Regena asked:

Has anyone else here read this book? I really loved so much about it! It touches on so many interesting topics from the era in which it was written: development of various religions in the Americas, whaling, lighthouses, women passing as men in order to experience that world they otherwise could not, cannibalism under duress, oh my! What aspects of the book did you particularly enjoy? Regena

9 likes · like
9 years ago
8 answers

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Thomas Jr. "Moby Dick" has been one of my favorite books for years and years, and when I first learned that there was a novel coming out with the title "Ahab's Wife," I thought the whole idea was absurd. Ahab is such a chillingly majestic figure that I couldn't imagine him in any social arrangement as intimate and personal as marriage. I simply couldn't imagine his finding a woman who could command his notice, respect, or interest any more than I could imagine him in a relationship of convention or convenience with a "normal" woman. It was like imagining a spouse for Beowulf, or Gandalph, or Darth Vader. As a result, Naslund's managing to invent such a woman struck me as little short of miraculous. That's what I enjoyed most-- the brilliance of inventing a plausible character who filled that impossible bill. (To be honest, it's really fun that her bold heroine is a cross-dresser, a lot like Shakespeare's strongest women!) I also loved her seamless incorporation of the history of the whale ship Essex.

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Jez Keighley I was hooked after reading the opening paragraph. For me it's the poetry and the author's love of words.

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Rochelle I read this years ago, one of my absolute favorite books. I was hooked from the first page. I think I need to read it again!

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Heidi I read this book several years ago, and it continues to be one of my all time favorites. I have read nearly everything this author has written, and although they are worthwhile, Ahab's Wife is superior by far. I loved so many things about the story, but the ending is stunning!

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Michelle Loved everything about it. I thought it was very beautifully written. I'm born and raised in MA, but never knew until I met my (now) fiancé, who grew up on the island that Moby Dick was based on a real ship out of Nantucket. I'm glad whaling isn't a thing anymore, but I find the history of it so interesting, and this book just made me love this little island all the more! It was so cool reading a lot of familiar places and family names that are still on the island to this day!

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Jill Baker Apologies for coming late to this conversation, but this is one of my all-time favorites -- beautifully written and so well-paced in weaving a tale that parallels Moby Dick and the rich whaling past in my region. This book was a gift from a daughter-in-law (an avid reader) who I call my "reading consultant." In fact, when I loaned my copy to someone else and never got it back, she replaced it. I was spellbound from the beginning … "taking their bliss (I paraphrase) among the lambs ears"... and the rest is history.

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Susannah You know, I think my favorite aspect was that the novel exists so perfectly alongside Melville's original Moby Dick. It's so immaculately written that it rises far above technically being "fan fiction". I did appreciate and love Moby Dick, despite it being grueling at some parts and angering me at others, and I'm overjoyed that there now exists a feminist answer to it, and such a well-written one at that. It is worthy of having the name Ahab in its title.

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