I still have to disagree. There are just so many metaphors and different interpretations of this novel for it not to be one of the greats. You can read it in SO many ways, it is just incredible. I wroThe professor who taught this course is a freudian so you can imagine the kinds of conversations were started ...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
American lit enthusiasts, history buffs, tall-ship buffs.
Redburn's pretty fascinating both for the character development of the upstate New York hayseed gone seaman and for the descriptions of live on board ship at the time.
White-Jacket strikes me as less successful; interesting and effective chiefly for its account of the cruelties of the US Navy as an employer in the 1840s, though there is a fair amount of rewarding character depiction. Of the five Melville novels before Moby-Dick, White-Jacket is in my opinion the least rewarding to a reader to...more
White-Jacket strikes me as less successful; interesting and effective chiefly for its account of the cruelties of the US Navy as an employer in the 1840s, though there is a fair amount of rewarding character depiction. Of the five Melville novels before Moby-Dick, White-Jacket is in my opinion the least rewarding to a reader to...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Holy crap. A couple of funny, light, technically-focused travel diary-type stories; and then Moby Dick. Redburn and White Jacket make great entrances into the world of sailing ships and Melville's eyes, ears, and particular sense of humor. I strongly recommend this edition, as it has good notes on the texts, a nice introduction to Melville and his life, and you can just read them continuously without having to pick up different books if you were interested in sitting down to read these three con...more
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Got a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads
A whale of a tale or two
'Bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved
I swear by my tattoo
I'm going to go out on a limb and give it neither a love rating nor a hate rating. Learned more about whales than anyone should need to know, and more than I would have ever expected Melville to know. All i have to say is that the whale doesn't show till page 689, baby, and that's a whole lot of anticipation to build up.
A whale of a tale or two
'Bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved
I swear by my tattoo
I'm going to go out on a limb and give it neither a love rating nor a hate rating. Learned more about whales than anyone should need to know, and more than I would have ever expected Melville to know. All i have to say is that the whale doesn't show till page 689, baby, and that's a whole lot of anticipation to build up.
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recommended to B by:
The name of Herman Melville
recommends it for: lovers of whales, fishermen, humans and animals
recommends it for: lovers of whales, fishermen, humans and animals
Holy shit! I tried reading this a few years ago and got about 150 in, when distracted by other stuff. This time, I'm in it for the long haul. Melville! God, please make someone born who will write like Melville, not only the adjectives and adverbs, but the heart, especially the heart, and the fierce will and the love. My edition, which is not pictured, comes with some really really cool graphics by Rockwell Kent. If you can manage that edition, do.
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Read in September, 2005
recommends it for:
anyone
I have read Moby-Dick three times, Redburn and White-Jacket each once. I would recommend them all. Melville is an all-time favorite of mine. Chris and I just spent a good deal of time on the coast and all of the sea(side)-faring reminded me how much I love Melville and his coastal, whale-of-a-tale (literally, in some cases) sort of writing. Also I just really need to update my book list. But I'm thinking that could take years.
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Okay, this is not the version I read, but I can't find it. Anyway, this is a great book! I did have to start skipping every other chapter (the ones detailing whales) about halfway through due to time constraints. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. A great story is a great story.
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Read in January, 1994
This is probably one of those love/hate classics. I read it as a way to clear my mind each night during graduate school. I gave it five stars because it's one of those hand full of books that have stayed with me, which I think about from time to time. And because it's just a damn good book.
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I read Moby Dick a number of years ago. Now I'm going to take another run at it, for an American Renaissance class. Moby Dick deserves its reputation. It's rather astonishing, especially considering when it was written. There's a scary kind of purity to it. It's all protein.
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This book was on my summer reading list. It was very intriguing, and I enjoyed it very much, though I found the end to be depressing. However, I don't consider this to be light reading. But if you are in the mood to exercise your mind, this is the book for you.
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Patricia by:
Billy Buddrecommends it for: Readers, Cetologists, Harpooners & Whalemen
I enjoyed the book and especially enjoyed the chapter on Cetology as well as the concepts of class and social status, and the obsessive pursuit of Moby Dick by Captain Ahab.
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Read in July, 2008
About a thid of the way through. Good but a little slow. I found an interesting Ishmael reference, which of course is how Moby-Dick begins, so that was kind of cool.
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People are supposed to read this in school, right? Ron loaned me his copy and I'm at about page 25. So far, very interesting!
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its....ok. its not the best though. there were some characters i liked, like... Starbucks!!!!!
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Read in September, 2007
This is a man's man book. It was awsome.
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