I think the reason the Cetology and Whaling chapters aren't dry and boring is because 1. Melville is a great writer, and 2. They draw you deeper into the world, because you are a passenger on the Pequod. Think about it that way, if you were a deckhand with no experience on a Whaling ship, the crew members would probably tell you all this information at some point, and 3. Despite how technical the chapters are on the surface, they are still deeply metaphoric.
In a market saturated by Young Adult fiction , here you are talking about the analogical novel about obsession, democracy, transcendentalism, absurdism and whale hunting. I love this channel
From Chapter 35, the Mast-Head, that crystalized the entire novel for me. "There is no life in thee, now, except that rocking life imparted by a gently rolling ship; by her, borrowed from the sea; by the sea, from the inscrutable tides of God. But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover. And perhaps, at mid-day, in the fairest weather, with one half-throttled shriek you drop through that transparent air into the summer sea, no more to rise for ever. Heed it well, ye Pantheists!"
I read Moby-Dick this summer. It’s absolutely amazing! It’s a philosophical/adventure/epic/universal novel. I find calling it the great American novel is silly. It’s more universalist. It covers ideas and myths from many cultures. Captain Ahab is a Byronic hero, a recreation of Milton’s Satan, and a Shakespearean hero. Ishmael is a philosopher himself. His tirades on whales-interpreted through mythology, history, biology-are lofty and amazing! I stated to my friends, after I finished it, that if William Shakespeare lived in the 19th century and decided to write an epic novel, it would be Moby-Dick. I didn’t find it difficult to read at all! I was engrossed the whole time!
What surprised me about this novel was how funny it was. There were quite a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor that no one warned about before I read it. I need to start highlighting stand-out passages in novels I read so I can reference them later. Thanks for all that you do!
It's true!! With this type of supposedly "heavy, philosophical" novels I always expect the worst, and inevitably you end up realizing that they're much more humane, fun and exciting than expected.
I could not possibly care less for whales and yet I found Moby Dick to be incredibly compelling. Even in chapters dedicated to simply recording the minute, technical details surrounding whaling, I somehow found Melville's prose so engaging that it didn't bore me at all. It's a really strange, difficult-to-categorize read but I absolutely adore it and would recommend it to everyone who loves literature.
About 10 years ago, when I was 40, I spent an entire summer reading Moby Dick. I had a strong background in literature, but never read this brilliant. I read it, made lots of notes in the book, did some more research after finishing it, etc... It is by far one of the greatest works I've ever read.
I am reading this now and I absolutely love it. Thanks for another excellent video where you discuss the book with intelligence and respect for the material and the audience.
Moby Dick, hehe, more like A journey into the mind and the soul as the characters you percieve evolve to both understand themselves and their circumstances as you reflect on their problems in context to your own, finding common solutions by seeing the mistakes the characters make in its half-tragic, half-miracle ending.
My guess on the reason the book has a reputation for being difficult is based on the fact that there are likely many more people who read this because it was an assignment for a class than those who read it for enjoyment. Being forced to read something always made it harder to enjoy for me personally. That said, I got around to this one well after my college years and ended up really enjoying it. The technical chapters went just deep enough to give some great insight into what those men's lives and those times were like to keep me interested. Good call on the Pip connection to Lovecraft!
I've had nothing good to say about this book & several bad attempts at reading it BUT Edmund White talks about it in The Unpunished Vice & your talk about it has me convinced to try 1 more time.
Lovecraft respected the novel a lot and saw perhaps two film versions of it in the cinema. He also had a fascination with whaling, visiting famous centers of whaling like Nantucket. On the Obed Marsh point, that character was inspired by "Lord" Timothy Dexter, an eccentric who wrote 'A Pickle for the Knowing Ones.'
HPL on Melville's masterpiece: "In Moby Dick you've missed something. It is long & digressive, but has a cosmic punch that makes it well worth finishing. And if you know New Bedford & feel the romance of New England whalers you simply can't consider missing it." Letter to J. Vernon Shea. 1933.
I will admit, I read Moby Dick several years back and although I really loved it at first I was one of the folks that got very bogged down in the middle. I feel like it probably took me a year to finish it but stubborn as I am, I did finish it and was glad. After listening to your review I almost feel like I could tackle it again someday;) love listening to your thoughts.
So?! Did you read it again?! Like you, I got very bogged down in the middle but slogged on until the end and was glad I did. Then a few months or maybe a year later I read it again after I had read some interpretations and watched a few more RUclipss on it, and I found it much easier going! One commentator that I listened to said that you can read it from cover to cover and it does work like that but you can also read it like people read the bible; i.e reading just one chapter (many of them are quite short) or maybe just one page or paragraph or even sentence ("Talk not to me of blasphemy man, I'd strike the sun if it insulted me!") and you can find some interesting piece of information or nugget of wisdom! I find it very satisfying to read like this and I always keep a copy on my person so that if I have a minute or two I can just snatch a paragraph or two.
I felt that Moby-Dick the whale is the book Moby-Dick, there is a chapter where the narrator (Ishmael) is trying to interpret the Whale, like a text. I also feel Ahab is a stand in for Melville himself. When Melville was writing the book, he would spend all day in his room and not see his family, his wife would bring him dinner and leave it outside the door and he wouldn't see them for weeks, even months while working on the novel. Melville's estrangement from his family parallels Ahab's estrangement from his. This estrangement occurs because of both men's monomaniacal quest, Melville's pursuit of finishing the novel was as monomaniacal as Ahab's pursuit of the Whale.
I just finished reading MD today, and what a ride! I really, really enjoyed the "birth" scene... And of course the final chapters. I burned through The Chase (1,2&3) like a hot page turner! And I also enjoyed listening to your thoughts in you review, thanks!
The frustrating thing about this book for me was just how enthralled I was with the first 100 pages, and also how great certain other passages were. But Melville simply lost me in all the intricate details about whales & whaling. I don't even wish the novel were shorter- I would have loved to get to know the characters better and hear more about some of the relationships on the Pequod, etc. I can see why it's considered great as there are many truly beautiful chapters. But ultimately I finished Moby Dick feeling very frustrated.
I share your enthusiasm for this Epic MOBY DICK and celebrate the memory of Herman Melville on the 200th anniversary of his Birthday! Thanks for paying a fine tribute to this masterpiece!
The thing I love about MD is how it's comic and sublime simultaneously. The characters and Ishmael's panegyrics about all things Cetological somehow manage to be parodistically exaggerated and authentically grand at the same time.
Took me almost a month to read. There are passages in it that are sublime. It's one of those books that is a real challenge (was for me, anyway) but once you've got it under your belt, you can then go back to favoured passages and get something new out of it each time.
Its just tbe bit where he goes into whales. Can be a bit draining - but obviously one of the best books ever written. I advise everyone to read billy budd!
I read one chapter of Moby Dick per day, and since there are something like 135 chapters in the book it took about 4 months to finish. When I didn't understand a reference or allusion I googled it. If you read Moby Dick in this way, in snatches, I don't think you will find it boring or confusing. The big question: "what did the great white whale symbolize?" D. H. Lawrence decided that Melville himself didn't know. My guess is that the white whale symbolizes the force of nature, whatever that is.
I'm, right now (I mean, not knooow hahaha but currently), reading this book. Some chapters are difficult because of the specific terms. Other ones are reeally exciting! Great video! :)
I am so glad you read and reviewed MB! My favorite American novel. I agree with you that it is about Whales and the whaling voyage. Most of the book takes place on the ship which is like a stage where the players play their parts. I liken all the philosophical musings to the idle time one would spend on such a voyage, when one might fall into speculation about... everything or anything. It is a long novel and a long voyage and we readers find ourselves on board for the long haul! How could there not be speculation about existence mixed with action in such confines. However, I never heard anyone suggest that the philosophical passages might be contrived to interest the intelligentsia... that made me laugh. A good and honest review.
I don't think I would go so far as to say it's lovcraftian but it does dabble in cosmic/existential horror. I really appreciate your thoughts on Melville. If you feel MD is a complex of themes and ideas, I implore you to read The Confidence-Man. The reservoir from where he draws his inspiration is limitless, I swear.
Interesting and thoughtful review: I don't think we need to discuss contemporary gender/queer themes in the same breath as this novel however. I doubt Melville gave it much thought either. I could be mistaken, of course. (But probably not)
I haven’t read this book and never intended to but when I was scrolling through the goodreads comments about Moby Dick I read a long negative review on it and there was one line that made me vow to read this novel someday. The reviewer compared Melville’s writing to Hawthorne’s, and the only difference is that Melville’s goes on for eternity. This was meant negatively for both writers. Since apparently I’m one of the few to actually like Hawthorne, I felt that that comment was uncalled for and now I promised to read it just because of that reviewer’s negativity.
I picked up MobyDick years ago and I was taken in by the beautiful writing in the first page and Ishmael’s description of what the sea and sailing makes him feel. Unfortunately, I put the book down after a few pages. I picked it up again this year and I’m hoping I’ll feel about the novel the way you do
I just read _Moby Dick_ for the first time this past January and loved it, and I love your review. It really is a difficult novel to put into words, but like you, I was totally entranced in the world for (almost) the whole duration of the my reading. Just one note - I would highly recommend the Norton Critical 3rd ed. of the novel. It is a little more pricey, but there are wonderfully helpful and well-researched footnotes, which I found invaluable to understanding the references, etc., and I didn't have constantly flip back and forth, which I prefer. The Norton also has TONS of extra material for those interested, including a short write-up from Jonathan Lethem. Plus, it's got a great cover of Ahab, looking menacing as hell. Great stuff, all around! Thanks again for the great review!
Does anyone else notice how much Moby Dick comes up in V.? The ending especially but I first read V. two summers ago and noticed this fun little parallel (or forced this parallel) between Profane and Ahab. Melville: (Ahab on the Whale) He tasks me; he heaps me; I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him. Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. For could the sun do that, then could I do the other; since there is ever a sort of fair play herein, jealousy presiding over all creations. Pynchon: By the time the sun was going down they'd nearly finished the case between them. Profane was balefully drunk. He got out of the car, wandered off behind a tree and pointed west, with some intention of pissing on the sun to put it out for good and all, this being somehow important for him. (Inanimate objects could do what they wanted. Not what they wanted because things do not want; only men. But things do what they do, and this is why Profane was pissing at the sun.) I know I'm not alone or original in thinking this, I can't be!
It is, definitely, a book about whales. So much whale stuff that I think I at least have a practical knowledge of how to process a dead while, render its oil from its blubber, and where to look for, and the name for, the most prize whale oil. AND, its a really good story, very well told.
Hi, have you read the seventh function of language? It's a novel by Laurent Binet and it sounds like the type of book you would enjoy. It's some sort of homage to Sherlock Holmes and the art of semiotics. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have/will read it!
I loved the book. I read a lot of non-fiction that other people find boring, though. It is written beautifully in parts, with very poetic-albeit cryptic at times-passages. There are many references to religion, which makes one interpret it as an allegory for religious belief at times. Hubert Dreyfus interpreted it as a “return to pagan openness to the sacred”...that isn’t terribly explicit in the book, but also not altogether off base either-I can see why he thought that. I would highly recommend it if you are drawn to lengthy classics and enjoy religious allusions. It is long, but has short chapters, and is totally worth it. Moby Dick is one of, if not *the,* great American novel(s).
I found the novel exhausting, daunting at times and I thought it would never end. Much like the hunt for the White whale I suppose. I didn't really pick up on much of the homo-erotic themes you speak of, but nonetheless your review is spot on. After I finished the book I knew right away I'd have to read it again some day but I pray that's not any time soon. An absolute epic with beautiful prose, I can't help feel that a weight has lifted off my shoulders after the epilogue closed the novel.
Read it out of order, just read it. To those of you who dropped out, get the book out again and randomly pick a chapter that you haven't read and go there. There's writing in the second half of this book that needs to be read.
Oddly this is the one video that always comes to mind when I think of your channel. In this video you get so passionate about this book even though you have good complaints about it. This video makes me want to read the darn thing. At this center I live at, the book was tossed. Oh well.
I didn't care particularly for the book, and I thought it was a tough read. I particularly didn't like how the book changed its tone, like you mentioned, pre- and post the embarkation. In the first part, before they embark the ship, the characters are well introduced and I found both Ishamel and Queequeg interesting, but once the sailing starts, focus is shifted to the other characters on the crew and there's barely any more development in the relationship between these two. In addition, the novel shifts from being a typical novel to a detailed description of the practice of whaling, like you would expect in a non-fiction read, and I don't think that Melville managed to harmonize these two aspects. (In contrast, Sophie's World solves this situation perfectly.) But most of all, and this may certainly be a limitation on my part more than anything else, is that I found the language just too hard, which made it a struggle to read at times.
I think it's a novel with 2 types of reading (at least).. 1 of them is which says it is about whales. This type is adventurous. The other says it's about anything but no whales. And this one is deep philosophising about the Divine and how people relate to it.
I've always wanted to read this and might have to finally pull the trigger on it. Also, I've never read any Lovecraft books do you have any recs for someone just getting into him? thanks
Lovecraft's most anthologized work and the only story he was actually satisfied with himself is "The Color out of Space," It is basically his masterpiece. "Call of Cthulhu" is pretty essential because it has mother@#%$ing Cthulhu. My introduction to Lovecraft was "The Rats in the Walls." Shadow Over Innsmouth" is another good one that features the famous deep ones (fish people). I would also check out At the Mountains of Madness, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Music of Eric Zann, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Out of Time, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. That is 11 stories he wrote over 60 stories, I think these are some of the essential Lovecraft, again I might have missed a few that could be included here.
I'm a month late, and Bum's Manifesto's recommendations are great. My personal Lovecraft's starter pack would include "Dagon," "The Rats in the Walls," "The Silver Key" and "The Call of Cthulhu;" you can read all of these in a couple of hours, and I rank all of them among his very best stuff. You can read them online on the HP Lovecraft archive: www.hplovecraft.com/ But you can also find them in any of the countless collections of his stuff. If you find an edition that includes all four of those, that's what I call A Very Good Sign.
You're a brave man. I tried to read in graduate school, i got pretty far and started skimming... I remember when I got to the chapter all about whale physiology i was like 'i'm done'. Def. wasn't ready for post-modernish leanings back then. You do great reviews by the way; well done. Great t-shirt.
Off the top of my head, there shouldn't be any spoiler in here, but it will probably make more sense to wait until you've read the book (unless you were looking for encouragement, which is fine!, and in which case: absolutely do read Moby-Dick!)
Amazing author with an amazing story. I like to take the book for the story of the wild, mysterious whale and a distracted, wayward, old man whelmed in revenge. I can definitely imagine Lovecraft adoring this novel. As far as the philosophy, etc., I see it but enjoy the monster of the sea story more. Anyone could read anything into it but what’s better than wasting your life for 40 years away from your family chasing a sea monster who physically maimed you?
A dissenting voice : I was very much looking forward to reading Moby Dick, and the opening sections were atmospheric and gripping. Then the book turned into a handbook on 19th century whaling, offering me more information than I needed to know (I was already aware of the bloody nature of whaling, and of flensing etc) so much so, that I eventually got bored with it, not least that some of his whale facts were less than accurate. These sections seemed tacked on, the nautical information did not arise from the narrative as they do in other seafaring tales (eg We, the Drowned). If the passages of information had been much the shorter part of the book, I would have been OK with it, but unfortunately, the plot ground to a halt and belatedly jerked back into life for the grand finale, when I was pretty much past caring. Tolstoy inserted chapters of historical and philosophical musings in War and Peace, but thank heavens, they amounted to a fraction of the plot. Same with The Name of the Rose, where understanding the historical and religious movements were vital to appreciating what Eco was doing, but they didn't take over. I have to say that therefore I found MD poorly constructed as a novel and not as insightful as I was lead to believe. I've read it, but would never recommend it.
I just read this novel for an American romanticism class last fall and I totally agree that it has its faults. The plot absolutely stalls out and it is difficult to care at the end when it starts again. I think this is what makes it so hard to read because the construction at first is conventional and when it stops being an adventure story, it’s hard to appreciate it. But I’m curious why you think it’s not insightful? Do you think Melville’s really not saying anything in the “boring bits” at all?
@@marisamoore8326 It's because so many people enthuse about its insight into the human condition, but personally, I just don't see it. All that can be said is that one man develops an all consuming and ultimately fatal obssession and that's the sum of it. Lolita, Pale Fire, The Postman Always Rings Twice and others, do that job much better IMO.
What does a book need to do then, to make you recommend it, since you will "never do it"? Comparing Melville with 20th century writers shows, first of all, quite an amount of naiveté, plus it is disrespectful as well as arrogant. I couldn't care less if you love or hate this book, and if you don't like MD because Eco's books show clearer/better structure, so be it ... but please note, this does not make you sound smart, on the contrary, it makes you sound pretentious and superficial. Cheers.
Sielose I’m very confused by your message. Why does referencing 20th century writers make op naive, disrespectful, and arrogant? Plus the reasons they gave for not liking the book are valid. I’m confused by what you mean “What does a book need to do then, to make you recommend it, since you will ‘never do it.’” Op doesn’t seem overly picky for not liking the pacing or whaling scenes.
@@marisamoore8326 If I'd wanted to look at an older book, I could have mentioned Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, very much a novel about obssession, better constructed, but with a hero so snivellingly self indulgent that it's hard to care about any of his sorrows. In the end that's a red herring. I think MD is overrated, purely and simply because of its construction. That's my opinion, others are free to agree or disagree.
Haha, I read a book called "in the heart of the sea" I think it was called by Nathaniel Philbrick I believe that was story that influenced Melville. It was a true story about a Nantucket whaling ship that was attacked it seems by a whale. Two men were found adrift months after chewing on the bones of their mates.
You are correct, that book is based on the true life events that influenced Moby-Dick. Nathaniel Philbrick is a big fan of Moby-Dick and wrote a book called Why Read Moby-Dick. In it he claims he has read Moby-Dick at least 12 times.
The book was really difficult for me as English isnt my mother tongue. I have to Google a lot of rather archaic vocabularies. But it's worth it. Hobsbawm thought it was the highest artistic creation in America in the 19th century. That is not hyperbole. I honestly didn't find cetology part full ( I didn't find war and peace discussion part full either) . Melville is a superb writer whose style is very unique. Its hard to find similar writer of modern English fiction. And it was never cetology entirely. He always add bits and pieces there not related to whales.
"Moby Dick" is one of the greatest philosophical and poetic novels. Melville used his youthful experiences traveling the world on a whaling boat as the jumping off point for his meditation on the nature of reality. To say his musings were just something he threw out there to appeal to intellectuals is really selling short what makes this novel great. Would you say that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet primarily as an excuse to write about the power dynamics between high ranking nobility? The narrative of Hamlet is the exoskeleton of a great work that explores human nature. Like Shakespeare, Melville's mode was essentially poetic. If one lacks a sense of the poetic then much of what Melville has to offer will be lost no matter how much one is fascinated by sea monsters. But, nevertheless, a very entertaining review.
I didn’t like it too much, of course it had amazing passages and great scenes, but I read war and peace just before and was missing Tolstoy‘s prose a lot.
Did everyone's version have that part, I think around the middle of the book, where it just turned into a serious zoological study of every single different type of whale that was known to man in the 1800s? It was just so jarring. I felt like I had accidentally started reading an encyclopedia entry or something. My copy had it, and it actually made me put the book down and take a _multi-year_ long break from it.
I think you're referring to the chapter titled "Cetology". It's one of my favorite chapters. It's actually a parody of a rationalistic, scientific approach to comprehending reality. If you have the right attitude, it's actually very funny. My favorite part is when Ishmael, after long rumination on whether a whale is a fish or a mammal, concludes that a whale is a spouting fish with a horizontal tail (which pretty much reveals the fatuousness of his entire endeavor in this chapter). The chapter is a microcosm of a central theme of the book that the whole of reality (symbolized by the whale) is beyond our best efforts to comprehend it. This is mirrored in my favorite quote from the book, about the location of Queequeg's home island: "It's not down in any map; true places never are." I.e. reality cannot be grasped by rational thought. I think where many people are lead astray when they approach Moby-Dick is that they think it's a story about Ahab and the whale when it's really about Ismael and his reflections. Although the full title of the book is "Moby-Dick, or the Whale", I think a more apt title would be "Moby-Dick, or Ishmael Tries to Figure Things Out".
I hope you are at least considering doing teaching as a profession or a sideline, at least. Inspired by your fluency and articulate analysis! And as an erstwhile literary studies lecturer, somewhat envious. :)
But Melville had been writing straight whale stories and was selling and was famous. Then he started writing shit like Moby Dick, w/ the reflections etc. and people stopped reading him completely and started saying he was nuts and then he was just forgotten and literarily died alone!
Ahoy! Hast seen the white whale? Hast seen Moby Dick? Thou Hast!? Thou Hast actually seen Moby Dick? Then thou must report to Captain Rehab right away.
Why would you say that it is Lovecraftian when it came before? You should say that Lovecraft is Mevillian. Generally, we name things by there genesis not retroactively like you have done. But at the same time, way to go. Do your thing.
This book is terrible, it's like reading a dictionary. It's so bad Audibles couldn't help you get through it with out wanting to jump in front of a moving speed train.
I would probably not have been able to finish the book if I was reading it especially the detailing of all whales. The audible narrator was amazing and made the characters come to life. Especially with Ahab getting crazier and crazier.
I think the reason the Cetology and Whaling chapters aren't dry and boring is because 1. Melville is a great writer, and 2. They draw you deeper into the world, because you are a passenger on the Pequod. Think about it that way, if you were a deckhand with no experience on a Whaling ship, the crew members would probably tell you all this information at some point, and 3. Despite how technical the chapters are on the surface, they are still deeply metaphoric.
In a market saturated by Young Adult fiction , here you are talking about the analogical novel about obsession, democracy, transcendentalism, absurdism and whale hunting.
I love this channel
From Chapter 35, the Mast-Head, that crystalized the entire novel for me. "There is no life in thee, now, except that rocking life imparted by a gently rolling ship; by her, borrowed from the sea; by the sea, from the inscrutable tides of God. But while this sleep, this dream is on ye, move your foot or hand an inch; slip your hold at all; and your identity comes back in horror. Over Descartian vortices you hover. And perhaps, at mid-day, in the fairest weather, with one half-throttled shriek you drop through that transparent air into the summer sea, no more to rise for ever. Heed it well, ye Pantheists!"
I read Moby-Dick this summer. It’s absolutely amazing! It’s a philosophical/adventure/epic/universal novel. I find calling it the great American novel is silly. It’s more universalist. It covers ideas and myths from many cultures. Captain Ahab is a Byronic hero, a recreation of Milton’s Satan, and a Shakespearean hero. Ishmael is a philosopher himself. His tirades on whales-interpreted through mythology, history, biology-are lofty and amazing!
I stated to my friends, after I finished it, that if William Shakespeare lived in the 19th century and decided to write an epic novel, it would be Moby-Dick.
I didn’t find it difficult to read at all! I was engrossed the whole time!
My favorite youtuber talking about my favorite novel
Moby-Dick has to be one of the greatest cosmic horror stories that very few people acknowledge as such.
I KNOW RIGHT??
Moby Dick has a lot of Freemason connotations in it.
What surprised me about this novel was how funny it was. There were quite a few moments of laugh-out-loud humor that no one warned about before I read it. I need to start highlighting stand-out passages in novels I read so I can reference them later. Thanks for all that you do!
It's true!! With this type of supposedly "heavy, philosophical" novels I always expect the worst, and inevitably you end up realizing that they're much more humane, fun and exciting than expected.
I laughed Out loud in the early chapter when the hotel owner had to put up a sign saying, “no suicides and no smoking”
There's even a fart joke in chapter 1 ("winds from astern").
You do realize, that you now know more about 19th century whaling than anyone in the 21st century has any business knowing.
I could not possibly care less for whales and yet I found Moby Dick to be incredibly compelling. Even in chapters dedicated to simply recording the minute, technical details surrounding whaling, I somehow found Melville's prose so engaging that it didn't bore me at all. It's a really strange, difficult-to-categorize read but I absolutely adore it and would recommend it to everyone who loves literature.
About 10 years ago, when I was 40, I spent an entire summer reading Moby Dick. I had a strong background in literature, but never read this brilliant. I read it, made lots of notes in the book, did some more research after finishing it, etc... It is by far one of the greatest works I've ever read.
I just finished it. Feel mentally exhausted. But now I've got it under my belt, I will keep going back to my favourite passages.
I am reading this now and I absolutely love it. Thanks for another excellent video where you discuss the book with intelligence and respect for the material and the audience.
LOL "but this book is incredibly Lovecraftian" really caught me off guard.
I actually lolled
You've gotta read it, man. I had no idea until I read it myself. This book totally surprised me with being a cosmic horror story.
garfocusalternate it totally is!
Moby Dick, hehe, more like
A journey into the mind and the soul as the characters you percieve evolve to both understand themselves and their circumstances as you reflect on their problems in context to your own, finding common solutions by seeing the mistakes the characters make in its half-tragic, half-miracle ending.
My guess on the reason the book has a reputation for being difficult is based on the fact that there are likely many more people who read this because it was an assignment for a class than those who read it for enjoyment. Being forced to read something always made it harder to enjoy for me personally. That said, I got around to this one well after my college years and ended up really enjoying it. The technical chapters went just deep enough to give some great insight into what those men's lives and those times were like to keep me interested. Good call on the Pip connection to Lovecraft!
I've had nothing good to say about this book & several bad attempts at reading it BUT Edmund White talks about it in The Unpunished Vice & your talk about it has me convinced to try 1 more time.
I always thought the first sections of Moby Dick were a comedic mock novel...then of course it shifts in tone radically...
I read it some years ago and it is still one of my favourite novels.
Lovecraft respected the novel a lot and saw perhaps two film versions of it in the cinema. He also had a fascination with whaling, visiting famous centers of whaling like Nantucket. On the Obed Marsh point, that character was inspired by "Lord" Timothy Dexter, an eccentric who wrote 'A Pickle for the Knowing Ones.'
HPL on Melville's masterpiece: "In Moby Dick you've missed something. It is long & digressive, but has a cosmic punch that makes it well worth finishing. And if you know New Bedford & feel the romance of New England whalers you simply can't consider missing it." Letter to J. Vernon Shea. 1933.
Thank you so much for the insight, and for the letter!
What an incredibly beautiful and thorough review. You have nudged me past my fear of reading this book! Thank you.
Have you finished it yet? Four months seems about the right time lol.
I will admit, I read Moby Dick several years back and although I really loved it at first I was one of the folks that got very bogged down in the middle. I feel like it probably took me a year to finish it but stubborn as I am, I did finish it and was glad. After listening to your review I almost feel like I could tackle it again someday;) love listening to your thoughts.
So?! Did you read it again?! Like you, I got very bogged down in the middle but slogged on until the end and was glad I did. Then a few months or maybe a year later I read it again after I had read some interpretations and watched a few more RUclipss on it, and I found it much easier going! One commentator that I listened to said that you can read it from cover to cover and it does work like that but you can also read it like people read the bible; i.e reading just one chapter (many of them are quite short) or maybe just one page or paragraph or even sentence ("Talk not to me of blasphemy man, I'd strike the sun if it insulted me!") and you can find some interesting piece of information or nugget of wisdom! I find it very satisfying to read like this and I always keep a copy on my person so that if I have a minute or two I can just snatch a paragraph or two.
I felt that Moby-Dick the whale is the book Moby-Dick, there is a chapter where the narrator (Ishmael) is trying to interpret the Whale, like a text. I also feel Ahab is a stand in for Melville himself. When Melville was writing the book, he would spend all day in his room and not see his family, his wife would bring him dinner and leave it outside the door and he wouldn't see them for weeks, even months while working on the novel. Melville's estrangement from his family parallels Ahab's estrangement from his. This estrangement occurs because of both men's monomaniacal quest, Melville's pursuit of finishing the novel was as monomaniacal as Ahab's pursuit of the Whale.
I just finished reading MD today, and what a ride! I really, really enjoyed the "birth" scene... And of course the final chapters. I burned through The Chase (1,2&3) like a hot page turner!
And I also enjoyed listening to your thoughts in you review, thanks!
The frustrating thing about this book for me was just how enthralled I was with the first 100 pages, and also how great certain other passages were. But Melville simply lost me in all the intricate details about whales & whaling. I don't even wish the novel were shorter- I would have loved to get to know the characters better and hear more about some of the relationships on the Pequod, etc. I can see why it's considered great as there are many truly beautiful chapters. But ultimately I finished Moby Dick feeling very frustrated.
So worth reading. One of my favorites of all time. It is about everything.
Have you ever read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? I have a theory about Douglas Adams and Moby Dick!
I’d love to know about your take on “Melville in Love” and the biography’s reception in academia.
I share your enthusiasm for this Epic MOBY DICK and celebrate the memory of Herman Melville on the 200th anniversary of his Birthday! Thanks for paying a fine tribute to this masterpiece!
The thing I love about MD is how it's comic and sublime simultaneously. The characters and Ishmael's panegyrics about all things Cetological somehow manage to be parodistically exaggerated and authentically grand at the same time.
Took me almost a month to read. There are passages in it that are sublime. It's one of those books that is a real challenge (was for me, anyway) but once you've got it under your belt, you can then go back to favoured passages and get something new out of it each time.
Great review. I have always seen it as an obsessive search for real meaning. I like the Lovecraft idea. Awesome book that has yet to be matched.
One of my favourite Books connected with one of my favourite authors(Lovecraft)!
WOW
Its just tbe bit where he goes into whales. Can be a bit draining - but obviously one of the best books ever written.
I advise everyone to read billy budd!
I read one chapter of Moby Dick per day, and since there are something like 135 chapters in the book it took about 4 months to finish. When I didn't understand a reference or allusion I googled it. If you read Moby Dick in this way, in snatches, I don't think you will find it boring or confusing. The big question: "what did the great white whale symbolize?" D. H. Lawrence decided that Melville himself didn't know. My guess is that the white whale symbolizes the force of nature, whatever that is.
Bro your videos are way more sensible and interesting than other overacting-tubers. 👍
I'm, right now (I mean, not knooow hahaha but currently), reading this book. Some chapters are difficult because of the specific terms. Other ones are reeally exciting! Great video! :)
I am so glad you read and reviewed MB! My favorite American novel. I agree with you that it is about Whales and the whaling voyage. Most of the book takes place on the ship which is like a stage where the players play their parts. I liken all the philosophical musings to the idle time one would spend on such a voyage, when one might fall into speculation about... everything or anything. It is a long novel and a long voyage and we readers find ourselves on board for the long haul! How could there not be speculation about existence mixed with action in such confines. However, I never heard anyone suggest that the philosophical passages might be contrived to interest the intelligentsia... that made me laugh. A good and honest review.
I don't think I would go so far as to say it's lovcraftian but it does dabble in cosmic/existential horror. I really appreciate your thoughts on Melville. If you feel MD is a complex of themes and ideas, I implore you to read The Confidence-Man. The reservoir from where he draws his inspiration is limitless, I swear.
Interesting and thoughtful review:
I don't think we need to discuss contemporary gender/queer themes in the same breath as this novel however.
I doubt Melville gave it much thought either.
I could be mistaken, of course.
(But probably not)
Have you ever read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights?
I did read Wuthering Heights and I admit I disliked it. It was ages ago though.
I haven’t read this book and never intended to but when I was scrolling through the goodreads comments about Moby Dick I read a long negative review on it and there was one line that made me vow to read this novel someday. The reviewer compared Melville’s writing to Hawthorne’s, and the only difference is that Melville’s goes on for eternity. This was meant negatively for both writers. Since apparently I’m one of the few to actually like Hawthorne, I felt that that comment was uncalled for and now I promised to read it just because of that reviewer’s negativity.
I picked up MobyDick years ago and I was taken in by the beautiful writing in the first page and Ishmael’s description of what the sea and sailing makes him feel. Unfortunately, I put the book down after a few pages. I picked it up again this year and I’m hoping I’ll feel about the novel the way you do
Have you read Melville's The Confidence Man, Mattia? Various people I admire have compared it to Pynchon in its whimsy and freewheeling stylings.
I just read _Moby Dick_ for the first time this past January and loved it, and I love your review. It really is a difficult novel to put into words, but like you, I was totally entranced in the world for (almost) the whole duration of the my reading.
Just one note - I would highly recommend the Norton Critical 3rd ed. of the novel. It is a little more pricey, but there are wonderfully helpful and well-researched footnotes, which I found invaluable to understanding the references, etc., and I didn't have constantly flip back and forth, which I prefer. The Norton also has TONS of extra material for those interested, including a short write-up from Jonathan Lethem. Plus, it's got a great cover of Ahab, looking menacing as hell.
Great stuff, all around! Thanks again for the great review!
Andrew Pappas oh wow you’re so smart
Does anyone else notice how much Moby Dick comes up in V.? The ending especially but I first read V. two summers ago and noticed this fun little parallel (or forced this parallel) between Profane and Ahab.
Melville: (Ahab on the Whale)
He tasks me; he heaps me; I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him. Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. For could the sun do that, then could I do the other; since there is ever a sort of fair play herein, jealousy presiding over all creations.
Pynchon:
By the time the sun was going down they'd nearly finished the case between them. Profane was balefully drunk. He got out of the car, wandered off behind a tree and pointed west, with some intention of pissing on the sun to put it out for good and all, this being somehow important for him. (Inanimate objects could do what they wanted. Not what
they wanted because things do not want; only men. But things do what
they do, and this is why Profane was pissing at the sun.)
I know I'm not alone or original in thinking this, I can't be!
It is, definitely, a book about whales. So much whale stuff that I think I at least have a practical knowledge of how to process a dead while, render its oil from its blubber, and where to look for, and the name for, the most prize whale oil.
AND, its a really good story, very well told.
Don't know anything about Moby Dick or of Whales - But your review has convinced me that I am going to find out
If you ever sell t-shirts, please include one that says "Intellectual Tuna" on it.
I laughed littlerally out loud when he said "intellectual tuna."
Hi, have you read the seventh function of language? It's a novel by Laurent Binet and it sounds like the type of book you would enjoy. It's some sort of homage to Sherlock Holmes and the art of semiotics. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have/will read it!
Oh and it's postmodern
What about The Name of the Rose?
I loved the book. I read a lot of non-fiction that other people find boring, though. It is written beautifully in parts, with very poetic-albeit cryptic at times-passages. There are many references to religion, which makes one interpret it as an allegory for religious belief at times. Hubert Dreyfus interpreted it as a “return to pagan openness to the sacred”...that isn’t terribly explicit in the book, but also not altogether off base either-I can see why he thought that. I would highly recommend it if you are drawn to lengthy classics and enjoy religious allusions. It is long, but has short chapters, and is totally worth it. Moby Dick is one of, if not *the,* great American novel(s).
Love your T-shirt! BTW Melville wrote best short story ever written, "Bartleby the Scrivener".
I think he would prefer not to read it.
I found the novel exhausting, daunting at times and I thought it would never end. Much like the hunt for the White whale I suppose. I didn't really pick up on much of the homo-erotic themes you speak of, but nonetheless your review is spot on. After I finished the book I knew right away I'd have to read it again some day but I pray that's not any time soon. An absolute epic with beautiful prose, I can't help feel that a weight has lifted off my shoulders after the epilogue closed the novel.
This book will make the days you read it feel like years
" I always go to sea as a sailor."
Read it out of order, just read it. To those of you who dropped out, get the book out again and randomly pick a chapter that you haven't read and go there. There's writing in the second half of this book that needs to be read.
Oddly this is the one video that always comes to mind when I think of your channel. In this video you get so passionate about this book even though you have good complaints about it. This video makes me want to read the darn thing. At this center I live at, the book was tossed. Oh well.
This is one of my fav books ever!!
I just started Moby Dick. What other sea monster books to you recommend?
AWESOME REVIEW! My master's thesis was partly on Moby-Dick, BTW! 🐋🙂
I didn't care particularly for the book, and I thought it was a tough read. I particularly didn't like how the book changed its tone, like you mentioned, pre- and post the embarkation. In the first part, before they embark the ship, the characters are well introduced and I found both Ishamel and Queequeg interesting, but once the sailing starts, focus is shifted to the other characters on the crew and there's barely any more development in the relationship between these two. In addition, the novel shifts from being a typical novel to a detailed description of the practice of whaling, like you would expect in a non-fiction read, and I don't think that Melville managed to harmonize these two aspects. (In contrast, Sophie's World solves this situation perfectly.) But most of all, and this may certainly be a limitation on my part more than anything else, is that I found the language just too hard, which made it a struggle to read at times.
I think it's a novel with 2 types of reading (at least).. 1 of them is which says it is about whales. This type is adventurous. The other says it's about anything but no whales. And this one is deep philosophising about the Divine and how people relate to it.
I've always wanted to read this and might have to finally pull the trigger on it. Also, I've never read any Lovecraft books do you have any recs for someone just getting into him? thanks
Lovecraft's most anthologized work and the only story he was actually satisfied with himself is "The Color out of Space," It is basically his masterpiece. "Call of Cthulhu" is pretty essential because it has mother@#%$ing Cthulhu. My introduction to Lovecraft was "The Rats in the Walls." Shadow Over Innsmouth" is another good one that features the famous deep ones (fish people). I would also check out At the Mountains of Madness, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Music of Eric Zann, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Out of Time, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. That is 11 stories he wrote over 60 stories, I think these are some of the essential Lovecraft, again I might have missed a few that could be included here.
I'm a month late, and Bum's Manifesto's recommendations are great. My personal Lovecraft's starter pack would include "Dagon," "The Rats in the Walls," "The Silver Key" and "The Call of Cthulhu;" you can read all of these in a couple of hours, and I rank all of them among his very best stuff. You can read them online on the HP Lovecraft archive:
www.hplovecraft.com/
But you can also find them in any of the countless collections of his stuff. If you find an edition that includes all four of those, that's what I call A Very Good Sign.
Great review and cool Bunnymen poster
Just took this book out of the library 30 mins ago and now I see this review!
You're a brave man. I tried to read in graduate school, i got pretty far and started skimming... I remember when I got to the chapter all about whale physiology i was like 'i'm done'. Def. wasn't ready for post-modernish leanings back then. You do great reviews by the way; well done. Great t-shirt.
You should try "A Tale of Love and Darkness" by Amos Oz. It's a modern masterpiece
Very interesting video. I enjoyed your comments relating this novel to Lovecraftian horror
Such a glorious metaphor at the end LOL
How do you feel about Albert Camus and Sartre? Also, have you read The Mandarins by de Beauvoir?
Are there spoilers in this video? Should I wait to watch until after I read the book?
Off the top of my head, there shouldn't be any spoiler in here, but it will probably make more sense to wait until you've read the book (unless you were looking for encouragement, which is fine!, and in which case: absolutely do read Moby-Dick!)
Amazing author with an amazing story. I like to take the book for the story of the wild, mysterious whale and a distracted, wayward, old man whelmed in revenge. I can definitely imagine Lovecraft adoring this novel. As far as the philosophy, etc., I see it but enjoy the monster of the sea story more. Anyone could read anything into it but what’s better than wasting your life for 40 years away from your family chasing a sea monster who physically maimed you?
A dissenting voice : I was very much looking forward to reading Moby Dick, and the opening sections were atmospheric and gripping. Then the book turned into a handbook on 19th century whaling, offering me more information than I needed to know (I was already aware of the bloody nature of whaling, and of flensing etc) so much so, that I eventually got bored with it, not least that some of his whale facts were less than accurate. These sections seemed tacked on, the nautical information did not arise from the narrative as they do in other seafaring tales (eg We, the Drowned).
If the passages of information had been much the shorter part of the book, I would have been OK with it, but unfortunately, the plot ground to a halt and belatedly jerked back into life for the grand finale, when I was pretty much past caring. Tolstoy inserted chapters of historical and philosophical musings in War and Peace, but thank heavens, they amounted to a fraction of the plot. Same with The Name of the Rose, where understanding the historical and religious movements were vital to appreciating what Eco was doing, but they didn't take over. I have to say that therefore I found MD poorly constructed as a novel and not as insightful as I was lead to believe. I've read it, but would never recommend it.
I just read this novel for an American romanticism class last fall and I totally agree that it has its faults. The plot absolutely stalls out and it is difficult to care at the end when it starts again. I think this is what makes it so hard to read because the construction at first is conventional and when it stops being an adventure story, it’s hard to appreciate it. But I’m curious why you think it’s not insightful? Do you think Melville’s really not saying anything in the “boring bits” at all?
@@marisamoore8326 It's because so many people enthuse about its insight into the human condition, but personally, I just don't see it. All that can be said is that one man develops an all consuming and ultimately fatal obssession and that's the sum of it. Lolita, Pale Fire, The Postman Always Rings Twice and others, do that job much better IMO.
What does a book need to do then, to make you recommend it, since you will "never do it"?
Comparing Melville with 20th century writers shows, first of all, quite an amount of naiveté, plus it is disrespectful as well as arrogant.
I couldn't care less if you love or hate this book, and if you don't like MD because Eco's books show clearer/better structure, so be it ... but please note, this does not make you sound smart, on the contrary, it makes you sound pretentious and superficial. Cheers.
Sielose I’m very confused by your message. Why does referencing 20th century writers make op naive, disrespectful, and arrogant? Plus the reasons they gave for not liking the book are valid. I’m confused by what you mean “What does a book need to do then, to make you recommend it, since you will ‘never do it.’” Op doesn’t seem overly picky for not liking the pacing or whaling scenes.
@@marisamoore8326 If I'd wanted to look at an older book, I could have mentioned Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, very much a novel about obssession, better constructed, but with a hero so snivellingly self indulgent that it's hard to care about any of his sorrows. In the end that's a red herring. I think MD is overrated, purely and simply because of its construction. That's my opinion, others are free to agree or disagree.
Haha, I read a book called "in the heart of the sea" I think it was called by Nathaniel Philbrick I believe that was story that influenced Melville. It was a true story about a Nantucket whaling ship that was attacked it seems by a whale. Two men were found adrift months after chewing on the bones of their mates.
You are correct, that book is based on the true life events that influenced Moby-Dick. Nathaniel Philbrick is a big fan of Moby-Dick and wrote a book called Why Read Moby-Dick. In it he claims he has read Moby-Dick at least 12 times.
Great review! Moby Dick really is an amazing novel, I need to re-read it sometime.
I must say i have to disagree regarding the Homoeroticism, i didnt get that impression at all.
Thank you for this priceless review!!!
I agree with your guess that Melville really wanted to write about whales! :)
The book was really difficult for me as English isnt my mother tongue. I have to Google a lot of rather archaic vocabularies. But it's worth it. Hobsbawm thought it was the highest artistic creation in America in the 19th century. That is not hyperbole.
I honestly didn't find cetology part full ( I didn't find war and peace discussion part full either) . Melville is a superb writer whose style is very unique. Its hard to find similar writer of modern English fiction. And it was never cetology entirely. He always add bits and pieces there not related to whales.
Read The Recognitions by William Gaddis
How long did it take you?
I'd guess about 20 hours reading time, though this depends on how fast you read.
He was already reading it when he uploaded his last video. At least 10 days is my guess. It's almost 700 pages long!
A lot!
"Moby Dick" is one of the greatest philosophical and poetic novels. Melville used his youthful experiences traveling the world on a whaling boat as the jumping off point for his meditation on the nature of reality. To say his musings were just something he threw out there to appeal to intellectuals is really selling short what makes this novel great. Would you say that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet primarily as an excuse to write about the power dynamics between high ranking nobility? The narrative of Hamlet is the exoskeleton of a great work that explores human nature. Like Shakespeare, Melville's mode was essentially poetic. If one lacks a sense of the poetic then much of what Melville has to offer will be lost no matter how much one is fascinated by sea monsters. But, nevertheless, a very entertaining review.
I didn’t like it too much, of course it had amazing passages and great scenes, but I read war and peace just before and was missing Tolstoy‘s prose a lot.
Excellent review
Did everyone's version have that part, I think around the middle of the book, where it just turned into a serious zoological study of every single different type of whale that was known to man in the 1800s? It was just so jarring. I felt like I had accidentally started reading an encyclopedia entry or something. My copy had it, and it actually made me put the book down and take a _multi-year_ long break from it.
I loved that :D! It was jarring for sure though - even considering how, at other times, the novel turns into a... play of sorts? Crazy, crazy book.
I think you're referring to the chapter titled "Cetology". It's one of my favorite chapters.
It's actually a parody of a rationalistic, scientific approach to comprehending reality. If you have the right attitude, it's actually very funny. My favorite part is when Ishmael, after long rumination on whether a whale is a fish or a mammal, concludes that a whale is a spouting fish with a horizontal tail (which pretty much reveals the fatuousness of his entire endeavor in this chapter).
The chapter is a microcosm of a central theme of the book that the whole of reality (symbolized by the whale) is beyond our best efforts to comprehend it. This is mirrored in my favorite quote from the book, about the location of Queequeg's home island: "It's not down in any map; true places never are." I.e. reality cannot be grasped by rational thought.
I think where many people are lead astray when they approach Moby-Dick is that they think it's a story about Ahab and the whale when it's really about Ismael and his reflections. Although the full title of the book is "Moby-Dick, or the Whale", I think a more apt title would be "Moby-Dick, or Ishmael Tries to Figure Things Out".
I hope you are at least considering doing teaching as a profession or a sideline, at least. Inspired by your fluency and articulate analysis! And as an erstwhile literary studies lecturer, somewhat envious. :)
Thank you, you're too kind :)
@@TheBookchemist not at all! :)
But Melville had been writing straight whale stories and was selling and was famous. Then he started writing shit like Moby Dick, w/ the reflections etc. and people stopped reading him completely and started saying he was nuts and then he was just forgotten and literarily died alone!
Moby Dick: The Goat of novels.
Its the most beautiful book in the world
In a phrase: Let's go hunt god and be surprised when god is more than anything we could imagine. God becomes our desire, becomes us
in our pursuit.
Frankenstein whale makes me think of Bake-Kujira. 🐋
Wonderful. Thank you.
Have you ever attempted to read Laird Barron? Specifically The Imago Sequence short story anthology. In many ways the modern day Lovecraft.
Excellent review. Thanks man- Love this book.
Ahoy! Hast seen the white whale? Hast seen Moby Dick? Thou Hast!? Thou Hast actually seen Moby Dick? Then thou must report to Captain Rehab right away.
Imagine reading a giant book and getting nothing out of it.
Good of you to admit your own shortcomings.
Why would you say that it is Lovecraftian when it came before? You should say that Lovecraft is Mevillian. Generally, we name things by there genesis not retroactively like you have done. But at the same time, way to go. Do your thing.
5 star novel
The original Pre-Post-Post-Modernist novel 😂
I don't have time to finish it, but it will be on my list foreverrr it's so good hahah. Also, this was your funniest video
Thank you for doing this review.
This book is terrible, it's like reading a dictionary. It's so bad Audibles couldn't help you get through it with out wanting to jump in front of a moving speed train.
I would probably not have been able to finish the book if I was reading it especially the detailing of all whales. The audible narrator was amazing and made the characters come to life. Especially with Ahab getting crazier and crazier.
Na
You have not read this book.