34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the effort to read, July 13, 2009
This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
I somehow avoided having to read this in high school or college, and wanted to give it a shot. After struggling through the first chapter and growing accustomed to the style of writing in the book, I was rewarded with a very intriguing book. I was surprised by the thoughtfulness and detail of some portions of the book, and surprised by Melville's descriptions of whales -- anthropomorphizing them through detailed discussions of their anatomy and behavior.
Obviously, as a classic, this is available from many publishers. This edition, while still a paperback, has substance to it being printed on quality paper. The font and print quality is good as well. If you are reading a long novel such as Moby-Dick, you'll want to invest in a quality edition such as this one to avoid unnecessary strain on your eyes.
The downside of this edition is the rambling and pretentious introduction that contributes little to helping a first-time reader understand the book. Not everyone who reads classics such as Moby-Dick are literary scholars, and I wish publishers would someday understand that and have a more lively and informative modern introduction.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I'll have to do it again, June 18, 2009
This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
Well, I finally finished it - and as many here have said already, it is an
experience both uplifting and frustrating. There are truly wonderful parts
in the book, and the last few chapters are unbelievable. But, some of
the parts were just too much for me: pages on pages on the categorization
of "whales", and arguments about why they are fish, details about the
properties and use of every part of their body, etc., etc. However, then you are hit
with stuff that you simply marvel over, that lets you see the English language
in a completely new light. Maybe you cannot have one without the other.
In any case, I think I will have to return to this book - one reading is probably
not enough. But it will be a while before I work up my courage
to do it all over again.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whale of a fish story...but, do we get it yet?, February 24, 2011
This review is from: Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)
Do we really "get" Moby Dick?
Quite a body of scholarly work has developed around it since it initially languished until well into the 20th century. But I wonder how well we understand it, yet.
A professor I greatly respected at school, who taught Milton and Shakespeare, referred to it at "that fish story." Others (see reviews here) harp on the cetacean chapters and some readers skip those. And in the age of 150 character messages, Moby Dick presents us with a demanding tapestry or mandala that requires much work to appreciate its vision.
I began to understand it when my brother the architect read it while riding out a high fever while vacationing at the beach. His fever broke and he came down to the beach and plopped in the chair next to me and delivered one of the most knowledgeable discourses I have come across. Unfortunately, it was not recorded and it is now lost to us. But I do remember his general point that Moby Dick's vision is that of a quest to bring the white whale to the surface of our consciousness using all the tools of questing that have been employed through the millennia, including myth, religion, commerce, philosophy, and shamanism, to name a few.
To address the quibble about the scientific quest for the whale, this "boring" diversion can no more be eliminated than the other tools that Melville so deftly employs. For instance, can we rid the story of the The Sermon chapter? And if that, what about the description of Queequeg's shamanism? Or shall we scuttle the passages that describe the commercial elements of the quest, or how about the political debate between Ahab and Starbuck? How can one quest for the quite white whale without harpoons?
Let me confess, I am not familiar with scholarly works that attempt to shed light on Melville's story. I depend on whatever light has been generated through my several voyages through M's account. The chapters on the sperm whale's expansive forehead and on the color white are key to my understanding of the quest for Moby Dick, by my readings do not exclude the value of other approaches. Just the reverse, I think the reader is better served by integrating all the visions of the whale.
It seems to me that the great white whale exists beyond death and is a metaphor (transcendent vehicle) for that truth which is beyond words, beyond life, beyond death. The white whale is an offense to Ahab, not only because of the personal injury that it afflicted upon him, but because the white whale's existence offends his view of the world.
There is little criticism that examines the Eastern influences in the book, at least that I have read. From the beginning when the inherent differences between Queequeg and Ishmael dissolves, to Pip's second overboard experience, but especially the concept of the white whale metaphor, I see the influence of a perspective based on Eastern philosophies, especially those that strive for nondual thinking. Where else do we see the ego annihilated in the recognition of that which is beyond the limits of words and death?
But don't take my word for it, sign aboard the Pequod and make of the journey what you will...bloated fish story...the great American novel...an allegory; it's a most singular trip.
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