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Moby-Dick or, The Whale

Herman Melville

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

Discussion: Moby Dick

Why we're reading this: January 2017 Group classic selection.
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Moby Dick

* Moby Dick - Chapters 106-Epilogue
By Dianne · 48 posts · 39 views

last updated Mar 10, 2018 10:49AM

* Moby Dick - Chapters 82-105
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last updated Mar 08, 2018 01:56PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 21, 2011 Everyman rated it it was amazing

You know you should read it. You know you really should. And you're aware, sadly, that knowing the opening three words doesn't count as having read it.

But you would rather clean out the garage, something else you know you should do, than face chapter after chapter of arcana about whales and whaling. Between which you would rather do, reading Moby Dick or undergoing a root canal, you would have to toss a coin.

I know. I really do know. I was there. I was you.

But my reading group, feeling bravery You know you should read it. You know you really should. And you're aware, sadly, that knowing the opening three words doesn't count as having read it.

But you would rather clean out the garage, something else you know you should do, than face chapter after chapter of arcana about whales and whaling. Between which you would rather do, reading Moby Dick or undergoing a root canal, you would have to toss a coin.

I know. I really do know. I was there. I was you.

But my reading group, feeling bravery in numbers, and all ashamed to admit, once it was suggested, that they really didn't want to read it, picked Moby Dick to read. So I was stuck. No more excuses. No more putting it off (when you've passed 60, putting off both becomes easier and has a more final feel to it.)

Enough palaver. So I read it. And now I can tell you, so should you. Not as a duty, not because it's a classic, but because it's a marvelous read.

Oh, yes, the whale stuff is all there. Why? Well, the 19th century was an age of scientific discovery, an age when there was no Discovery channel, no Sea World, no whale watch cruises. If you wanted to know about whales, you either had to go on a long and dangerous sea voyage, or you had to read Moby Dick. Melville is the Encyclopedia Britannica of whales.

And whaling was a vital industry for the Industrial Revolution. Petroleum hadn't yet been discovered, or at least its meaningful properties weren't known. Whale oil fueled the lamps of the Industrial Revolution. It oiled the machines of the Industrial Revolution. Whalers wee the oil field roughnecks of their day. Think of our world without oil or gasoline. That was the 1850s without whale oil.

Yes, you can skim over those chapters, but you'll be missing some really interesting information and understanding of a vital chapter in American history.

But Moby Dick is a lot more than whales. A whole lot more. It is, on its surface, an adventure story at sea with a cast of characters you have to read to believe. But beneath that, and not very far beneath, it is a philosophical treatise on the values of our developing pre-Civil War nation. It is the ultimate multi-cultural novel. It delves into religion, economics, sociology, psychology -- you name it, it's in there. The chapter on The Whiteness of the Whale is one of the most profound essays on semiotics to be found outside of a linguistics textbook (and in Moby Dick, you can understand it). (If you don't know what semiotics is, go look it up, don't just brush by it -- how do you expect to learn things if you won't look them up?)

Melville deals with the social dynamics of a small group of men cooped up on a small ship facing weeks of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror. He deals with hatred and revenge and the sane-madness of obsession. He has created a cast of characters more diverse than and every bit as interesting as I have seen in any other novel I have ever read other, perhaps, than the Canterbury Tales.

So. You can clean out the garage. Or you can read Moby Dick. (Of, if you're an exceptionally disciplined person, you can do both. But that's not likely, is it?) If you clean out the garage, it will stay clean for maybe a month. If you read Moby Dick, it will stay with you for your lifetime. It's up to you. What's more important to you, a clean garage or wisdom?

Choose wisely.

...more

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Aug 11, 2013 Lisa rated it did not like it

Shelves: classics, adventure, american-classics, b-n-50, guardian-1000, bbc-100, norwegian-book-club

This book was truly hideous!
Melville is talented, brilliant even; but chapter after chapter of whale massacre and dismemberment is just not my cup of tea.
Yes, the message is powerful. Yes, it is unforgettable.
But this book needs a warning: Not to be read by any old softies that believe animals have feelings.

9 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Laurel Bradshaw rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, chunky-plus-600, 2024-reading-lists, 19th-century, themes-moby-dick, sea-stories, 2022-random-lists, 2023-reading-lists

Long, rambling, and something of a sea monster of a book. Called by one early critic "a chowder of a book," I would have to agree. At times it is brilliant, laugh out loud funny, thought-provoking, philosophical, and I can certainly appreciate all the historical detail. It's just not a subject I have any great interest in, or affinity for. Is it the greatest American novel ever written? It is certainly iconic, and I am glad that I have made the effort to finish the whole thing. Repeated exposure Long, rambling, and something of a sea monster of a book. Called by one early critic "a chowder of a book," I would have to agree. At times it is brilliant, laugh out loud funny, thought-provoking, philosophical, and I can certainly appreciate all the historical detail. It's just not a subject I have any great interest in, or affinity for. Is it the greatest American novel ever written? It is certainly iconic, and I am glad that I have made the effort to finish the whole thing. Repeated exposure would probably raise my rating quite a bit, but I don't plan to revisit this one.

The audiobook was narrated by Frank Muller, who did a wonderful job.

2024 update: Well, 12 years later I did revisit this using two online resources: http://www.powermobydick.com/ and https://www.mobydickbigread.com/
The first one is the full text with many (very colorful) annotations. The second one is Moby Dick with each chapter read by a different person (men and women). Some I had heard of - most not. There is also artwork accompanying each chapter. It was an interesting experience!

Book Description: The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out a specific whale—Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge.

In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is also a profound inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.

Opening lines: "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." ...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Nicola rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books

This is a re-read that I have been promising myself for several years. My first attempt at Moby-Dick was not a success. Whether it was time constraints, age or it just 'wasn't the right time' I didn't enjoy it at all. Like so many I got tangled up in rope and smothered in whale blubber and finishing it became a chore.

I'm always a bit sad when I read a true classic and decide that I really don't like it, especially when I read so many reviews which acknowledge the books difficulties but insist th This is a re-read that I have been promising myself for several years. My first attempt at Moby-Dick was not a success. Whether it was time constraints, age or it just 'wasn't the right time' I didn't enjoy it at all. Like so many I got tangled up in rope and smothered in whale blubber and finishing it became a chore.

I'm always a bit sad when I read a true classic and decide that I really don't like it, especially when I read so many reviews which acknowledge the books difficulties but insist that the sheer brilliance of the writing make even the boring bits bearable. So, I decided that I would have another attempt at this leviathan, but if it didn't work out a second time I'd give up for good. I'm no Ahab.

This around I was more prepared and I was in no hurry. I listened to Anthony Heald's audio recording and re-read sections as I slowly moved through it as well as doing some extra research on Schmoop for any deeper meanings which I may have missed.

Mr Heald greatly impressed me with his audio of Crime and Punishment but it took a little longer to appreciate Moby-Dick, his voice sounded very different and the whole reading seemed flatter. Later I realised that it suited the work perfectly, the voices sounded sea-doggish, Herman Melville's lyrical prose came alive and the steady cadence helped me drift away in a semi somnolent doze during the more uninteresting passages. And there still were many of those. I found that I was more interested in the whaling life this time around but I will admit to tuning out on the odd occasion.

Once I was through the middle section I realised I was rather hooked. Rather than listening to the audio with a sort of penitential air I was actually letting other books take a back seat so keen was I to get another update in this great whale adventure. The last few days of listening were especially exciting; I finally came to appreciate Ahab and experience something other than frustration and annoyance. His monomaniacal drive and connection to his crew gave me an emotional gut punch at the very end as I grieved for the fate of the doomed Pequod.

I'm very glad I gave this another go. And I'm also very glad that I tried it as an audiobook with such an excellent reader as Anthony Heald.

...more

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Sep 02, 2021 Glynis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: pigeonhole

Read this mammoth novel whilst listening to the brilliant Moby Dick Big Read project from 9 years ago, each chapter being read by a different person. My favourite narrator was Benedict Cumberbatch; what an amazing voice he has. I’m going to look him up on Audible, for sure.

I loved the characterisation at the beginning of the novel, when Ishmael met Queequeg, in often humorous scenes. However much of the novel is made up of a heavy dissection of whales, almost to the point where it felt invasive, ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Drew rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-it

This took a while. It was not at all what I expected but more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It's very wordy and most of it is about whaling and ships rather than what I thought was the "plot" and I used that word advisedly. ...more

1 like · Like · see review