Moby-Dick (Vintage Classics) [Paperback]

One of the most famous and celebrated novels ever written, Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" is a towering novel in world literature whose legendary story of the doomed whaling ship the Pequod sets off with its mad captain, Ahab, at the helm to destroy the fabled white whale, Moby-Dick, is so well known that most people who've never read the book know what it's about.

I was one of these people and, having read it, I can say that that's a pretty succinct summary of the book. But that said, there are lots of moments in the book I wasn't aware of and was surprised to discover in reading it.

First off, I approached this book knowing most of the characters and the general story so it was great to read the most famous opening lines in literature - "Call me Ishmael" - and be introduced to the familiar cast of characters I'd never met before. From Ishmael to Queequeg, to Starbuck, the ship Pequod and Ahab, I found it thrilling to meet them one by one and find subtleties in their characters that you won't know unless you read the book.

I was surprised at how gay the book is. The first 100 pages takes place in Nantucket where Ishmael hasn't signed up to the Pequod and is waiting around. He takes a room in an overbooked inn agreeing to share the bed of a "savage" called Queequeg. Not that sharing a bed with a man is gay exactly but Ishmael and Queequeg quickly become fast friends, looking forward to bed time where they touch knees and noses and tell each other secrets (really). Ishmael even says on more than one occasion that he feels "married" to Queequeg and comforted by his arms waking up in them. Plus the book's title has "dick" and it's about a white sperm whale...

Anyway, hilarity aside, I found myself enjoying this strange book. While they were in port at least, and even when Ishmael and Queequeg sign up to the Pequod but then they ship out and the book comes to a grinding halt. The edition I read was 625 pages long and the Pequod sets sail somewhere around page 200; for the next 300, maybe more, pages Ishmael (or more accurately Melville) decides to tell the reader everything there is to know about whaling, no matter how obscure or dull or esoteric.

He tells you about whales and the different types of whales and the differences between the whales, from the diameter's of their fins, to the way they're cut up once killed, and so on. Then he talks about the instruments used in hunting whales - I can't even begin to describe what these are but my goodness take my word when I say he is very thorough in talking about them. How they were made, what they're made of, what their purpose is, how to clean them, how to store them, this is all explored. Famous whaling cases? He goes into this as well. He mentions how big an industry whaling is (and it was in the 1850s, the fifth largest industry in America though once petroleum was discovered to have many uses, whale oil faded out and by the beginning of the 20th century the whaling boom was finished for good) and the many uses whale oil has.

I've barely scratched the surface of the kind of tedious details any fiction reader doesn't give a damn about but be warned all ye who enter here: there are many hundreds of pages of utterly unnecessary, pointless and skull crushingly boring detail wedged between the real story.

The real story being why the book has endured so long, and it really is quite good. From the time they leave port, if Melville had gone straight from that to an incident or two of killing whales, skipping about 300 pages of rubbish, and then onto the final confrontation between the Pequod and Moby-Dick, I'd be singing this book's praises and giving it five stars. As such, don't believe anyone who tells you this is an unputdownable adventure read. They're lying to you. Nobody who has read the unabridged version would in their right mind think that reading about the role of buckets in the ship's hold or a 5 page description of a whale's blow hole is in any way interesting, not even remotely.

Having said that, I'm glad I read it. There were moments I genuinely enjoyed reading it from the way Melville describes the whaling town of Nantucket, to the complex and fascinating relationship between Ahab and Starbuck, to the final words of Ahab as he faces his doom in the face of the white whale ("from hell's heart I stab at thee!"). That said, I don't think I would ever read this again, or at least I would skip most of the passages I know are about things unrelated to the story of these characters and of no interest whatsoever to me.

So it's a pretty big hurdle to anyone coming to this book. If you're a student of literature like me, willing to face down the leviathan that is this book, you're going to read this anyway, there's no way a book of this magnitude will get past you without finding out for yourself what it's like and making up your own mind. But for the casual reader, out for a good read, some fun? Stay well away from this book. It will cause frustration and more skim-reading than you'll ever do for any other book.

If only Melville had had an editor...

A REVIEW OF `MOBY DICK' BY HERMAN MELVILLE

Herman Melville's `Moby Dick' is a novel that requires no elaborate introductions. Since its arrival in 1851, it has established itself as a giant among American literature. That it remains in print in so many forms and courtesy of so many distinguished publishers speaks volumes for the book's longevity. Among the `classics', it is very much a "must read".

In terms of plot, the entry for a recent showing of the 1956 movie offered the following succinct summary: "Faithful telling of the classic novel in which an obsessed sea captain sets sail to seek revenge upon a whale that bit his leg off." Yes, folks, that's pretty much it. However, it is the brilliantly-evocative STORY-TELLING of `Moby Dick' that makes it stand out from the crowd. Melville's written style and word-play is wonderfully rich and enticing. The story is narrated by Ishmael, who signs up for Captain Ahab's whaling/revenge mission with a range of fellow misfits and ne'er-do-wells. Among the best passages are the opening chapters centred in Nantucket before the voyage aboard The Pequod. Ishmael's arrival in town, his stay and The Spouter Inn and hearing of a sermon at a Whaleman's Chapel (the one about Jonah and The Whale no less!) are all described with a remarkable realism that propels the reader into the time and place. We can almost hear the creaking floorboards, feel the oppression of the storm-filled skies and smell the salt in the air. Likewise, the concluding chapters tell the story of the hunt for Moby Dick with breath-taking grit and pace with foaming water seemingly flooding out of the pages. There is tremendous crescendo of foreboding, then chaos and then calm which lingers long after the story ends.

The plot of `Moby Dick' is only one facet of the novel. Based upon Melville's own experiences, a large proportion of the book is a factual recounting of the business of whaling in the mid-1800s. As such, there are chapters devoted solely to the equipment on board The Pequod, such as `The Line', and many devoted to the processing and dissecting of a dead whale's carcass, such as `The Tail'. Whilst simultaneously gruesome and interesting, such sections do inevitably encroach upon the unfolding story and explain my trimming of a star from the final x/10 total. Such a criticism could equally be made of Alexandre Dumas' `The Three Musketeers' if he had interrupted the tale with chapters devoted to the forging of duelling swords, differing types of blade and the anatomical analysis of how best to skewer an opponent!

Nevertheless, such criticisms really stem from the fact that the factual information that bulks-up `Moby Dick' can be found through a variety of other sources today, whereas in 1851, Melville's whaling descriptions would have been uniquely insightful to most readers. Therefore, ignoring the stuttering pacing of the novel, `Moby Dick' continues to exist as a sprawling, fascinating and truly epic tale that can be enjoyed on a variety of levels. Indeed, those striving for meaning will enjoy pondering the significance of the frequent religious and mythical symbolism, whilst others will simply thrill to the passages describing the pulsating power of a whale at sea.

Thus, although it demands patience and persistence, `Moby Dick' truly remains a whale of a tale.

Barty's Score: 9/10

This wasn't that particularly popular in Melville's lifetime, and indeed a lot of books that he wrote weren't but in a revival of his works in the 1920's more notice and a greater appreciation of what he wrote came to be taken. Now rightfuly considered a masterpiece, not just amongst his works but of world literature it is amazing that so many people know the basic story but haven't read it. Being one of my favourite novels I usually end up reading it approximately every eighteen months or so, and am always in awe. There is just so much to take in with this fantastic tale.

There is admittedly one section of the story that you may want to skip and that is when Melville goes on about the classification of whales etc. This part could possibly stop you finishing the book. I myself don't read this part any more but then I have read it countless times before. There is so much more than just Captain Ahab wanting to get revenge on the whale that lost him his leg, the whole story is full of imagery and symbolism, and although not everyone likes such things this story draws you in fully, keeping you deeply absorbed. There is just so much here that you can never really tire of reading it, you will always come across something different that you may have missed before.

Melville was way ahead of anyone else writing at the time when he penned this that his genius was somehow overlooked. This book is like an onion with its many layers that you can peel back and find yet more subtleties. A definite book to read before you die.