Moby-Dick (Bantam Classics)

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It's a hit!

Surprisingly... I really enjoyed it. I have been attempting to correct the classic literature difficiency that I experienced in high school. But I ... (show more)

Surprisingly... I really enjoyed it. I have been attempting to correct the classic literature difficiency that I experienced in high school. But I have often been disappointed with what is deemed 'classic'. Melville can tell a story, though, even while expressing his deeper meanings. The characters were colorful, and the prose often extremely insightful and rich without being cliche. I ended up skipping the several large chapters describing whales. I tried to read them - I really did. But it was just so uninteresting and often difficult to visualize, and seemed to have absolutely no bearing on the story itself... so... I skipped them. I did find the end to be a little anti climactic. There it went - Ahab, his whale, and the ship - all in barely a page. So much build up, to only have it all dashed apart in such a shortage of ink... I mean - 40 pages describing the whale's bone structure, and 40 words describing the death and distruction of dear conflicted Ahab and the ship! I felt a little... stranded. But this is still one 'classic' I would highly recommend. (show less)

 

 

by Little White Dove

No, it's a flop!

It was a flop in Melville's day, and it was a flop when I read it. This was my second time reading through Moby-Dick and I was thrilled to have mat... (show more)

It was a flop in Melville's day, and it was a flop when I read it. This was my second time reading through Moby-Dick and I was thrilled to have matured enough in my comprehension ability to be able to appreciate the humor Melville injected in the storyline. Overall though I was dissatisfied with the chase of the white whale and the ending. I feel the prose was much too dense to give a sense of the true darkness and evil Melville was trying to express. The constant changing of narrative was occasionally refreshing- but more often just plain irritating to sift through. What really feels like an injustice is the epilogue; a half-hearted attempt to explain Ishmal's survival, which was constantly nagging at my thoughts and prevented me from being able to accept the complete destruction of the Pequod and her crew. This of course is simply and expression of my disappointment/frustration that I waded through chapter after chapter on whaling to even reach such a dismal ending. Sure, it was interesting to some extent- but it lost the thread of the story and confuses the reader on it's actual [nonexistent] significance. I'm sure had he had the time, Melville would have screwed up Billy Budd as well. If you plan on reading this- don't be ashamed to skip over a 1/3 of the book dealing on sperm whale hunting and processing, you wont miss anything. (show less)

 

 

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  Moby Dick é sem dúvida um grande livro! Não me refiro apenas ao tamanho físico da coisa (li numa edição da Europa-América de um só volume que pesava chumbo), mas também ao conteúdo do mesmo. A famosa baleia branca aparece apenas a 40 páginas do fim, ou seja, passadas já 620 páginas de histórias de cachalotes e de lobos do mar, depois de termos aprendido tudo o que se pode fazer com um cachalote, a distinguir as várias espécies de baleias e decorado todas as citações famosas, desde a Bíblia à ... (show more)

  Moby Dick é sem dúvida um grande livro! Não me refiro apenas ao tamanho físico da coisa (li numa edição da Europa-América de um só volume que pesava chumbo), mas também ao conteúdo do mesmo. A famosa baleia branca aparece apenas a 40 páginas do fim, ou seja, passadas já 620 páginas de histórias de cachalotes e de lobos do mar, depois de termos aprendido tudo o que se pode fazer com um cachalote, a distinguir as várias espécies de baleias e decorado todas as citações famosas, desde a Bíblia à literatura do séc. XIX, que incluíam referências às baleias (ou leviatãs, se preferirem). Em termos de história, o narrador é um baleeiro, na sua primeira viagem de caça à baleia, totalmente fascinado pelo cachalote e semelhantes. Ele conta-nos o desenrolar de uma viagem a bordo de uma baleeira do séc. XIX, descrevendo todas as relações que unem os diferentes homens a bordo e respectivas funções. Ficamos a conhecer bem a sociedade baleeira americana desse século. Além disso, transmite-nos uma quantidade enorme de informação acerca das baleias, desde morfologia e hábitos alimentares a soluções de aproveitamento de todo o material que elas fornecem. Reservo a minha opinião acerca da validade científica de todas as afirmações. Mas esta é a história do capitão Acab, velho capitão cuja perna foi arrancada pela baleia branca, esta é a história da sua sede de vingança e de como tudo está disposto a arriscar tudo e todos nesse propósito. A baleia branca representa muita coisa neste livro. Representa a cegueira do homem em busca do seu objectivo idealizado, arrastando tudo e todos para tal, representa a pureza da natureza e o modo como é dizimada, representa a maldade crua e animal no coração de todos nós, representa o que somos, o que queremos ser a a que custo. Há mil e uma maneiras de ver Moby Dick (eu acho). De qualquer modo, é um grande livro, épico mesmo. Empolgante, entusiasmante. Pode por vezes fartar com a informação acerca das baleias mas isso faz parte do encanto e de como entramos na mente quase obcecada do marinheiro. Podem achar que 600 e tal páginas de um barco à volta no mar é de mais, pode parecer que é mas não é verdade. É um livro que vale, sem dúvida, pena ler. Atenção: este livro poderá gerar uma vontade inexplicável de fazer whalewatching e ver esse monstro marinho ao vivo (ainda que seja numa versão cinzenta e mais normal da coisa), o que sem dúvida é uma actividade fantástica. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Nov 16, 2009 at 01:15PM

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  Moby Dick is perhaps the greatest masterpiece in American Literature. While on the surface it is a story of a man's search for a whale, It is in fact the story of a human being and his struggle with his own soul. It is the tagic tale of the
  A man,s struggle with his percieved enemy. In his search to destroy the White Whale, he does in fact destroy himself. There are no attempts at humor in this book. It is meant to be a dark tale of a souls destruction. There is much debate as to the s... (show more)

  Moby Dick is perhaps the greatest masterpiece in American Literature. While on the surface it is a story of a man's search for a whale, It is in fact the story of a human being and his struggle with his own soul. It is the tagic tale of the
  A man,s struggle with his percieved enemy. In his search to destroy the White Whale, he does in fact destroy himself. There are no attempts at humor in this book. It is meant to be a dark tale of a souls destruction. There is much debate as to the symbolism of the whale, but if you read the reverend's sermon at the beginning of the book, you will understand the theme of the story. Ishmel, whose name mean's wanderer, is meant to represent us all, as we struggle with the meaning of life and of our particular place in the world. I love it for its great beauty and its depth. (show less)

   

  by Facebook User on Jun 04, 2009 at 02:12AM

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