Álvaro Carrasquel
asked:
Don´t you think that "In the Heart of the Sea tells perhaps the greatest sea story ever" is so exaggerated? What about Moby-Dick itself?
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In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,
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William Hands
In the Heart is the actual historical story. It may not be the greatest sea story ever, but it certainly trumps a work of fiction based on its own events.
Megan
Moby Dick is the most over-rated book in the history of English literature.
Jennifer Juniper
You are comparing (or asking us to compare) a non-fiction story to a work of fiction inspired by the non-fiction story. That does not make sense to me in any way. For me though, ITHoTS is the greatest true sea story I have read, so I do not consider that statement an exaggeration. But it’s all relative and a matter of opinion. I found it riveting and incredible.
Nihilistic Librarian
I think the exaggeration comes from the first hand accounts of the survivors (one in his 80s looking back on his 15 year old self--we all know from multiple studies done on the human brain how completely and utterly useless our memories are), and the fact that the author did have to insert information that simply wasn't available. I'm enjoying the historical background information, and was devastated at the scene where one of the crew set fire to an island in the Galapagos. That was anything but exaggerated. One person was literally responsible for the destruction of entire species.
If it "took a while" for the story to get going, well, that's because it's about a ship that is sailing from Nantucket to the Pacific Ocean. The top speed any of these men encountered was when they were literally being pulled by whales in their boats.
If it "took a while" for the story to get going, well, that's because it's about a ship that is sailing from Nantucket to the Pacific Ocean. The top speed any of these men encountered was when they were literally being pulled by whales in their boats.
Duston Todd
indeed it's exaggerated. it's a fascinating tale of tragedy and survival based on actual events and facts, though incredibly dry and yeast less facts.
i prefer Moby Dick over this, the poetry and fiction, the embellishment, the painting of man's spirit and madness, the tall tale. yet, Moby Dick, like this book could do with removing the two middle quarters of the book (i enjoy the beginning and the end). and as Megan previously said - it too is over rated.
the best contender to this type of narrative, same in subject matter (lost and sea and survival) and blows these stories out of the water... is Life of Pi.
"which is the better story?"
i prefer Moby Dick over this, the poetry and fiction, the embellishment, the painting of man's spirit and madness, the tall tale. yet, Moby Dick, like this book could do with removing the two middle quarters of the book (i enjoy the beginning and the end). and as Megan previously said - it too is over rated.
the best contender to this type of narrative, same in subject matter (lost and sea and survival) and blows these stories out of the water... is Life of Pi.
"which is the better story?"
Jillian
Moby Dick was because of this story.. I think since there's so much historical background, you have to give it a lot of credit. The big difference is one actually happened, and one was made for readers to be grabbed.
Gary Schantz
Comparing fictional accounts of factual stories makes Moby Dick the exaggerated story due to its dramatic license...a literal fight to the death between a whale and a man being turned into a personal battle between nature and humanity.
Bonnie
I feel that this question is comparing to incomparable things. While the fictional account of Moby Dick has real-world details (as most works of fiction do), there is still the veil of fiction and the knowledge that the events did not occur. However, poetic and compelling Moby Dick is, I feel that the compelling and in-depth research performed by Phillbrick truly captures the events.
In truth, this story and Moby Dick tell two different tales!! Moby Dick takes place in a fictionalized universe before the main events of this work. While Moby Dick is a whale and man chasing each other back and forth, working toward some unreachable goal of man, In the Heart of the Sea mainly captures the survival of the men after the event. This book takes off when Moby Dick ends, making the two incomparable. Looking at it this way and the timeline involved, Moby Dick is completely fictionalized, vaguely grasping details from many 1800s accounts of whales attacking shipping vessels (as described in this work).
In truth, this story and Moby Dick tell two different tales!! Moby Dick takes place in a fictionalized universe before the main events of this work. While Moby Dick is a whale and man chasing each other back and forth, working toward some unreachable goal of man, In the Heart of the Sea mainly captures the survival of the men after the event. This book takes off when Moby Dick ends, making the two incomparable. Looking at it this way and the timeline involved, Moby Dick is completely fictionalized, vaguely grasping details from many 1800s accounts of whales attacking shipping vessels (as described in this work).
Kevin Storm
I The Heart of the Sea is the story of Moby Dick, from the 1st Mate's perspective, vs the Captain's...
Adam Dean
To me it is far less dramatic than I actually anticipated. At first I kept waiting and waiting for them to actually go to sea. Then once they did things happened pretty quick up until the whale attack. After that it felt like you truly were at sea with them. Not because the writing was so great but because the pace seemed so slow .
Arsh Walia
I feel that the book is not over exaggerated because this could happen in real life. Everyone wants to return back to their loved ones, so they'll do anything to go back. But, yes there are parts which could have been shortened, like the part where they found the whale and failed to kill it.
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