Moby-Dick: The Timeless Sea Adventure & Literary Classic (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

Having reached the mid-life point, I didn't "get around to" reading MOBY-DICK until just recently. I'm certainly glad that I finally stopped putting it off. Herman Melville's work is truly one of the most amazing books I have read. As others have pointed out here, it's not always an easy read, but it is well worth devoting time to. Indeed, I approached it as if it were an artisan cheese or a fine glass of wine; I ingested it slowly, savoring it over a period of months. MOBY-DICK is told (mostly) through the eyes of a seaman ("Call me Ishmael"), beginning with his journey to Nantucket to find a job on a whaler and then continuing with his voyage on the Pequod. The initial chapters (minus the introductory matter) are somewhat misleading in that they employ a traditional narrative structure--quite amusingly describing Ishmael's first encounter with the cannibal harpooner Queequeg--and the unaware reader who enjoys this initial rollicking ride may be disappointed with the "digressions" that follow. Once the Pequod sets sail, the narrative adopts the rhythm of a voyage, i.e., long days at sea, labor-intensive with respect to the upkeep of the vessel, but otherwise dull, interspersed with heart-stopping whaling and welcome encounters with other ships. This pattern of life at sea is reflected in the book's structure in this way: the long, uneventful days lend time to the narrator to present the history, science, and art of whales and whaling, while the whaling and ship encounters brings the narration back to a more-or-less (and often less) traditional narrative structure. The core story is well known, and would be familiar even to those who haven't much other knowledge of the work. (Anyone who's seen or read JAWS would recognize the story.) A psychologically scarred and physically mutilated man, Ahab, the captain of the Pequod, is obsessed with exacting retribution against the highly dangerous white whale that made him a cripple, not to mention killing many other men. His loyal first mate, Starbuck, tries to reason with him, but Ahab is unable to respond to reason; Ahab feels that he is acting out a preordained role. MOBY-DICK, which was first published in 1851, is a surprisingly modern work. Melville explores the story using multiple perspectives and various literary devices, most notably inserting chapters written as scenes in a play. An example of this can be observed beginning with Chapter 36, "The Quarter-Deck": This is a seminal chapter in that in it Captain Ahab explains the Pequod's true mission--to kill Moby-Dick--and his personal motivation for doing it: "Aye, Starbuck; aye, my hearties all round; it was Moby-Dick that dismasted me..." Chapters 37-40, which are given sequential temporal titles ("Sunset," "Dusk," "First Night Watch," "Midnight") provide reflections on Ahab's speech to the crew from the perspective of three of the main characters, Ahab, Starbuck and Stubb; these are followed by a chapter written like a script of a musical play and which involves a number of crewmen. There is, in short, considerable exploration of and experimentation in narrative forms. What I found particularly moving were the small, almost painterly touches in Melville's writing, such as the image of a hawk in the far distance dropping Ahab's hat into the sea (Chapter 130, "The Hat"). Also delighting the reader are the intensely cinematic moments, e.g., Starbuck, standing outside Ahab's door and full of angst, ponders murderous thoughts while handling a musket (Chapter 123 "The Musket"). MOBY-DICK is a fabulous piece of art and is veritable literature worthwhile reading.

Great novel in a nice edition with an excellent introduction.

The book that I read was Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. This book is about a young man named Ishmael who wanted to go whaling. He was appointed sailor to the Pequod, the best whaling ship in New England which was led by renowned Captain Ahab. Once at sea Ahab did not show himself for many days, although Ishmael would hear him walking about the deck at night. As time passed, the ship had killed its fine share of whales, but one day Captain Ahab appeared on the ships deck and told the crew to look for a white whale. Captain Ahab told the crew to hunt the great white whale Moby Dick. Some years back Captain Ahab came across this white whale on a voyage; he and his crew tried to kill it but Moby Dick was too powerful for them, ripping off Captain Ahab’s leg. Since then, Ahab has been seeking revenge on the white whale on each and every whaling trip. So the Pequod set sail in search for Moby Dick. Along the way, the Pequod met other ships that reported seeing the white whale. Ahab wanted this whale badly enough to offer a gold doubloon to the first person to spot Moby Dick. Ahab even offered his share of the ship’s profit to the crew if they killed Moby Dick. Once the ship finally found the white whale, the Pequod and its crew put up a long battle against Moby Dick, using all the harpoons and spears they had. In the end, though, Moby Dick destroyed the Pequod and sent Captain Ahab along with his men down into the abyss. This book contained some notable messages. One was probably to never overestimate your abilities. Captain Ahab believed that he and the Pequod would easily overpower Moby Dick, only to find the opposite to be true, for in the end the whale was much stronger than they were. Kober 2 There are numerous major themes in this book, revenge being one of them. Years earlier, Captain Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick, setting him on a course of revenge, leading to his final demise. Another important theme in Moby Dick is Fate versus Free Will. Clearly, Ahab thinks that he is destined to kill Moby Dick, only to eventually discovery differently. Finally, madness ominously runs thoughout the book. What I liked about this book is that is was very descriptive, making it easy to visualize the various scenes in the book. The story line was quite good I thought and made me want to keep reading to see what happens next, however the main story does not kick in until about halfway through book. I believe if someone is interested in stories about whaling and the sea, then this book is made for them. There are great descriptions about the whaling towns, and the ocean. Overall I give this book four stars.

“Poet, painter and philosopher” a reviewer once called Melville. His subject matter and writing style are welded together as firmly as the 12 intertwining steel rods that make up Ahab’s harpoon and the fate of Ahab and the whale itself. The epic process of trawling through until the final confrontation mirrored The Pequod’s journey to same. As the end approached and I caught whiff, through one nostril, of the white whale’s proximity in the final pages, I deliberately slowed down my reading to more fully appreciate the journey, and because by now my reading eyes had synced with Melville’s Shakespearean rhythms, swirling poetry, dry wit, and grandiloquent turn of phrase, the final chapters were more joy than reward. The wit - after the crew had hauled all the heavy oil barrels up on deck: “top-heavy was the ship as a dinnerless student with all Aristotle in his head”. and: “The (whale’s) milk is very sweet and rich; it has been tasted by man; it might do well with strawberries.” The poetic: “In the face of all the glad, hay-making suns, and softcymballing, round harvest-moons, we must needs give in to this: that the gods themselves are not for ever glad. The ineffaceable, sad birth-mark in the brow of man, is but the stamp of sorrow in the signers.” The tormented Shakespearean soliloquizer: “what cozening, hidden lord and master, and cruel, remorseless emperor commands me; that against all natural lovings and longings, I so keep pushing, and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time; recklessly making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I durst not so much as dare? Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is as an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I.” The philosophical: “consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself? For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half known life” And the haughty self-referential: “To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it.” Never was a book’s plot more secondary to its themes. It’s man versus everything; fate, circumstance, demons, ego, expectation, classism, religion, God, nature, empathy, understanding, brotherhood, the universe. An unforgettable and hard-won experience.

Livro novo e entregue sem qualquer dano físico.

El libro llegó un poquito después del día pactado, pero todo bien. El libro es una joya brutal de la literatura.

Great

The quality of the pages and the cover are not ideal.