Moby-Dick (Bantam Classics)

The funny thing about this book is that is it absolutely amazing; but there are definately some parts which you either have to take humourously, or just get bored with. A LOT of information on whaling, and also some whaling taxology, with a side of some very strange theories regarding Albino creatures. Nevertheless, the beginning and the end are just so tremendously ground-shaking that this...more

The funny thing about this book is that is it absolutely amazing; but there are definately some parts which you either have to take humourously, or just get bored with. A LOT of information on whaling, and also some whaling taxology, with a side of some very strange theories regarding Albino creatures. Nevertheless, the beginning and the end are just so tremendously ground-shaking that this book still manages to be a definate winner. Read it, if you have the time, because you really will need time for this one.   hide

When I was still in high school I prided myself on leaving no book unfinished. Well Moby Dick broke that mold. I painfully slogged my way until exactly half way at which point I swallowed my pride and asked my English teacher if I could read a different book and thankfully moved on to Persuasion. The convoluted sentences and thousands of unnecessary words make this book difficult from the...more

When I was still in high school I prided myself on leaving no book unfinished. Well Moby Dick broke that mold. I painfully slogged my way until exactly half way at which point I swallowed my pride and asked my English teacher if I could read a different book and thankfully moved on to Persuasion. The convoluted sentences and thousands of unnecessary words make this book difficult from the beginning. Add a plot that involves sitting out at sea and watching whales for months and well--you have what I consider an excruciatingly boring read. To be fair, I only read halfway. Maybe the second half is less word heavy and the plot really picks up. But I sincerely doubt it. I've read plenty of classics, but this one I cannot reccomend.   hide

The iRead section "You may also like" is stupid and completely misleading in this case. You cannot put Moby Dick with adventure novels. For, even if these other books have some insight as well, Moby Dick is not an adventure novel at all. It has something universal and epic that resembles the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is more a theological or philosophical treaty than the story of a hunting trip....more

The iRead section "You may also like" is stupid and completely misleading in this case. You cannot put Moby Dick with adventure novels. For, even if these other books have some insight as well, Moby Dick is not an adventure novel at all. It has something universal and epic that resembles the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is more a theological or philosophical treaty than the story of a hunting trip. If you want to match this book, place it with Homer, Dante Alighieri, John Milton.   hide

Took weeks for me to finish this, it was so tedious. Would have been an interesting read without the whale anatomy lesson, which would reduce the length by about three quarters.

I took this on this summer because it's one of those books that's so iconic....it was okay. I know it's a sin or something but it was boring at parts. I'm not sure it's a book for "pleasure reading". It was definately work to get through. I had to look many things up on the internet because I don't know much about whaling and the various parts of a ship. Also, it's extremely easy to get off track...more

I took this on this summer because it's one of those books that's so iconic....it was okay. I know it's a sin or something but it was boring at parts. I'm not sure it's a book for "pleasure reading". It was definately work to get through. I had to look many things up on the internet because I don't know much about whaling and the various parts of a ship. Also, it's extremely easy to get off track and start a whole research project on one element. (Not great if you have ADD like me!) If you are going to read it, be aware that there is an American version and a British version. I believe the American version is much "racier". Also, it's essential to get an annotated version.   hide

I was mildly disappointed. What a great opening line: "Call me Ishmael". Great names for the characters... but that's about it. All the characters seem to be one dimensional. Ahab with his hate, Queequeg being a badass (unconditionally), Stubb with the humor, Starbuck with the "let's get the hell out of here". Every time the book starts to get really interesting, Melville decides that it's time...more

I was mildly disappointed. What a great opening line: "Call me Ishmael". Great names for the characters... but that's about it. All the characters seem to be one dimensional. Ahab with his hate, Queequeg being a badass (unconditionally), Stubb with the humor, Starbuck with the "let's get the hell out of here". Every time the book starts to get really interesting, Melville decides that it's time to describe the funny bone of the 'fish'. He's got little gems of analogies that are really beautiful, but all of that seems to be wrapped up in the blubber of whale-innard-descriptions that got to me.Well.. the paragraph above is a bit of a high contrast picture of the book. There are finer shades... all I'm saying is that they were lost (or I couldn't see them often enough) in the black and white. I didn't mind so much when the descriptions drew some parallel to life or something, but I guess I had high expectations from a famous book.The ending was well done.   hide

the worst. Imagine a friend telling you about this awesome fight in a bar last night. He spends five hours talking about how awesome this painting on the wall was. Then another 6 about the history of where the statue in the corner came from. Then another 3 about what the tap looks like. And then when he finally gets to describing the fight, he tells you how one of them was wearing a nice shirt...more

the worst. Imagine a friend telling you about this awesome fight in a bar last night. He spends five hours talking about how awesome this painting on the wall was. Then another 6 about the history of where the statue in the corner came from. Then another 3 about what the tap looks like. And then when he finally gets to describing the fight, he tells you how one of them was wearing a nice shirt and jeans and he was staring at the guy's nose ring, and nose rings are awesome, and let me tell you about guys who wear nose rings... so the ring was made of silver and it was round and shiny and the first nose ring came about when ahlkfjafhnak;fjawef;jawf. Oh yeah so the fight: so he hits this guy, and man did he have the biggest fist, scientists classify hand sizes in several categories: big little small and medium. First in the big category... And then he kicks him so hard he hurls. Let me break away from the narrative here and explain to you about martial arts... And then this guy runs away, and this other guy starts trashtalking, and then the guy, he runs to the corner and gives him the biggest punch ever and then they get pulled apart and it's over. so did you have a really good mental image of what happened? yeah, moby dick = the f*cking worst.   hide

Once, years ago and before I'd read it, I was jammed in a car with a couple of people on the way to New York and someone blurted, sans any irony, "...you're not an educated person if you haven't read Moby Dick..." I read it and this is one of the only books I live with - in that sense that people live with Proust - and still open it regulary licking my thumb and turning pages. Things jump...more

Once, years ago and before I'd read it, I was jammed in a car with a couple of people on the way to New York and someone blurted, sans any irony, "...you're not an educated person if you haven't read Moby Dick..." I read it and this is one of the only books I live with - in that sense that people live with Proust - and still open it regulary licking my thumb and turning pages. Things jump out sometimes and remind how well-stitched the words are and, again, sans any irony, makes me stupendously proud to be part of the American literary sensibility. This is the best book Led Zeppelin ever wrote!   hide

Alright, i can't technically say that I've read this book. You see, there were some parts that were so mind numbingly boring to even contemplate reading that i only skimmed. These sections were generally the parts that Melville originally wrote for his encyclopedia type book, but decided "what the heck, now that I'm writing a novel instead I might as well still include it!" Anyway, as you might...more

Alright, i can't technically say that I've read this book. You see, there were some parts that were so mind numbingly boring to even contemplate reading that i only skimmed. These sections were generally the parts that Melville originally wrote for his encyclopedia type book, but decided "what the heck, now that I'm writing a novel instead I might as well still include it!" Anyway, as you might already have gathered, I have a rather low opinion of the book. I seriously don't know how it ever managed to make its way into the realm of the classics. Honestly, the only thing classic about this book is its sheer volume and a few good chapters at the beginning. Melville switches tenses, points of view, and even in one chapter decides to write it as thought it's a script and has the sailors break out into song. And, yes, i am away of the arguments that this is what makes the book a classic, its ingenious ways of crafting together centuries of different styles of literature, but personally i think that that theory is crap. Melville couldn't make up his mind and didn't want to do anything over again, one of the reasons I think he included the encyclopedia entries. And finally my biggest fault with this book the ending, however as to not "spoil" it for you i won't write it here.   hide