Customer Reviews

Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics). Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Tony Tanner. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 (1st published in 1988). Paperback. lii + 527 pages. ISBN: 0199535728.

The Oxford World's Classics series has established a reputation for publishing excellent editions and this book is no exception. Besides being given a text of 'Moby Dick' which follows the American first edition of 1851, supplementary material includes a Bibliography, a Chronology of Herman Melville, an Appendix containing some curious letters of Melville to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Explanatory Notes, and a truly superb 20-page Introduction by the editor, Tony Tanner.

Moby Dick has been described as one of the greatest books in the English language and anyone who starts to read it will soon agree that is also one of the most profound and perplexing of books because ultimately it has to be seen as dealing with the most difficult problem of all, the problem of existence. The struggle to understand 'Moby Dick,' however, has in our case been greatly eased by Tony Tanner's wonderfully insightful and informative Introduction.

A great deal of literary criticism is, sad to say, not particularly helpful. I know because over the years I've had to read innumerable Introductions, and critical essays and articles, and there are few that one comes away from with a truly enhanced understanding of their subject.

I can assure readers, however, that Tony Tanner's Introduction is an outstanding exception; it is a truly brilliant and valuable piece of criticism, solid and thorough and with not a wasted word, and is itself so far as I am concerned worth the price of the book. It is, however, aimed at more sophisticated readers and is certainly not something one could recommend to the inexperienced, though this should not be held against it as a fault.

After reading it, rather than being baffled by just what Melville was getting at in his vast philosophical "Prose Epic on Whaling," I was left in awe at just how much of the book's mystery Tanner's thorough and insightful analysis had succeeded in clarifying. Readers who bypass his Introduction will be doing themselves a great disservice.

This is one of the greatest novels in the English language. Yes, it digresses and digresses and digresses. Yes, there are passages about whaling that go on and on and on. Yes, there are passages you read and wonder, "Why is this IN here?" But all of that stuff ... well, it's sort of the POINT of the whole thing, isn't it? I mean, is there a more complete book? Melville was a genius, I think, a writer who could enthrall you even as he tested your patience. And the characters! Unforgettable.

That said, I don't know when I'll return to it. It IS an overwhelming book. I've also read John Milton's "Paradise Lost," and while that was an epic poem, I find similarities here. It was several years before I could return to Milton's poem, after having read it the first time. By contrast, I've gone back to things like "Hamlet" and to modern novels such as "Sometimes a Great Notion" more often.

Perhaps it's the totality of the experience. Will I re-read Melville's novel? Yes. Someday. For now, it rests in my memory.

moby dick is a well written classic about a aspiring waler named Ishmael who sets off on a journy aross the 7 seas in a hunt for "MOBY DICK" the infamous sperm whale. The cast of characters Melville creates intrigues me. his plot line sometimes unpredictable gets you to a good climax and great ending. Melville way of writing is not for the faint of heart his may plot twists kept me begging for more.the language is some times hard to follow but all in all i really liked it and recommend it.

I read Herman Melville's Moby Dick because I wanted to read Ahab's Wife. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund can stand alone, but I'm just like that. Honestly, my first impression after finishing Moby Dick was disappointment. Melville created eccentric, inimitable and yet completely believable characters and put them in an intriguing situation and then abandons them for hundreds of pages to include every single particular point about the variety of whales, the anatomy of whales, and the science of whaling. I actually enjoyed learning about it but I felt that the tale got lost amidst the minutiae of factual details. However, when Melville does get to the heart of the story it is fascinating, riveting, and emotionally moving and it is clear why Moby Dick is often considered the greatest American novel. The emotional conflicts between characters and themselves are Shakespearean in scope and ultimately Captain Ahab's monomaniac desire for revenge against the beast results in tragedy (I hope I didn't ruin it for you).

As much as I hate to criticize a classic, this book was extremely difficult to get through. I read because I enjoy it but sadly this book was a chore. The story starts out with an intriguing plot, then it goes awry when the author inexplicably inserts chapter upon chapter discussing whale anatomy, whale history, whale legend, a dissertation on the whaling industry and more. Then the story starts up again only to be interrupted by more chapters on the science of whales. By that time, I had lost all interest in the story. After reading another reviewer, I skipped to the last 3 chapters which completed the story. This book obviously presents a very interesting story--it just does so in such a strange way that I can't believe this book became as popular as it did. If there is an abridged version of this book that eliminates the whale facts, I'd recommend it over the full version. Three stars is generous.

Quite simply put, "Moby Dick" is the "Fight Club" of the 1850's, but better because it is more faithful to its concepts, ideas, and convictions than is Fincher's film. Melville was very critical of the way 19th-century American capitalism subsumed democratic impulses for its own chaotic agenda, but readers during his time didn't like that kind of lecturing. Melville saw his own family's wealth and stability destroyed by the dictates of American capitalism and wrote a book about how the system teeters onward. And in that system, according to Ishmael, "Who ain't a slave?"

"Moby Dick" is a truly dangerous book. Read it! Reading it is not simply about being able to brag to others about having gotten to the end of a thick book that is considered in "blinkered" circles a "classic." It's about the the pleasure of reading between the lines on nearly every page. Whitman said it best: "Wake up, slaves."

A notoriously hard read. So many subtle layers here. It wasn't an immediate hit when originally published. In fact Melville was mostly forgotten to time, until his short unpublished manuscript Billy Budd Foretopman was found and published in the early 20th century.
The now famous begining line, "Call me Ishmael" begins with the Biblical reference to Issac and Ishmael. Ishmael being decieved in the Bible, but ultimately comes out on top. The same is true of Melvilles Ishmael.
Although critics praise Billy Budd as Melville's best work. I've even seen it described as the perfect novel. I disagree, Moby Dick is Melville's opus. I would even go so far as to call it an Amercian Epic. The characters are almost one dimensional in their manical quest (Enter Ahab). Starbuck is basically Ahab's counter conscience, but ultimately loses the battle to keep Ahab sane. Along with character developement, Melville's descriptive powers are formitable to say the least. His knowledge of whaling and sailing is impeccable as well.
Herman Melville has given us a dark slow burn into insanity by all involved, even Ishmael, only to leave him alive to tell the tale of the white whale whom Ahab has poured all his malice into and paid the price for attempt to defy nature in his quest for revenge. Epic plain and simple.