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The Condensed Moby Dick: Abridged for the Modern Reader
This book is annotated. Moby Dick is one of the greatest American novels ever wrote. If you've always wanted to read the classic, but just don't have the time, this abridged version can help. At just 20,000 words long, this version of the classic novel will let you read Melville's classic in just hours, and provide you with an excellent overview of the entire novel. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to take revenge.
- GenresClassics
94 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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February 6, 2020I'm sorry but what, erm, was the point
December 7, 2014
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is a historical fiction book that tells the story of a psychotic whaling captain battling against a devilishly intelligent white sperm whale named Moby Dick. Melville could have written this book to show his audiences the price of obsessing over something for too long or too zealously, along with of course entertaining his audiences.
Melville’s writing style was that of first person limited. The reader only had insight into the thoughts, emotions, and views of the main character, Ishmael. Whatever Ishmael saw, he happened to describe in great detail to no one in particular, giving the reader convenient information on everyone and everything in the story, while technically still restricted to Ishmael’s mind. All of the pronouns such as I, we, me, my, etc. that point out first person writings were present.
A theme for this book, if any, would certainly be survival since the whole premise of the book is built upon the men of the ship surviving the battle of Captain Ahab with Moby Dick, and of course there is the survival of either the whale or the captain against the other. Another theme could possibly be vengeance, since the whole story happens just because Ahab wants to take revenge on Moby Dick.
This story was told as an exposition, which means that every event was told as it happened, or at least as Ishmael experienced it. This suited the story since a different style, like a narrative, may have changed the order of events to make the story more thrilling or dramatic. In this particular book, that would have easily confused the reader, so an exposition is best in this case.
Overall, I thought that this book was okay. I thought that the story was good and the characters were well-developed and interesting, but as a whole, the story was hard to get into because the language was so hard to follow. I actually had to think about what every line meant and then think about what it meant in the context of how it was said. That greatly detracted from my experience, but I still liked the concept of the story.
Melville’s writing style was that of first person limited. The reader only had insight into the thoughts, emotions, and views of the main character, Ishmael. Whatever Ishmael saw, he happened to describe in great detail to no one in particular, giving the reader convenient information on everyone and everything in the story, while technically still restricted to Ishmael’s mind. All of the pronouns such as I, we, me, my, etc. that point out first person writings were present.
A theme for this book, if any, would certainly be survival since the whole premise of the book is built upon the men of the ship surviving the battle of Captain Ahab with Moby Dick, and of course there is the survival of either the whale or the captain against the other. Another theme could possibly be vengeance, since the whole story happens just because Ahab wants to take revenge on Moby Dick.
This story was told as an exposition, which means that every event was told as it happened, or at least as Ishmael experienced it. This suited the story since a different style, like a narrative, may have changed the order of events to make the story more thrilling or dramatic. In this particular book, that would have easily confused the reader, so an exposition is best in this case.
Overall, I thought that this book was okay. I thought that the story was good and the characters were well-developed and interesting, but as a whole, the story was hard to get into because the language was so hard to follow. I actually had to think about what every line meant and then think about what it meant in the context of how it was said. That greatly detracted from my experience, but I still liked the concept of the story.
August 31, 2017
This was a hard book to follow as an abridged version. Though I got the basic gist. So many people seem to find this book hard to read and way too long, despite a reputation as an excellent book, I decided not to invest much time. I feel good about that decision, as I didn’t find the story all that compelling. Glad to know the basic story.
April 6, 2018
Well, I now have the basic gist of Moby Dick. It was boring. It was written around 1850 and his style of language is no longer used so trying to enjoy all the references and words that I seriously thought were made up was a struggle. He's mad he lost his leg and is trying to kill whales? Gotcha. On to more exciting books.
June 2, 2017
Moby Dick is well known as a classic that everyone should read at some point in their lives, therefore I felt obligated to do so. Unfortunately, this was the most mind numbing, boring, falling asleep on my page because it's so uneventful, novel that I have ever read in my life. I understand it is the type of book whose beauty is buried deep beneath the passages in the land of deeper meaning, but the dull plot of trying to find and kill this whale made it difficult for me to even want to make the venture to that land of meaning. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters introduced either which made it even less enjoyable. I don't regret reading it as it is an American classic, however I would not recommend it to anyone who is looking for something enthralling or intriguing whatsoever. Maybe I will learn to appreciate it as I grow older, but my first read through was nothing short of tragic!
August 25, 2018
Hum... HMMMM I dunno if I would give this to a child to read...????
November 18, 2015
Actually read a version adapted by Verne B. Brown printed in 1948 and formerly property of Denby High School. Targeted to late middle schools readers. Maybe this has taken the pressure off and I can read the real thing now!
January 11, 2017
fast-paced and interesting. 3 nephews (8,8, and 10 years old respectively) liked the story and read it within 2 or 3 days.
March 15, 2023
Confusing af
On second thought, I love Moby Dick. I didn’t realize I enjoyed it until I had to write about it.
On second thought, I love Moby Dick. I didn’t realize I enjoyed it until I had to write about it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews