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Call Me Ishmaelle
“Well worth your time . . . By adding in new characters while adhering to the original story, the author creates something new, strange and thrilling.”—Los Angeles Times
“An astonishingly ambitious undertaking . . . you’re in the hands of a genuine storyteller.”—New York Times Book Review
From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author, a feminist reimagining of Herman Melville’s classic Moby-Dick through the eyes of one inimitable woman and a diverse, swashbuckling crew
I must work on a ship as a man . . . I must find freedom on the seas.
1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York.
Years later, as the American Civil War breaks out, Ishmaelle boards the Nimrod, a whaling ship led by the obsessive Captain Seneca, a Black free man of heroic stature who is haunted by a tragic past. Here, she finds protectors amidst the bloody male violence of whaling and discovers a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale who claimed Seneca’s leg.
Built on the bones of Melville’s classic, Call Me Ishmaelle is a dynamic new tale, imbued with an eclectic crew—from a Polynesian harpooner to a Taoist Monk—and a powerful exploration of human nature, gender, man’s place among the animals, and the nature of home.
“An astonishingly ambitious undertaking . . . you’re in the hands of a genuine storyteller.”—New York Times Book Review
From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author, a feminist reimagining of Herman Melville’s classic Moby-Dick through the eyes of one inimitable woman and a diverse, swashbuckling crew
I must work on a ship as a man . . . I must find freedom on the seas.
1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York.
Years later, as the American Civil War breaks out, Ishmaelle boards the Nimrod, a whaling ship led by the obsessive Captain Seneca, a Black free man of heroic stature who is haunted by a tragic past. Here, she finds protectors amidst the bloody male violence of whaling and discovers a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale who claimed Seneca’s leg.
Built on the bones of Melville’s classic, Call Me Ishmaelle is a dynamic new tale, imbued with an eclectic crew—from a Polynesian harpooner to a Taoist Monk—and a powerful exploration of human nature, gender, man’s place among the animals, and the nature of home.
423 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 20, 2025
125 people are currently reading
7654 people want to read
About the author
Xiaolu Guo
37 books586 followersXiaolu Guo (Simplified Chinese: 郭小櫓 pinyin:guō xiǎo lǔ, born 1973) is a Chinese novelist and filmmaker. She utilizes various media, including film and writing, to tell stories of alienation, introspection and tragedy, and to explore China's past, present and future in an increasingly connected world.
Her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers was nominated for the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. She was also the 2005 Pearl Award (UK) winner for Creative Excellence.
Her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers was nominated for the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. She was also the 2005 Pearl Award (UK) winner for Creative Excellence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
January 23, 2026
You’ve heard of ‘No Fear Shakespeare’! Now introducing: ‘No Fun, Less Well Done, What The Hell(ville)? Melville’. Listen – I tried hard to love this book, and if not to love it than respect it. I am a big big fan of Moby Dick. I have to assume the author of Call Me Ishmaelle is too.
But unfortunately: I didn’t enjoy this at all. I’ve rounded up to 2 stars but really in terms of my enjoyment it sits at about a 1.5. And retellings and reimaginings are always complicated business for me: there has to be the exact right balance of something old / something new. It has to capture the spirit of the original and simultaneously transform it, in form or style or perspective, to tell a new story.
And I felt like that balance was not pulled off here. For the first three chapters, it introduced an English girl, swiftly orphaned and almost alone in the world: it bore very little resemblance to Moby Dick, but I was enjoying it in its own right! And then, Ishmaelle... goes to New Bedford. Why? Well, mostly because Melville’s narrative dictates it, I guess – that’s the starting point of his story, and so our Ishmaelle is buffeted along by the winds of fate or the puppet strings of Moby Dick, stuck in the long shadow of the narrative that came before because ??? I don’t know. Why would this English Ishmaelle not go whaling in the North sea or something instead? Why do the rest of the events of the plot unfold as they do, in Moby Dick’s very particular beats? It just never feels driven by the characters in quite the same way here.
And if the plot is hardly ‘reimagined’, the rest of the characters aren’t either. Names are changed, and Ahab’s background is slightly altered, but essentially Queequeg becomes Kauri, Starbuck becomes Drake, etc: the off-brand stock versions of themselves. Guo’s additions to the original are: a little more political correctness in describing race and religion, although the diversity is not new; a new focus on Taoism, with Muzi’s character, which I liked and thought WAS inventive!!; and the gender-swapped main character, along with some added rape.
I have already read a fair few books of women/non-binary/genderfluid/trans men running away to sea to explore their gender (e.g. I read that Mary Read retelling just last year; Ally Wilkes’ All The White Spaces has a trans MC), and while I DO like a ship as a cool microcosm of a setting for it, the execution of this gender exploration here really didn’t sit well with me?? It all felt oddly bioessentialist and reductive? Her womanhood is usually considered in regard to her period; being penetrated; collecting herbs for healing purposes; being surrounded by a world of violent men. By the end, Ahab is calling her a witch. And yes, this all aligns Ishmaelle with the white whale – hunted, harpooned, mystical. Maybe I’m missing her point. Maybe that was the point?
No, I’m not done yet. Let’s talk about the writing, why don’t we? I would love to say Guo is a good writer... but it’s hard to fucking tell!!! Here is where the novel again cleaves too closely to the original: almost every time I actively enjoyed the cadence of a sentence or a thought or a funny line, it wasn’t one of Guo’s. It was cribbed directly from Melville. SO MUCH of this novel – the full trajectory of the plot, and whole sentences and paragraphs and scenes – is just a condensed and simplified rewriting of Melville,. (I ended up essentially reading them in tandem, pages side by side.) So all the character and humour and eccentricity and philosophy is often more to Melville’s credit than Guo’s, which is kind of disappointing, because again: where is the imagination in the reimagining? I liked that Guo kept the moments of eccentric experimentation with form and style – that felt like a homage to Melville without just being a word-for-word reproduction – but I also wish she had let Ishmaelle breathe a little on her own whaling quest instead.
So in the end I felt like this version actually lost more of the magic of Moby Dick than it gained in the reimagining. And I might be in the minority (and maybe if you hated Moby Dick this is a better book for you), but I’d rather read the original any day.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
But unfortunately: I didn’t enjoy this at all. I’ve rounded up to 2 stars but really in terms of my enjoyment it sits at about a 1.5. And retellings and reimaginings are always complicated business for me: there has to be the exact right balance of something old / something new. It has to capture the spirit of the original and simultaneously transform it, in form or style or perspective, to tell a new story.
And I felt like that balance was not pulled off here. For the first three chapters, it introduced an English girl, swiftly orphaned and almost alone in the world: it bore very little resemblance to Moby Dick, but I was enjoying it in its own right! And then, Ishmaelle... goes to New Bedford. Why? Well, mostly because Melville’s narrative dictates it, I guess – that’s the starting point of his story, and so our Ishmaelle is buffeted along by the winds of fate or the puppet strings of Moby Dick, stuck in the long shadow of the narrative that came before because ??? I don’t know. Why would this English Ishmaelle not go whaling in the North sea or something instead? Why do the rest of the events of the plot unfold as they do, in Moby Dick’s very particular beats? It just never feels driven by the characters in quite the same way here.
And if the plot is hardly ‘reimagined’, the rest of the characters aren’t either. Names are changed, and Ahab’s background is slightly altered, but essentially Queequeg becomes Kauri, Starbuck becomes Drake, etc: the off-brand stock versions of themselves. Guo’s additions to the original are: a little more political correctness in describing race and religion, although the diversity is not new; a new focus on Taoism, with Muzi’s character, which I liked and thought WAS inventive!!; and the gender-swapped main character, along with some added rape.
I have already read a fair few books of women/non-binary/genderfluid/trans men running away to sea to explore their gender (e.g. I read that Mary Read retelling just last year; Ally Wilkes’ All The White Spaces has a trans MC), and while I DO like a ship as a cool microcosm of a setting for it, the execution of this gender exploration here really didn’t sit well with me?? It all felt oddly bioessentialist and reductive? Her womanhood is usually considered in regard to her period; being penetrated; collecting herbs for healing purposes; being surrounded by a world of violent men. By the end, Ahab is calling her a witch. And yes, this all aligns Ishmaelle with the white whale – hunted, harpooned, mystical. Maybe I’m missing her point. Maybe that was the point?
No, I’m not done yet. Let’s talk about the writing, why don’t we? I would love to say Guo is a good writer... but it’s hard to fucking tell!!! Here is where the novel again cleaves too closely to the original: almost every time I actively enjoyed the cadence of a sentence or a thought or a funny line, it wasn’t one of Guo’s. It was cribbed directly from Melville. SO MUCH of this novel – the full trajectory of the plot, and whole sentences and paragraphs and scenes – is just a condensed and simplified rewriting of Melville,. (I ended up essentially reading them in tandem, pages side by side.) So all the character and humour and eccentricity and philosophy is often more to Melville’s credit than Guo’s, which is kind of disappointing, because again: where is the imagination in the reimagining? I liked that Guo kept the moments of eccentric experimentation with form and style – that felt like a homage to Melville without just being a word-for-word reproduction – but I also wish she had let Ishmaelle breathe a little on her own whaling quest instead.
So in the end I felt like this version actually lost more of the magic of Moby Dick than it gained in the reimagining. And I might be in the minority (and maybe if you hated Moby Dick this is a better book for you), but I’d rather read the original any day.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
June 9, 2025
Call me Ishmaelle sounded intriguing. Gender-swapping Ishmael opens up so many interesting avenues. I was interested in seeing how Ishmaelle would navigate the hyper-masculine whaling world and how her sex might affect her connection with characters such as Queequeg or Ahab.
Unfortunately, this story remained very surface-level, which was strange, because I imagine a lot can be told in over 400 pages. I was sceptical from the beginning. Firstly, because the whole purpose of the first sentence of Moby Dick ‘Call me Ishmael’ is showing that we might be dealing with an unreliable narrator. The narrator suggests we call him Ishmael, we do not in fact know if that is his name. Call me Ishmaelle starts with the same opening sentence (adding the -le), but then proceeds to tell us why she was named thus. This undermines the idea of an unreliable narrator, because this extra information understates that the reader should not only call her Ishmaelle, she is in fact called Ishmaelle.
The second thing that had me frowning, was the nationality of the main character. The author has chosen a British heroine for her story, instead of an American one. I am not exactly sure how her tragic backstory in England (of all places) added to the narrative of Moby Dick. This backstory, elaborate as it is, did exactly nothing to convince me why Ishmaelle would get on a whaling ship. She expresses little curiosity into this gruesome profession. She seems to go because of convenience for the plot.
When Ishmaelle finally reaches America the story starts to resemble Moby Dick, just missing its most interesting parts. So, it’s Moby Dick, but stripped of its richest moments. For example, a lot of the foreshadowing of the voyage is left out, like the sermon and the prophetic figure, Elijah, whilst these moment really set the tone. Also, Queequeg’s – now Kauri’s – role is reduced to a minor character. Reducing Queequeg to a minor role was disappointing to me, especially since the original relationship sets such an emotional anchor early in Moby Dick and remains important throughout the story, especially since it exposes and explores issues of racism. I felt like Call me Ishmaelle did dive into these racial issues, but mostly with characters that were not in Moby Dick. This baffled me, because why would you not use and explore the source material that is already there? Then you could just as well have written an original book with these new characters.
The exploration of womanhood was also very shallow and repetitive. Yes, Moby Dick is a very repetitive book. Ishmael describes the same things over and over again. Call me Ishmaelle did the same, but added regular descriptions of how Ishmaelle nearly got a period again and put a lot of emphasis on her empathy for the whales that were murdered. Girlie, if you are not ready for murdered whales, maybe you should not have been on a whaling voyage! I think the author tried to make the link between whale hunting and witch hunting. Sort of making a point that the men on this voyage treat women like they treat whales, but it was not written powerfully enough to have a meaningful impact.
Also, why rape? I am so tired of historical retellings with gender-swaps including rape. Is that all there is to add when you change a male perspective into a female one? It is so frustrating when a book that sets out to explore womanhood defaults to trauma, especially sexual trauma, as its defining narrative tool. That choice often feels more like a shortcut to ‘seriousness’ than a thoughtful engagement with character or theme. I also felt the sexual violence was added without depth or care. To me, it derailed any connection or curiosity I had about the story.
All in all, I felt like the retelling was more interested in surface-level gender politics than in actually transforming or interrogating the deeper structure and relationships of the original. Frustrating, especially when the premise had real potential.
Unfortunately, this story remained very surface-level, which was strange, because I imagine a lot can be told in over 400 pages. I was sceptical from the beginning. Firstly, because the whole purpose of the first sentence of Moby Dick ‘Call me Ishmael’ is showing that we might be dealing with an unreliable narrator. The narrator suggests we call him Ishmael, we do not in fact know if that is his name. Call me Ishmaelle starts with the same opening sentence (adding the -le), but then proceeds to tell us why she was named thus. This undermines the idea of an unreliable narrator, because this extra information understates that the reader should not only call her Ishmaelle, she is in fact called Ishmaelle.
The second thing that had me frowning, was the nationality of the main character. The author has chosen a British heroine for her story, instead of an American one. I am not exactly sure how her tragic backstory in England (of all places) added to the narrative of Moby Dick. This backstory, elaborate as it is, did exactly nothing to convince me why Ishmaelle would get on a whaling ship. She expresses little curiosity into this gruesome profession. She seems to go because of convenience for the plot.
When Ishmaelle finally reaches America the story starts to resemble Moby Dick, just missing its most interesting parts. So, it’s Moby Dick, but stripped of its richest moments. For example, a lot of the foreshadowing of the voyage is left out, like the sermon and the prophetic figure, Elijah, whilst these moment really set the tone. Also, Queequeg’s – now Kauri’s – role is reduced to a minor character. Reducing Queequeg to a minor role was disappointing to me, especially since the original relationship sets such an emotional anchor early in Moby Dick and remains important throughout the story, especially since it exposes and explores issues of racism. I felt like Call me Ishmaelle did dive into these racial issues, but mostly with characters that were not in Moby Dick. This baffled me, because why would you not use and explore the source material that is already there? Then you could just as well have written an original book with these new characters.
The exploration of womanhood was also very shallow and repetitive. Yes, Moby Dick is a very repetitive book. Ishmael describes the same things over and over again. Call me Ishmaelle did the same, but added regular descriptions of how Ishmaelle nearly got a period again and put a lot of emphasis on her empathy for the whales that were murdered. Girlie, if you are not ready for murdered whales, maybe you should not have been on a whaling voyage! I think the author tried to make the link between whale hunting and witch hunting. Sort of making a point that the men on this voyage treat women like they treat whales, but it was not written powerfully enough to have a meaningful impact.
Also, why rape? I am so tired of historical retellings with gender-swaps including rape. Is that all there is to add when you change a male perspective into a female one? It is so frustrating when a book that sets out to explore womanhood defaults to trauma, especially sexual trauma, as its defining narrative tool. That choice often feels more like a shortcut to ‘seriousness’ than a thoughtful engagement with character or theme. I also felt the sexual violence was added without depth or care. To me, it derailed any connection or curiosity I had about the story.
All in all, I felt like the retelling was more interested in surface-level gender politics than in actually transforming or interrogating the deeper structure and relationships of the original. Frustrating, especially when the premise had real potential.
January 12, 2026
For a book having over 400 pages, this was an absolute page turner. redefining MOBY DICK in the perspective of a girl who had to pretend like a boy, Xiaolu Guo has shown genuine respect to Herman Melville, creating an epic novel filled with adventure and literary genius. Ishmaelle, a small English girl, after her life is thrown astray due to the cruel play of fate, decides to change her own fate by going against the flow of the customs and traditions. attracted to the act of whale-hunting, Ishmaelle tries to become a member of the whaling crew, but gets disappointed by the fact that women aren't allowed to be part of the crew. left with no choice, she cuts her hair short, put on her brothers old rags and starts to live as a young man. and soon, part of a whaling crew. and the adventure begins there.
Not a moment I felt bored when I read tis book. pages after pages, my curiosity grew, as she met Kauri- a Polynesian prince who took an oath to be the armor of her- and stayed with her, even when he realized she wasn't the man he met. As they rode Nimrod into the uncharted waters, looking for whales, when the crew realized that she was a girl, when they all kept her safe and saw her as one of them- as their equal. and when the white pearl water frothed and streaked, gleaming the tail of the white ghost. MOBY DICK.
I'm grateful to the author that she portrayed Moby Dick as it truly would be, surviving the brutality of humanity a million times and yet living gracefully in the dark depth of the ocean, never once surrendering to the whalers. Carrying the countless harpoons that pierced through his flesh as victory marks and coming up to the surface as the refresher of the instigated fear among the seamen. I hope he had a calm death and finally got a chance to rest in peace. i hope the white ghost finally escaped the eyes of greed that surveilled him on the surface.
this will be one among the books i would recommend to people who love classics and enjoy contemporary fiction as well. i don't think anyone would ever feel this book as anywhere near boring and i'm excited to read the other works of the author!
thank you Grove Atlantic and NG for sending me the advanced readers copy of this book!
Not a moment I felt bored when I read tis book. pages after pages, my curiosity grew, as she met Kauri- a Polynesian prince who took an oath to be the armor of her- and stayed with her, even when he realized she wasn't the man he met. As they rode Nimrod into the uncharted waters, looking for whales, when the crew realized that she was a girl, when they all kept her safe and saw her as one of them- as their equal. and when the white pearl water frothed and streaked, gleaming the tail of the white ghost. MOBY DICK.
I'm grateful to the author that she portrayed Moby Dick as it truly would be, surviving the brutality of humanity a million times and yet living gracefully in the dark depth of the ocean, never once surrendering to the whalers. Carrying the countless harpoons that pierced through his flesh as victory marks and coming up to the surface as the refresher of the instigated fear among the seamen. I hope he had a calm death and finally got a chance to rest in peace. i hope the white ghost finally escaped the eyes of greed that surveilled him on the surface.
this will be one among the books i would recommend to people who love classics and enjoy contemporary fiction as well. i don't think anyone would ever feel this book as anywhere near boring and i'm excited to read the other works of the author!
thank you Grove Atlantic and NG for sending me the advanced readers copy of this book!
August 20, 2025
Retellings are always a tricky thing for me to enjoy because it needs to strike a balance between the original source material and the author's creative changes. Call me ishmaelle fails flat on this front because not only do a lot of the changes not make logistical sense to me but the author lifts so many direct quotes and passages from Moby Dick. I'm not even halfway through and I'm exhausted. I will say that the author is a good writer though, their writing style is easy to read and get lost in while not being overly basic
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January 10, 2026DNF at 50%.
I liked it so far, but the graphic rape scene pulled me out. Apparently, some people can't write stories about women without including rape at some point.
That's ""interesting"" because in real life, there were situations where men were also in danger of being sexually assaulted. And yet, that sort of thing never happens in adventure novels with male protagonists. I wonder why.
I mean, is the protagonist raped in the original Moby Dick? No. But now that it's Ishmaelle and not Ishmael it has to happen? I loathe this way of thinking.
I liked it so far, but the graphic rape scene pulled me out. Apparently, some people can't write stories about women without including rape at some point.
That's ""interesting"" because in real life, there were situations where men were also in danger of being sexually assaulted. And yet, that sort of thing never happens in adventure novels with male protagonists. I wonder why.
I mean, is the protagonist raped in the original Moby Dick? No. But now that it's Ishmaelle and not Ishmael it has to happen? I loathe this way of thinking.
July 21, 2025
Continuing to read novels eligible for the Booker Longlist which will be announced next week. This book is a solid NO as for my thinking it should be on the list! A retelling of Moby Dick with a female main character, the writing was so simplistic and the characters so surface in their description that it doesn't even seem like Literary Fiction. Perhaps it would have been more palatable to read a different plot altogether so that the comparison to Melville's masterpiece wouldn't be there to showcase its shortcomings! 2*
February 23, 2026
Major trigger warnings for rape and content warning for animal mutilation.
I haven't ever read Moby Dick, although I obviously know what it's about. This book seemed very interesting and was glad to have won in a goodreads giveaway. Ishmaelle (her father was sure she was going to have a boy and decided to stick with the name he had picked out for the baby, as men do) decides to join a whaling boat after her father dies and her brother goes to sea. Of course, she goes dressed as a boy and changes her name to Ishmael.
Can't compare the book to the original, not having read it, but Captain Ahab is just as crazy here as he has always been made out to be when discussed in my English classes.
I haven't ever read Moby Dick, although I obviously know what it's about. This book seemed very interesting and was glad to have won in a goodreads giveaway. Ishmaelle (her father was sure she was going to have a boy and decided to stick with the name he had picked out for the baby, as men do) decides to join a whaling boat after her father dies and her brother goes to sea. Of course, she goes dressed as a boy and changes her name to Ishmael.
Can't compare the book to the original, not having read it, but Captain Ahab is just as crazy here as he has always been made out to be when discussed in my English classes.
September 25, 2025
The Moby Dick retelling that I never knew I needed. Ishmaelle, is a girl, who dresses as a boy to join a ship to leave England and eventually joins up with the whaling ship Nimrod. Along the way, she meets the multicultural crew and captain, who, as well as all know, is obsessed with hunting the white whale. Full of grandeur and hardship, this was a whale of a tail.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
August 26, 2025
Retellings/Reimaginings are difficult undertakings because it is only when the two are skillfully blended together that the magic happens; if the scales are tipped either way the narrative derails and loses its chance of that magic. It can become a simple retelling (e.g. just changing the names of the established characters) and parroting the narrative of the source novel. Or, if the scales are tipped too much toward a reimagining, the narrative strays so far from the original story that the power of those connecting threads to its inspiration is lost – the story becomes unmoored, and both novel and reader lose their way, no longer able to see, feel, and appreciate that connection.
This year, I have read 3 novels that take on this challenge. In Percival Everett’s James, we have an excellent example of a successful blending of reimagining and retelling. It takes the story of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, changes the viewpoint to Jim, and in the course of doing so, Everett greatly expands and adds a layered depth to that world, and its world view, while still keeping its connecting threads to the original narrative. It is a masterful accomplishment of a very difficult undertaking.
In Empusium, Olga Tokarczuk takes on the powerful Magic Mountain, the story of the slow indoctrination of a young man into the hive mind of the sanitorium to which he has come to battle tuberculosis. It mirrors the insidious and ultimately catastrophic hive mind that evolved during the current events of that time. In her own novel, Tokarczuk does a creditable job of balancing retelling with reimagining, applying a different and interesting take on this slow indoctrination. Where her novel went wrong for me is that she failed to build that tension, the insidious force of the hive mind lurking below the surface of her narrative and thread it through her narrative. The “clues” are much too subtle and too disconnected to inspire dread or unease in the reader – there is no building of tension lurking beneath the surface. Indeed, the explosion of that hive mind only occurs in the final section of the book. The final course of events is imaginative yes; but it is an issue of too much too late. The reader has had no real opportunity to become invested in her reimagining until the end. So, for me, the book did not succeed. I felt instead that I had read an unsuccessful attempt to tap into the talents of Shirley Jackson – would have been more than ok with me.
Which brings me to Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo.
An excerpt from a book description reads as follows: “Call Me Ishmaelle reimagines the epic battle between man and nature in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick from a female perspective.”
I really wanted to read that book.
Taking on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is a bold and daunting task. This epic is Biblical, Wagnerian and Shakespearean in scope, all of which Melville was able to capture within the confines of a lone whaling ship battling and surviving in the swirling immensity of forces of nature it cannot control nor adequately defend itself from. It is one of my favorite books.
I was truly fascinated at the idea of an intrepid female, one with an intense passion for the sea, casting her fate to the winds, letting nothing get in her way, disguising herself as young boy, and signing on board a whaling ship knowing she would be at sea for 2 years. I wanted to immerse myself in experiencing that powerful story from a woman’s point of view…almost like being a fly on the wall, observing the entirely male, epic drama play out.
Unfortunately, this is not what actually happens.
That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy many parts of the narrative. The author has a rather charming, simplistic prose style (or it may just be a result of the translation). This style works very well in what I would call the non-action sections of the novel. I enjoyed the initial chapters where we learn a little about Ishmaelle. I appreciated Guo’s nod to the Shakespearian elements of the original…the “setting of scenes”, the internal reveries of the captain and other crew members; reveries which, if created for the stage, would be spoken soliloquies. The Ishmaelle dream sequences were indeed dreamy and sometimes surreal, the simple prose became almost lyrical. The descriptions of some of the island ports, looking for herbs, the workings of maintaining a ship, washing sails, making ropes, where one sleeps and under what conditions…all of these sections are very well done, were interesting to me and kept me invested in those moments.
Where the prose proved itself to be inadequate was the moment the whaling vessels were dropped into the sea and the chase for whales began. The intensity and energy of the original narrative was totally absent. The descriptions of the chases, small whaling vessels being smashed and broken, the loss of life; it was all told in such a flat, matter of fact, emotionless manner. In those sections, the book goes full into retelling mode, reading like an overly simplified, parroted and ultimately lifeless version of the masterful original.
I had other issues with the book. Ishmaelle goes to sea. Why? Why does she decide suddenly to board a vessel bound for America? The explanation that we are given is that she has developed quite a crush on a ship’s captain she met while exploring the docks.
But what really disappointed me was that the author didn’t really provide us with any depth to Ishmaelle. She exhibits no deep passion for the sea or for adventure. She is not portrayed as an intrepid explorer who is willing to cast her fate to the winds to pursue her dreams for new challenges and experiences. She provides no female or feminist perspective. Outside of the whale chases, Ishamaelle’s interior thoughts are primarily focused on making sure no one finds out she is female, and the most that is done with this subject is that she is mainly worried about secretively using the head and hiding her periods. In those moments where we could have really gotten to peel back the layers of her character, all we are met with is a young, fearful girl. Understandable, but we can’t get past that layer to see if there are any more layers to be found. She doesn’t take the experiences and make them her own; instead, she drifts through them. And then, toward the end, all of a sudden, she takes the lead in commanding one of the whaling boats during the final chase for the white whale?
I was disappointed that she was eventually exposed as female, and in the most predictable and degradable way possible. There were so many other ways to have accomplished this, but my question is: why expose her at all? Why not let her continue in her disguise and continue the narrative in a more consistent and empowering way? Why not let her keep her female power intact and under her control? For a book that describes itself as providing a feminist viewpoint, this course of events went off the rails for me.
Ishmaelle focuses a lot on the men continuing to call her Ishmael instead of Ishmaelle after they learn her gender. I didn’t find this particularly compelling. These men are hungry, tired and scared. Their captain is a madman; they are convinced they will not survive. Delving into the niceties of her name is hardly something they would focus on. They have called her Ishmael for months; the female derivation is closely similar. It appears that the men have been the ones who have progressed in their thinking. She is a team member, that’s what they think of her as. She is an equal. Is this perhaps what the book description is talking about? It may well be, but I didn’t get a strong impression of that.
I did find the introduction of a Taoist monk, who uses the I-Ching as a divination tool for the captain, an interesting addition to the narrative and I enjoyed how, in true Shakespearean manner, it served as a series of ominous portents that the captain, in the utter throes of his madness, ultimately ignored, thus sealing his fate and all those around him.
I also appreciated that Captain Seneca is a black man. He tragically lost his leg to the white whale, returns home, marries, only to face evil once more when his wife betrays their marriage, giving birth to a white child, a son to a white man he knows. In his tortured mind, this betrayal, the whiteness of it becomes a second evil in his life, and he becomes once more obsessed with destroying the white evil that he blames for all the events that followed in his life. I appreciated the subtlety of how Guo approached and embedded those themes in the narrative.
In addition to the I-Ching, I enjoyed the other magical elements of the novel; the slow bonding between whale and Ishmaelle. She dreams of whales, even observing a female giving birth and sensing its pain. That bonding between females (whale and human) during such a moving and powerful moment –– I loved that. And when Ishmaelle hears the great white whale, always sensing his presence, communing with him, bonding with him. I found myself wishing Guo had pushed the envelope by reimagining Moby Dick as female, intensifying the bond between females, while at the same time serving as a cohesive fuel for the Seneca’s rage…his wife’s betrayal with a white man, the loss of his leg, fusing a hatred of that white man and a betraying female into one white female creature. I would have loved that additional connection between Moby Dick and Ishmaelle. I mean, while you are reimagining, and you want these female elements, then lean into it and really go there. Why not?
I have heard this book described as one that explores gender, gender blending, queerish, feminist. I have seen the character Ishmaelle described as being “inimitable”. I personally found none of these elements in the book. Broken down, what we have here is a young girl who, for rather confusing reasons, decides to go to sea and wears boy’s clothes in order to accomplish this. She doesn’t wear those clothes because wearing male clothing makes her feel complete or whole in some way. She doesn’t express enjoyment that she feels more at home in that guise or that she identifies in a more male way. That persona doesn’t make her feel empowered – quite the opposite. In fact, she does everything she can to hide her gender right up until when it is ripped away from her. It is simply a means to an end and nothing more. There are literally hundreds of books, plays, operas (including historical accounts) that have been using this device for hundreds of years. And now we have one more. The author does attempt to introduce gender blending very late in the novel, but Ishmaelle rather suddenly referring to herself as Ishmael/elle or he/she isn’t convincing. And at the very end of the novel, back in Kent, she sheds the Ishmael persona, becoming firmly Ishmaelle. Or does she?
Because, one could say that at the end, Ishmaelle, within her innermost self, is not human female. And she has not become human male. Instead, she has become whale. Her transformation has come about through bonding with the whales in the story. She feels their presence, she understands their thoughts. She feels at one with them. She identifies with them.
The author introduced some fascinating and original ideas in Call Me Ishmaelle – I just wish she had leaned into them more.
Overall, despite my issues, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it to those who enjoy Guo’s writing (I intend to read more of her) and as a very basic outline to Melville’s truly great novel.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This year, I have read 3 novels that take on this challenge. In Percival Everett’s James, we have an excellent example of a successful blending of reimagining and retelling. It takes the story of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, changes the viewpoint to Jim, and in the course of doing so, Everett greatly expands and adds a layered depth to that world, and its world view, while still keeping its connecting threads to the original narrative. It is a masterful accomplishment of a very difficult undertaking.
In Empusium, Olga Tokarczuk takes on the powerful Magic Mountain, the story of the slow indoctrination of a young man into the hive mind of the sanitorium to which he has come to battle tuberculosis. It mirrors the insidious and ultimately catastrophic hive mind that evolved during the current events of that time. In her own novel, Tokarczuk does a creditable job of balancing retelling with reimagining, applying a different and interesting take on this slow indoctrination. Where her novel went wrong for me is that she failed to build that tension, the insidious force of the hive mind lurking below the surface of her narrative and thread it through her narrative. The “clues” are much too subtle and too disconnected to inspire dread or unease in the reader – there is no building of tension lurking beneath the surface. Indeed, the explosion of that hive mind only occurs in the final section of the book. The final course of events is imaginative yes; but it is an issue of too much too late. The reader has had no real opportunity to become invested in her reimagining until the end. So, for me, the book did not succeed. I felt instead that I had read an unsuccessful attempt to tap into the talents of Shirley Jackson – would have been more than ok with me.
Which brings me to Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo.
An excerpt from a book description reads as follows: “Call Me Ishmaelle reimagines the epic battle between man and nature in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick from a female perspective.”
I really wanted to read that book.
Taking on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick is a bold and daunting task. This epic is Biblical, Wagnerian and Shakespearean in scope, all of which Melville was able to capture within the confines of a lone whaling ship battling and surviving in the swirling immensity of forces of nature it cannot control nor adequately defend itself from. It is one of my favorite books.
I was truly fascinated at the idea of an intrepid female, one with an intense passion for the sea, casting her fate to the winds, letting nothing get in her way, disguising herself as young boy, and signing on board a whaling ship knowing she would be at sea for 2 years. I wanted to immerse myself in experiencing that powerful story from a woman’s point of view…almost like being a fly on the wall, observing the entirely male, epic drama play out.
Unfortunately, this is not what actually happens.
That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy many parts of the narrative. The author has a rather charming, simplistic prose style (or it may just be a result of the translation). This style works very well in what I would call the non-action sections of the novel. I enjoyed the initial chapters where we learn a little about Ishmaelle. I appreciated Guo’s nod to the Shakespearian elements of the original…the “setting of scenes”, the internal reveries of the captain and other crew members; reveries which, if created for the stage, would be spoken soliloquies. The Ishmaelle dream sequences were indeed dreamy and sometimes surreal, the simple prose became almost lyrical. The descriptions of some of the island ports, looking for herbs, the workings of maintaining a ship, washing sails, making ropes, where one sleeps and under what conditions…all of these sections are very well done, were interesting to me and kept me invested in those moments.
Where the prose proved itself to be inadequate was the moment the whaling vessels were dropped into the sea and the chase for whales began. The intensity and energy of the original narrative was totally absent. The descriptions of the chases, small whaling vessels being smashed and broken, the loss of life; it was all told in such a flat, matter of fact, emotionless manner. In those sections, the book goes full into retelling mode, reading like an overly simplified, parroted and ultimately lifeless version of the masterful original.
I had other issues with the book. Ishmaelle goes to sea. Why? Why does she decide suddenly to board a vessel bound for America? The explanation that we are given is that she has developed quite a crush on a ship’s captain she met while exploring the docks.
But what really disappointed me was that the author didn’t really provide us with any depth to Ishmaelle. She exhibits no deep passion for the sea or for adventure. She is not portrayed as an intrepid explorer who is willing to cast her fate to the winds to pursue her dreams for new challenges and experiences. She provides no female or feminist perspective. Outside of the whale chases, Ishamaelle’s interior thoughts are primarily focused on making sure no one finds out she is female, and the most that is done with this subject is that she is mainly worried about secretively using the head and hiding her periods. In those moments where we could have really gotten to peel back the layers of her character, all we are met with is a young, fearful girl. Understandable, but we can’t get past that layer to see if there are any more layers to be found. She doesn’t take the experiences and make them her own; instead, she drifts through them. And then, toward the end, all of a sudden, she takes the lead in commanding one of the whaling boats during the final chase for the white whale?
I was disappointed that she was eventually exposed as female, and in the most predictable and degradable way possible. There were so many other ways to have accomplished this, but my question is: why expose her at all? Why not let her continue in her disguise and continue the narrative in a more consistent and empowering way? Why not let her keep her female power intact and under her control? For a book that describes itself as providing a feminist viewpoint, this course of events went off the rails for me.
Ishmaelle focuses a lot on the men continuing to call her Ishmael instead of Ishmaelle after they learn her gender. I didn’t find this particularly compelling. These men are hungry, tired and scared. Their captain is a madman; they are convinced they will not survive. Delving into the niceties of her name is hardly something they would focus on. They have called her Ishmael for months; the female derivation is closely similar. It appears that the men have been the ones who have progressed in their thinking. She is a team member, that’s what they think of her as. She is an equal. Is this perhaps what the book description is talking about? It may well be, but I didn’t get a strong impression of that.
I did find the introduction of a Taoist monk, who uses the I-Ching as a divination tool for the captain, an interesting addition to the narrative and I enjoyed how, in true Shakespearean manner, it served as a series of ominous portents that the captain, in the utter throes of his madness, ultimately ignored, thus sealing his fate and all those around him.
I also appreciated that Captain Seneca is a black man. He tragically lost his leg to the white whale, returns home, marries, only to face evil once more when his wife betrays their marriage, giving birth to a white child, a son to a white man he knows. In his tortured mind, this betrayal, the whiteness of it becomes a second evil in his life, and he becomes once more obsessed with destroying the white evil that he blames for all the events that followed in his life. I appreciated the subtlety of how Guo approached and embedded those themes in the narrative.
In addition to the I-Ching, I enjoyed the other magical elements of the novel; the slow bonding between whale and Ishmaelle. She dreams of whales, even observing a female giving birth and sensing its pain. That bonding between females (whale and human) during such a moving and powerful moment –– I loved that. And when Ishmaelle hears the great white whale, always sensing his presence, communing with him, bonding with him. I found myself wishing Guo had pushed the envelope by reimagining Moby Dick as female, intensifying the bond between females, while at the same time serving as a cohesive fuel for the Seneca’s rage…his wife’s betrayal with a white man, the loss of his leg, fusing a hatred of that white man and a betraying female into one white female creature. I would have loved that additional connection between Moby Dick and Ishmaelle. I mean, while you are reimagining, and you want these female elements, then lean into it and really go there. Why not?
I have heard this book described as one that explores gender, gender blending, queerish, feminist. I have seen the character Ishmaelle described as being “inimitable”. I personally found none of these elements in the book. Broken down, what we have here is a young girl who, for rather confusing reasons, decides to go to sea and wears boy’s clothes in order to accomplish this. She doesn’t wear those clothes because wearing male clothing makes her feel complete or whole in some way. She doesn’t express enjoyment that she feels more at home in that guise or that she identifies in a more male way. That persona doesn’t make her feel empowered – quite the opposite. In fact, she does everything she can to hide her gender right up until when it is ripped away from her. It is simply a means to an end and nothing more. There are literally hundreds of books, plays, operas (including historical accounts) that have been using this device for hundreds of years. And now we have one more. The author does attempt to introduce gender blending very late in the novel, but Ishmaelle rather suddenly referring to herself as Ishmael/elle or he/she isn’t convincing. And at the very end of the novel, back in Kent, she sheds the Ishmael persona, becoming firmly Ishmaelle. Or does she?
Because, one could say that at the end, Ishmaelle, within her innermost self, is not human female. And she has not become human male. Instead, she has become whale. Her transformation has come about through bonding with the whales in the story. She feels their presence, she understands their thoughts. She feels at one with them. She identifies with them.
The author introduced some fascinating and original ideas in Call Me Ishmaelle – I just wish she had leaned into them more.
Overall, despite my issues, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it to those who enjoy Guo’s writing (I intend to read more of her) and as a very basic outline to Melville’s truly great novel.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 1, 2025
A novel rich with detail that will draw readers in and immerse them into this Moby Dick retelling. This extremely well researched and written novel is for readers who enjoy exploring classical stories through different lenses. The novel would appeal to both those who enjoyed Moby Dick and readers who were less enthused by that thick tome. Some similarities include the outsider nature of the the narrator Ishmaelle, the precise details of the whaling ship, hierarchy and life aboard. Both are narratives about people who are seeking meaning to their lives, however, Ishmaelle also explores gender identity, race and our relationship with nature while maintaining the style and substance of the time period. Differences lie mainly in the representation and the construction of the narrative where we're allowed into the various thoughts of the characters, including a stream of thought from Captain Seneca, a Black man who is obsessed with hunting Moby Dick and pursued by a tragedy in his past.
February 3, 2026
After reading some of the other reviews, I waited overnight to post.
One of my favorite books of all time is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. I believe Guo pays homage to this great book. I enjoyed her writing style and found it hard to put this book down.
Some reviewers suggested that she was writing to a younger demographic. I am a 69 year old woman who really related to Ishmaelle’s struggles with her sexuality and sexually defined cultural roles. I lived through a lot of the feminist struggle to overcome these roles and believe that you can interpret her approach to Ishmaelle’s struggles in this area more broadly than suggested by some of the reviewers. If a book is making you think about these things, philosophically, then perhaps you should reassess your ratings.
Do I care that the other characters closely emulated Melville’s? No, I do not. That is the point, I think.
This book can be read without reading Melville. But if you are a Melville fan, you should enjoy this “updated” version.
The book touches on so much more, but I’ll leave my review with these comments.
Highly recommend and would recommend to women’s book clubs. Great discussion questions included at the end of the book.
One of my favorite books of all time is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. I believe Guo pays homage to this great book. I enjoyed her writing style and found it hard to put this book down.
Some reviewers suggested that she was writing to a younger demographic. I am a 69 year old woman who really related to Ishmaelle’s struggles with her sexuality and sexually defined cultural roles. I lived through a lot of the feminist struggle to overcome these roles and believe that you can interpret her approach to Ishmaelle’s struggles in this area more broadly than suggested by some of the reviewers. If a book is making you think about these things, philosophically, then perhaps you should reassess your ratings.
Do I care that the other characters closely emulated Melville’s? No, I do not. That is the point, I think.
This book can be read without reading Melville. But if you are a Melville fan, you should enjoy this “updated” version.
The book touches on so much more, but I’ll leave my review with these comments.
Highly recommend and would recommend to women’s book clubs. Great discussion questions included at the end of the book.
January 26, 2026
If you are looking for a feminist pov of Moby Dick (not a true retelling though!) look no further. Can we just talk about how much hype this book deserves?! The research, the premise, the ending, GAH. I really really enjoyed it.
The story follows Ishmaelle who from a young age watches her family members slowly die and/or abandon her. Drawn to the sea, she dons the appearance of a boy and sets sail for the Americas. On board Nimrod, Ishmaelle conceals her identity and gets stuck with Captain Seneca who is blinded by revenge against the evasive white whale.
What I loved about this book- it is full of immigrant and migrant POVS which I loved loved loved. FINALLY we get a diverse cast of characters that also feels a lot for authentically historically accurate for the time of a motley crew. I loved the dual pov with Captain Seneca and his background of being both Indigenous and from African slaves. The story was infuriating (but rightly so) and the demise of Captain Seneca was sooooo good. I loved the symbolism of everything- I think my only gripe was I kept waiting for the white whale to be a female. I think it would have tied the themes of this book really well.
My other complaint was that there was no map or historical note of the research done with this book. I just wanted a visual map and also more historical background for the inspiration of the book. That being said, I liken this book the Moby Dick feminist version that feels very Babel (R.F. Kuang). It could be seen in so many ways analogous to colonial thought, exploitation, a broken system, etc. I could go on and on about this book.
This is a GRITTY read- there is some animal abuse, whale killing, and r*pe. I would highly recommend though!
A special thanks to NetGalley and to Grove Atlantic for the ARC!
Published Jan 6th.
The story follows Ishmaelle who from a young age watches her family members slowly die and/or abandon her. Drawn to the sea, she dons the appearance of a boy and sets sail for the Americas. On board Nimrod, Ishmaelle conceals her identity and gets stuck with Captain Seneca who is blinded by revenge against the evasive white whale.
What I loved about this book- it is full of immigrant and migrant POVS which I loved loved loved. FINALLY we get a diverse cast of characters that also feels a lot for authentically historically accurate for the time of a motley crew. I loved the dual pov with Captain Seneca and his background of being both Indigenous and from African slaves. The story was infuriating (but rightly so) and the demise of Captain Seneca was sooooo good. I loved the symbolism of everything- I think my only gripe was I kept waiting for the white whale to be a female. I think it would have tied the themes of this book really well.
My other complaint was that there was no map or historical note of the research done with this book. I just wanted a visual map and also more historical background for the inspiration of the book. That being said, I liken this book the Moby Dick feminist version that feels very Babel (R.F. Kuang). It could be seen in so many ways analogous to colonial thought, exploitation, a broken system, etc. I could go on and on about this book.
This is a GRITTY read- there is some animal abuse, whale killing, and r*pe. I would highly recommend though!
A special thanks to NetGalley and to Grove Atlantic for the ARC!
Published Jan 6th.
July 9, 2025
Definitely my favorite feminist retelling of Moby Dick.
There may only be 2 to choose from but this is still leagues ahead of the other. Without getting deeper into that (I made this whole account to review that one and I've still been unable to describe it), what I love about this is the perspective of the main character I expected very little, but all of these expectations were surpassed. Her non-american POV, the fact that she's very unromantic and frank about a lot of things, and feels solidly like her own character are things I loved. There's some of the usual feminist retelling 'not like other girls-' but in such a way that I don't think dominated most of the other characterization or narrative events. I enjoyed how the main character was written of thinking of her identity in ways that made sense for the time period. I also really enjoyed a lot of what was going on with other characters. My main problem with the whole story is that a lot happens to the main character that so heavily shocks the reader with her trauma, it starts to dull the affect of it, and while we have a lot of characters who we come to know very much about through the story, some of the ambiguous endings, I'm fine with, I even like, but many were less endings and more stories that were started and didn't go anywhere. While I do mostly enjoy the way this narrator admits she didn't know the full story behind a lot of what was going on, the mentioned back story of Jacques having saved Drake from drowning once which seems to have been completely abandoned by the time Jacques abandons the rest of the crew and Drake's reaction doesn't seem noteworthy at all felt very underwhelming. There were similar examples. I feel like most of these issues could have been resolved by the whole book and the story told in it taking longer, which naturally make sense when this was a retelling of Moby Dick. My expectation about all of that, if I had any of it described to me, and really, from the title alone (which I still don't think should have been that), was that it would shamelessly copy that in some areas but 'correct' it in others. Not only did it not do that, but when it does clearly borrow things from Moby Dick, it does actually feel like it was almost written as an admiring tribute.
There may only be 2 to choose from but this is still leagues ahead of the other. Without getting deeper into that (I made this whole account to review that one and I've still been unable to describe it), what I love about this is the perspective of the main character I expected very little, but all of these expectations were surpassed. Her non-american POV, the fact that she's very unromantic and frank about a lot of things, and feels solidly like her own character are things I loved. There's some of the usual feminist retelling 'not like other girls-' but in such a way that I don't think dominated most of the other characterization or narrative events. I enjoyed how the main character was written of thinking of her identity in ways that made sense for the time period. I also really enjoyed a lot of what was going on with other characters. My main problem with the whole story is that a lot happens to the main character that so heavily shocks the reader with her trauma, it starts to dull the affect of it, and while we have a lot of characters who we come to know very much about through the story, some of the ambiguous endings, I'm fine with, I even like, but many were less endings and more stories that were started and didn't go anywhere. While I do mostly enjoy the way this narrator admits she didn't know the full story behind a lot of what was going on, the mentioned back story of Jacques having saved Drake from drowning once which seems to have been completely abandoned by the time Jacques abandons the rest of the crew and Drake's reaction doesn't seem noteworthy at all felt very underwhelming. There were similar examples. I feel like most of these issues could have been resolved by the whole book and the story told in it taking longer, which naturally make sense when this was a retelling of Moby Dick. My expectation about all of that, if I had any of it described to me, and really, from the title alone (which I still don't think should have been that), was that it would shamelessly copy that in some areas but 'correct' it in others. Not only did it not do that, but when it does clearly borrow things from Moby Dick, it does actually feel like it was almost written as an admiring tribute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
April 29, 2025Honestly don't know how to feel about this because it has some really cool ideas (a queer-ish narrative about hiding on a boat, I Ching readings, a bond with the whale, a freed black man as Ahab, attaching the story to the events in the world more firmly) but either follows through on them too little or too late and loses a lot of Moby Dick's strangeness (partially due to the lack of a frame narrative, partially due to keeping most of the more avant garde writing until the final confrontation)
January 20, 2026
The sea calls out to Ishmaelle, a woman from the coast of Kent. When her younger sister dies and her older brother leaves home, Ishmaelle decides to board a merchant ship set for Nantucket, MA. Identifying as Ishmael, our main character puts on the role of a man—though born a girl, Ishmaelle is drawn to manhood. Plus, only men can join the crew. As Ishmael, she signs on to board The Nimrod, a whaling ship led by Captain Seneca, an African American man raised by Quakers. Seneca and his whalemen (a party composed of people of color) voyage to harpoon whales for their fat, turning blubber into a commodity: oil. Seneca’s bloodthirsty hunt for his arch nemesis, the cursed white sperm beast, Moby Dick, is also no secret.
During their journey, Ishmaelle navigates existing as a person who is both—both man in the eyes of the sailors and in her “man-ish” longing for adventure at sea and woman in her physiology (e.g., monthly blood), susceptibility to rape, and empathetic connection in her dreams with a fellow female mammal who is pregnant (i.e., Moby Dick). She comes to terms with existing as neither absolutely female nor male, for Ishmaelle’s wild spirit longs to sail in the sea.
Guo’s reimaginative work serves a retelling’s purpose. For instance, the author uses Seneca’s poetic monologues, marked with violence and narrow-minded obsessiveness, as a foil to Ishmaelle’s search for meaning in existence. The inclusion of marginalized voices through Seneca’s African American background and Muzi’s Taoist panentheism offers a unique reflection on themes like ethnicity, race, and religion.
I’m not convinced that Guo successfully executed highlighting the themes of religion and gender. First, Guo’s abrupt incorporation of Muzi teaching Ishmaelle that she is a part of the universe and reading the divination sticks could have been incorporated into the story more. Second, Ishmaelle’s concerns about the privileges of men and women and her enjoyment of sailing as the crux of her inclination to wear trousers and exist as a non-binary person raise concerns about a different set of issues (i.e., equality for women and options for functional clothes). Unless Guo contends that we ought to entirely eliminate the category of gender, which I don’t believe is the argument because Ishmaelle desires to move between a dichotomy, the substantive logic is questionable.
I do appreciate the female (she/he) main character in theory, and I suppose I’m more inclined to revisit Melville’s classic now with Guo’s Mulan-meets-Moby’s storyline in mind. Still, Call Me Ishmaelle hits my sea adventure quota for the next while.
During their journey, Ishmaelle navigates existing as a person who is both—both man in the eyes of the sailors and in her “man-ish” longing for adventure at sea and woman in her physiology (e.g., monthly blood), susceptibility to rape, and empathetic connection in her dreams with a fellow female mammal who is pregnant (i.e., Moby Dick). She comes to terms with existing as neither absolutely female nor male, for Ishmaelle’s wild spirit longs to sail in the sea.
Guo’s reimaginative work serves a retelling’s purpose. For instance, the author uses Seneca’s poetic monologues, marked with violence and narrow-minded obsessiveness, as a foil to Ishmaelle’s search for meaning in existence. The inclusion of marginalized voices through Seneca’s African American background and Muzi’s Taoist panentheism offers a unique reflection on themes like ethnicity, race, and religion.
I’m not convinced that Guo successfully executed highlighting the themes of religion and gender. First, Guo’s abrupt incorporation of Muzi teaching Ishmaelle that she is a part of the universe and reading the divination sticks could have been incorporated into the story more. Second, Ishmaelle’s concerns about the privileges of men and women and her enjoyment of sailing as the crux of her inclination to wear trousers and exist as a non-binary person raise concerns about a different set of issues (i.e., equality for women and options for functional clothes). Unless Guo contends that we ought to entirely eliminate the category of gender, which I don’t believe is the argument because Ishmaelle desires to move between a dichotomy, the substantive logic is questionable.
I do appreciate the female (she/he) main character in theory, and I suppose I’m more inclined to revisit Melville’s classic now with Guo’s Mulan-meets-Moby’s storyline in mind. Still, Call Me Ishmaelle hits my sea adventure quota for the next while.
April 8, 2025
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley.
Xiaolu Guo reimagines Moby Dick, centring the experience of Ishmaelle, a young woman who disguises herself as a young man to become a whaler and escape her coastal British life. Guo makes some other changes to the classic tale, setting it 20 years later than the original.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read and Guo’s perspective is fresh and engaging.
Xiaolu Guo reimagines Moby Dick, centring the experience of Ishmaelle, a young woman who disguises herself as a young man to become a whaler and escape her coastal British life. Guo makes some other changes to the classic tale, setting it 20 years later than the original.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read and Guo’s perspective is fresh and engaging.
February 20, 2026
Demon Copperheadish
August 5, 2025
Call Me Ishmaelle (2025) is a reimagining of Melville’s Moby-Dick (1851). It tells the story of a young girl from the English coast, mostly between 1860 and 1862, who disguises herself as a man and joins the crew of a whaling ship. She develops a deep camaraderie with many of her shipmates as they find themselves bound by fate to their captain—an intensely and irrationally obsessed man, determined to slay the great white whale, Moby Dick.
I must say I enjoyed this novel immensely. I loved the story itself—Ishmaelle’s journey from the English countryside to the far corners of the world and back again, along with the grueling physical demands and complex social dynamics aboard the whaling ship. I also appreciated the international cast of characters. In general, I didn’t want to put the book down for an instant.
The reason I gave it four stars (rather than five) is that I would have enjoyed the novel even more if the characters—especially Captain Seneca and Ishmaelle—had been developed with greater psychological depth. Guo provides both with a backstory, but each is so distant and brutal that it serves more as a symbolic marker than a source of insight into their inner lives. That would have been fine, had they not been portrayed in the present so one-dimensionally: Seneca as purely mad, Ishmaelle as consistently kind, good, and empathetic. Where is Ishmaelle’s “bad streak”? Where is the trace of what once made Seneca a respected captain? Similar treatment could have enriched the other characters as well, though I understand that doing so might have made the novel much longer—perhaps over 800 pages. Still, I wouldn’t have minded that, as long as it was a good 800 pages.
My favorite aspect of the book is the way it felt in conversation with the original Moby-Dick. I’ll admit up front that I never made it beyond the first third of the classic. Specifically, I stopped at the scene where Ahab declares to Starbuck that the whale is not merely a creature but a symbol—that its visible form is a mask for the embodiment of evil in the world. That moment struck me as trying very hard to be deep and meaningful, but ultimately it felt like a superficial thought experiment—more literary performance than genuine insight into the human condition.
What resonated with me about Ishmaelle—and what drew me to read it in the first place—was Guo’s feminist critique of that moment and what it represents. In an interview, she pointed out that Ahab’s worldview reflects a very specific male kind of madness: the belief that something in the world that has hurt you is evil itself, and that conquering it—through violence, force, or domination—will somehow redeem or elevate you. That struck a chord with me. It’s a deeply male way of looking at the world, and I think it’s telling just how embedded in patriarchy we must be that generations of readers have taken that struggle seriously, as though it offers profound insight into the human experience. Frankly, you can find the same narrative arc in any B-rated superhero movie.
Ishmaelle, in contrast, becomes swept into the mission to destroy Moby Dick without being consumed by madness, hate, or revenge. She remains aware of how destructive and irrational those states are. In this way, Guo critiques what has too often been taken as the “greatness” of Moby-Dick, and offers a perspective that interrogates its legacy. And yet, Ishmaelle cannot escape her particular fate—and that tension, for me, is the most powerful and memorable thing about the book.
I must say I enjoyed this novel immensely. I loved the story itself—Ishmaelle’s journey from the English countryside to the far corners of the world and back again, along with the grueling physical demands and complex social dynamics aboard the whaling ship. I also appreciated the international cast of characters. In general, I didn’t want to put the book down for an instant.
The reason I gave it four stars (rather than five) is that I would have enjoyed the novel even more if the characters—especially Captain Seneca and Ishmaelle—had been developed with greater psychological depth. Guo provides both with a backstory, but each is so distant and brutal that it serves more as a symbolic marker than a source of insight into their inner lives. That would have been fine, had they not been portrayed in the present so one-dimensionally: Seneca as purely mad, Ishmaelle as consistently kind, good, and empathetic. Where is Ishmaelle’s “bad streak”? Where is the trace of what once made Seneca a respected captain? Similar treatment could have enriched the other characters as well, though I understand that doing so might have made the novel much longer—perhaps over 800 pages. Still, I wouldn’t have minded that, as long as it was a good 800 pages.
My favorite aspect of the book is the way it felt in conversation with the original Moby-Dick. I’ll admit up front that I never made it beyond the first third of the classic. Specifically, I stopped at the scene where Ahab declares to Starbuck that the whale is not merely a creature but a symbol—that its visible form is a mask for the embodiment of evil in the world. That moment struck me as trying very hard to be deep and meaningful, but ultimately it felt like a superficial thought experiment—more literary performance than genuine insight into the human condition.
What resonated with me about Ishmaelle—and what drew me to read it in the first place—was Guo’s feminist critique of that moment and what it represents. In an interview, she pointed out that Ahab’s worldview reflects a very specific male kind of madness: the belief that something in the world that has hurt you is evil itself, and that conquering it—through violence, force, or domination—will somehow redeem or elevate you. That struck a chord with me. It’s a deeply male way of looking at the world, and I think it’s telling just how embedded in patriarchy we must be that generations of readers have taken that struggle seriously, as though it offers profound insight into the human experience. Frankly, you can find the same narrative arc in any B-rated superhero movie.
Ishmaelle, in contrast, becomes swept into the mission to destroy Moby Dick without being consumed by madness, hate, or revenge. She remains aware of how destructive and irrational those states are. In this way, Guo critiques what has too often been taken as the “greatness” of Moby-Dick, and offers a perspective that interrogates its legacy. And yet, Ishmaelle cannot escape her particular fate—and that tension, for me, is the most powerful and memorable thing about the book.
January 18, 2026
It was... fine. I expected a bit more weight to the overall story. It's not a bad book about a woman undercover on a whaling ship. But as a Moby Dick pastiche... I've never read Moby Dick, but I have to imagine the multiple rape scenes were added by this author. It's clearly something that realistically did/would have happened on ships like this, but the amount and graphic nature seemed over the line.
March 18, 2025
Thank you so much to Chattobooks for the ARC! 🩵
4 ⭐
I honestly didn't expect myself to get so immersed into the story, I'll just say that straight away.
But the way Xiaolu Guo writes, the character of Ismaelle, and also some of the crew you read, and the prose within the story just kept me going and got me invested along on this journey.
The main theme within this would be about gender identity and finding one self. Ishmaelle has a lot of thoughts about the roles of women, the curse of women, how she feels when she is dressed as Ishmael vs how she feels when she's not him. Also how she feels like neither gender, giving us some thoughts on how she sometimes may feel non-binary.
The journey Ishmaelle goes on to find what she wants to do and what she thought would be the next step of her life really captures your attention and you can't help but want it to work out for her.
I got attatched to Ishmaelle and Kauri if I'm being honest, and Kauri is just the ONE due to a scene that happens. He is truth worthy, loyal, and a great character.
Fantastic read that truly does explore gender roles & identity, race, nature, the question about why should we survive and not them, amazing prose.
Please check TW
❗❗❗ TW Spoilers below ❗❗❗
I will state some heavy TW that I wanted to put as it came out of nowhere, I usually leave curious readers to check TW themselves as not everyone wants to know due to spoilers etc. but of course this has animals death, death of a child, and others, but also graphic SA. That happens a few times on page.
4 ⭐
I honestly didn't expect myself to get so immersed into the story, I'll just say that straight away.
But the way Xiaolu Guo writes, the character of Ismaelle, and also some of the crew you read, and the prose within the story just kept me going and got me invested along on this journey.
The main theme within this would be about gender identity and finding one self. Ishmaelle has a lot of thoughts about the roles of women, the curse of women, how she feels when she is dressed as Ishmael vs how she feels when she's not him. Also how she feels like neither gender, giving us some thoughts on how she sometimes may feel non-binary.
The journey Ishmaelle goes on to find what she wants to do and what she thought would be the next step of her life really captures your attention and you can't help but want it to work out for her.
I got attatched to Ishmaelle and Kauri if I'm being honest, and Kauri is just the ONE due to a scene that happens. He is truth worthy, loyal, and a great character.
Fantastic read that truly does explore gender roles & identity, race, nature, the question about why should we survive and not them, amazing prose.
Please check TW
❗❗❗ TW Spoilers below ❗❗❗
I will state some heavy TW that I wanted to put as it came out of nowhere, I usually leave curious readers to check TW themselves as not everyone wants to know due to spoilers etc. but of course this has animals death, death of a child, and others, but also graphic SA. That happens a few times on page.
January 14, 2026
A thoughtful adaptation of Moby-Dick that plays with the themes of the original in an engaging way. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
I feel very strongly about Moby-Dick. I am a Moby-Dickhead. I was excited by the premise of this book, but I was a little worried that Guo wouldn't be able to capture the magic. I was reassured by the list of whale names. I was subsequently a little concerned about getting to know Ishmael/le's backstory for the first fifty pages or so, because I like that Ishmael is a bit of a weird guy that things just kind of happen to, and we the readers know very little about his life before the Pequod. However, once we settled in on the Nimrod, things got going, and I found myself flying through the back half of the book.
I think my favorite thing about this adaptation is the twist on the comradery that the crew of the Pequod experience. Those men find unity of purpose in hunting whales, despite Ahab's unsettling vibes and their diverse backgrounds, while Ishmael/le feels isolation from the crew specifically due to the inherent violence of whale hunting. Moments of unity in Moby-Dick, such as the chapter "A Squeeze of the Hand", are directly noted as isolating for Ishmael/le. With that all said, because this novel focuses more on Ishmael/le's interactions with the rest of the crew than Moby-Dick does on Ishmael's, Ishmael/le does feel like a part of the crew in a way that Ishmael doesn't necessarily. The difference in the experiences of the two Ishmaels is wiggling around in my brain, and I fear I may need to write a paper about it.
Other things I liked! The prose is really quite good. It's not as good as Melville, but it really doesn't need to be. It's frequently reminiscent of Melville and 19th century prose, without being anywhere near as dense. I also really liked the take on Ahab, Captain Seneca. In the "Acknowledgements", Guo cites Othello as an inspiration for him, and it really works. It gives him an extra edge of having absolutely nothing to lose, while part of the tragedy of Ahab is that he does have something waiting for him on land. I also quite liked Muzi. While Moby-Dick is certainly more thoughtful about race that you might think, you simply could not write an adaption focusing on questions of race and difference with Fedallah as he appears in Moby-Dick. I liked that Muzi and Seneca's relationship was fleshed out a little more, and I wish he and Ishmael/le had gotten to interact a little more.
I do have a few complaints. Because I am a freak, I do miss the chapters that are just about whales. I'm glad that Guo didn't try to replicate "The Whiteness of the Whale" at length, because I don't think anyone could replicate that magic. I wasn't crazy about Ishmael/le's supposed connection to Moby Dick either. It felt a bit shoe-horned in at the end, and it gave off some "Women's Special Magical Connection With Nature TM" energy that I don't love. The beginning is also a little slow, as I mentioned above.
Overall, a great adaptation of Moby-Dick that clearly demonstrates its love for the original and isn't afraid to harmonize on its themes.
I feel very strongly about Moby-Dick. I am a Moby-Dickhead. I was excited by the premise of this book, but I was a little worried that Guo wouldn't be able to capture the magic. I was reassured by the list of whale names. I was subsequently a little concerned about getting to know Ishmael/le's backstory for the first fifty pages or so, because I like that Ishmael is a bit of a weird guy that things just kind of happen to, and we the readers know very little about his life before the Pequod. However, once we settled in on the Nimrod, things got going, and I found myself flying through the back half of the book.
I think my favorite thing about this adaptation is the twist on the comradery that the crew of the Pequod experience. Those men find unity of purpose in hunting whales, despite Ahab's unsettling vibes and their diverse backgrounds, while Ishmael/le feels isolation from the crew specifically due to the inherent violence of whale hunting. Moments of unity in Moby-Dick, such as the chapter "A Squeeze of the Hand", are directly noted as isolating for Ishmael/le. With that all said, because this novel focuses more on Ishmael/le's interactions with the rest of the crew than Moby-Dick does on Ishmael's, Ishmael/le does feel like a part of the crew in a way that Ishmael doesn't necessarily. The difference in the experiences of the two Ishmaels is wiggling around in my brain, and I fear I may need to write a paper about it.
Other things I liked! The prose is really quite good. It's not as good as Melville, but it really doesn't need to be. It's frequently reminiscent of Melville and 19th century prose, without being anywhere near as dense. I also really liked the take on Ahab, Captain Seneca. In the "Acknowledgements", Guo cites Othello as an inspiration for him, and it really works. It gives him an extra edge of having absolutely nothing to lose, while part of the tragedy of Ahab is that he does have something waiting for him on land. I also quite liked Muzi. While Moby-Dick is certainly more thoughtful about race that you might think, you simply could not write an adaption focusing on questions of race and difference with Fedallah as he appears in Moby-Dick. I liked that Muzi and Seneca's relationship was fleshed out a little more, and I wish he and Ishmael/le had gotten to interact a little more.
I do have a few complaints. Because I am a freak, I do miss the chapters that are just about whales. I'm glad that Guo didn't try to replicate "The Whiteness of the Whale" at length, because I don't think anyone could replicate that magic. I wasn't crazy about Ishmael/le's supposed connection to Moby Dick either. It felt a bit shoe-horned in at the end, and it gave off some "Women's Special Magical Connection With Nature TM" energy that I don't love. The beginning is also a little slow, as I mentioned above.
Overall, a great adaptation of Moby-Dick that clearly demonstrates its love for the original and isn't afraid to harmonize on its themes.
July 8, 2025
I began this book with no expectations, and it surpassed them. Being unfortunately well versed in feminist retellings of Moby-Dick I can say this one is not bad.
THE GOOD: Ishmaelle, for her unfortunate name, is a good protagonist. Rather than the typical “not like other girls” historical heroine she embraces a multigendered identity (that is not without the “womanhood is pain” shtick). Her worldview is unromantic in a way that is refreshing, and although arguably the turning point of the story is her impulsive love for Mackay, this is abandoned quickly— she does her best to maintain agency over the relationships she has with the men of the Nimrod. An English protagonist was, in my opinion, fascinating to read about in such a classically American setting, and I think the diverse world of whaling was seen more interestingly through the eyes of a foreigner. The novel’s structure was inspired by the original novel but did not copy it, and rather was an interesting new take.
THE BAD: somehow this novel suffers from being too short. Actually this novel suffers from being too explicitly a retelling of Moby Dick and in some ways would have done better as its own story. But as a retelling of Moby Dick it is too short. The aforementioned structure of the novel would have been more effective if it had more time to play out. And yet, Ishmaelle suffers so thoroughly over the course of this novel that any more chapters would have undoubtedly been agony. I kept wanting this story to do more— for Kauri’s character and relationship to Ishmaelle, for freedmen living in the first year of the American Civil War, for Ishmaelle to develop any of the skills she seems to enjoy and succeed at. It kept missing the mark. Also, to write a decidedly unromantic novel is a fresh choice for the seafaring genre and yet the protagonist here endures such trauma and horror it dulls the reader to it.
I hoped the ending would be different this time and it was not, which I think is a testament to Guo’s writing— I wanted the Nimrod and its flawed, gritty crew to survive. But the voyage was never going to end any other way. 3.5 stars.
THE GOOD: Ishmaelle, for her unfortunate name, is a good protagonist. Rather than the typical “not like other girls” historical heroine she embraces a multigendered identity (that is not without the “womanhood is pain” shtick). Her worldview is unromantic in a way that is refreshing, and although arguably the turning point of the story is her impulsive love for Mackay, this is abandoned quickly— she does her best to maintain agency over the relationships she has with the men of the Nimrod. An English protagonist was, in my opinion, fascinating to read about in such a classically American setting, and I think the diverse world of whaling was seen more interestingly through the eyes of a foreigner. The novel’s structure was inspired by the original novel but did not copy it, and rather was an interesting new take.
THE BAD: somehow this novel suffers from being too short. Actually this novel suffers from being too explicitly a retelling of Moby Dick and in some ways would have done better as its own story. But as a retelling of Moby Dick it is too short. The aforementioned structure of the novel would have been more effective if it had more time to play out. And yet, Ishmaelle suffers so thoroughly over the course of this novel that any more chapters would have undoubtedly been agony. I kept wanting this story to do more— for Kauri’s character and relationship to Ishmaelle, for freedmen living in the first year of the American Civil War, for Ishmaelle to develop any of the skills she seems to enjoy and succeed at. It kept missing the mark. Also, to write a decidedly unromantic novel is a fresh choice for the seafaring genre and yet the protagonist here endures such trauma and horror it dulls the reader to it.
I hoped the ending would be different this time and it was not, which I think is a testament to Guo’s writing— I wanted the Nimrod and its flawed, gritty crew to survive. But the voyage was never going to end any other way. 3.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2026
1800s - After some tragic deaths and her brother who had gone away for work, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and boards a whaling ship.
A reimagining of 'Mody Dick' from a female perspective, this book is moody and mostly vibes - laden with stream of consciousness and intimacy, Guo exposes the male violence of whaling, womanliness, the complexity of identity and gender through a (diverse) crew who have their own secrets and our Ishmaelle, whose bodies and souls are impacted by the turbulent reality and brutality.
Ishamelle is a mute witness and her journey of self-discovery allows us to know more about ourselves. There is a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale that invites intentional reflections on nature, human nature and animals, diving into the essence of evolution and relationships with a touch of wildness. The reflection incorporates a richer tone with the Chinese culture permeated into the thoughts, yet, the scattered nature often went over my head and some parts can feel repetitive.
CALL ME ISHMAELLE is for those who enjoy a thought-provoking voyage on a whaling trip. It's both odd and boundless in a way that might demand a reread soon after you finish it.
( ps: there are some triggering parts
ps2: I haven't read the original classic )
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Grove Atlantic . All opinions are my own ]
A reimagining of 'Mody Dick' from a female perspective, this book is moody and mostly vibes - laden with stream of consciousness and intimacy, Guo exposes the male violence of whaling, womanliness, the complexity of identity and gender through a (diverse) crew who have their own secrets and our Ishmaelle, whose bodies and souls are impacted by the turbulent reality and brutality.
Ishamelle is a mute witness and her journey of self-discovery allows us to know more about ourselves. There is a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale that invites intentional reflections on nature, human nature and animals, diving into the essence of evolution and relationships with a touch of wildness. The reflection incorporates a richer tone with the Chinese culture permeated into the thoughts, yet, the scattered nature often went over my head and some parts can feel repetitive.
CALL ME ISHMAELLE is for those who enjoy a thought-provoking voyage on a whaling trip. It's both odd and boundless in a way that might demand a reread soon after you finish it.
( ps: there are some triggering parts
ps2: I haven't read the original classic )
[ I received an ARC from the publisher - Grove Atlantic . All opinions are my own ]
January 19, 2026
This is not a parody or homage to Melville’s “Moby Dick.” Instead, it seeks to insist on a female presence within that novel and perhaps an entire literary tradition that excluded women from epic narratives. Guo’s clear ambition and intelligent approach to interrogating who gets to tell stories and how mythologies are constructed are powerful. As such, her novel succeeds as a provocative and powerful counterpoint to “Moby Dick.”
By recasting Ishmael as Ishmaelle, a woman navigating both the literal dangers of life at sea and the structural violence of patriarchy, Guo turns the canonical adventure into a meditation on power and belonging. Ishmaelle is a compelling protagonist not because she is a dominant heroic figure but because she is intelligent, perceptive and quietly defiant. Guo pits her against a maritime culture that is exclusively masculine and pointedly authoritarian. Ishmaelle’s quiet negotiation with these forces to think, to speak and just to exist is the overriding source of tension in the novel. Guo achieves this elegantly by creating a mood that is primarily contemplative, yet unsettling. Despite moments of high drama chasing and killing whales, Guo chooses restraint and introspection over the grandiosity that marked the Melville original.
By recasting Ishmael as Ishmaelle, a woman navigating both the literal dangers of life at sea and the structural violence of patriarchy, Guo turns the canonical adventure into a meditation on power and belonging. Ishmaelle is a compelling protagonist not because she is a dominant heroic figure but because she is intelligent, perceptive and quietly defiant. Guo pits her against a maritime culture that is exclusively masculine and pointedly authoritarian. Ishmaelle’s quiet negotiation with these forces to think, to speak and just to exist is the overriding source of tension in the novel. Guo achieves this elegantly by creating a mood that is primarily contemplative, yet unsettling. Despite moments of high drama chasing and killing whales, Guo chooses restraint and introspection over the grandiosity that marked the Melville original.
January 13, 2026
I decided to request Guo’s retelling of Moby Dick from a female perspective because I saw a starred review in Kirkus Reviews that said “The depth is worthy of the source, while highlighting a simple point: ‘Men are strange, and dangerous.’ A rich addition to Melvilliana.” I also recently re-watched the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in which Khan quotes three lines from Moby Dick, with the first one slightly changed to make it about spaceships rather than whaling ships:
I’ll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition’s flames before I give him up!
He tasks me; he tasks me, and I shall have him!
To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.
Unfortunately, Guo’s prose is not nearly as impressive, at least in my opinion. I read carefully and these were the best lines I found:
Like a pregnant woman, the Nimrod grew heavier each day. And I grew more excited and anxious in equal measure.
How did a black boy they called cockroach become captain of a whaling ship? How did he turn into Captain Seneca? Truly a puzzle. This Nimrod was the vessel of many untold stories, and so many great souls I had yet to learn about. They were as mysterious as the colossal whales out there.
Honestly, I expected to like the book more than I did. In my opinion, if you are willing to take the time, you are much better off reading Melville’s original story. And if you want a satisfying narrative that lasts less than two hours, then I recommend you watch The Wrath of Khan
Pdf. 448 pgs. 13 January 2026. Published 6 January 2026.
I’ll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition’s flames before I give him up!
He tasks me; he tasks me, and I shall have him!
To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.
Unfortunately, Guo’s prose is not nearly as impressive, at least in my opinion. I read carefully and these were the best lines I found:
Like a pregnant woman, the Nimrod grew heavier each day. And I grew more excited and anxious in equal measure.
How did a black boy they called cockroach become captain of a whaling ship? How did he turn into Captain Seneca? Truly a puzzle. This Nimrod was the vessel of many untold stories, and so many great souls I had yet to learn about. They were as mysterious as the colossal whales out there.
Honestly, I expected to like the book more than I did. In my opinion, if you are willing to take the time, you are much better off reading Melville’s original story. And if you want a satisfying narrative that lasts less than two hours, then I recommend you watch The Wrath of Khan
Pdf. 448 pgs. 13 January 2026. Published 6 January 2026.
May 20, 2025
It’s hard to read this book without thinking of Moby Dick. That’s a pretty trivial thing to say, yet deep if you think about it. Or… nah, just obvious.
That’s my problem with the book, though. It’s kind of obvious, a rather sweet crowd pleaser where people say what they mean and justice is done, written in a series of brief and simple images; it aspires to a depth that the words don’t carry off. Too bad.
That said: there are some fun scenes, the premise and rebooted stuff is fresh and saucy, and there’s nothing so sacred about MD that it’s not worth taking on, literarily. Maybe it’ll be a great movie!
That’s my problem with the book, though. It’s kind of obvious, a rather sweet crowd pleaser where people say what they mean and justice is done, written in a series of brief and simple images; it aspires to a depth that the words don’t carry off. Too bad.
That said: there are some fun scenes, the premise and rebooted stuff is fresh and saucy, and there’s nothing so sacred about MD that it’s not worth taking on, literarily. Maybe it’ll be a great movie!
February 19, 2026
Phenominal book, which turns the story of Moby Dick on its head. Ishmael is a girl wearing boy clothes, the Captain a free black man, the harpoonist a Maori, and the Captain has brought along a Taoist Monk soothsayer.
Nothing about this book is conventional. It is a feminist retelling that addresses sexism, racism, slavery, sexual identity, sexual violence, multiculturalism, religion, and even ecological concerns for the hunted whales.
Nothing about this book is conventional. It is a feminist retelling that addresses sexism, racism, slavery, sexual identity, sexual violence, multiculturalism, religion, and even ecological concerns for the hunted whales.
January 21, 2026
Finished Moby Dick a few years ago and he & his homeoerotic human friends have been haunting me ever since, so of course I had to read this!!
I really enjoyed how rich and descriptive this was, it’s very in par with how Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. Although it’s not as long as Moby Dick, I feel like it still gives us that sickly and hallucinating feel that the original does. Also loved the ending, and Ishmaelle growing and coming to terms on who they might become.
I really enjoyed how rich and descriptive this was, it’s very in par with how Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. Although it’s not as long as Moby Dick, I feel like it still gives us that sickly and hallucinating feel that the original does. Also loved the ending, and Ishmaelle growing and coming to terms on who they might become.
October 19, 2025
It was so hard to put this book down. I was hesitant of this book because reimaginings are hard to pull off well without retelling the original story. This book was super rich in detail without over explaining details. Each word crafted was very well thought out!
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