Here's to you Ahab (Moby Dick - Herman Melville)

Member Name: RussellC

Product:	Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Date:	18/08/00 (206 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent writing.

Disadvantages: Unfocused. Frequently dull

Moby Dick is a novel which doesn't have the best of reputations, I know of many people who found it to be dull. Unfortunately I have to join with them and say this is not a particularly good book. Melville is a skilled writer, his prose is descriptive and often evocative, but his narrative is weak and he takes too many asides. Frequently I wished he'd make up his mind as to whether this was a novel about a man's confrontation with the full force of nature, or an outline to the practises of whalers. Obviously a book about whaling will go some length to describe whaling practises, but Melville takes this to a near obsessive level.

The novel follows the last voyage of the Pequod a whaling ship under the command of Captain Ahab. Much of the tale is recounted from the point of view of Ishmael, a young man, unfamiliar with whaling though an experienced sailor who unfortunately chooses the Pequod for his first whaling voyage. Ahab is a man obsessed with revenge on the great white whale, Moby Dick who cost him a leg in a previous encounter. The mysterious and morbid captain harshly rules over his boat as he searches for the legendary whale. We follow the ship on its voyage and encounters with whales and other whalers and get to experience the fatal obsession that drives on the captain. Insights are given into the world of whaling throughout the novel, but frequently these asides descend into unnecessary and distracting detail. The events aboard the ship, highlight the fragile nature of life at sea, especially upon a whaling boat where accidents seem a way of life. It all leads up, a little too slowly for my liking to the final confrontation with Moby Dick.

There are moments of greatness in the novel, certain chapters and passages are very effective. When the whalers put out their rowing boats and chase down the whales are particularly notable, Melville manages to create an atmosphere of the confussion and panic of the moment. The final confron
tation with Moby Dick stands out as Ahab drives his crew to destruction. There are moments of philosophical insight and reflection on the nature of amn and religion, but I felt these proved to be minor insights in general. Asides into whaling can be interesting, the dangers the men put themselves under and the techniques used at the time are fascinating, but the passages are frequently overlong and distract from the main thrust of the novel. Melville's biology is amusing to us today, as he miss classifies Whales as fish instead of mammals, but at the time an uncertainty as to which they are is unsurprising.

I can't really recommend this book, it took a fair amount of effort to drive myself through it. The quality of language is excellent, I always enjoy the styles of writing present in the classics. Melville's lack of focus loses a lot for me though. The copy I read was only one pound, so if you have any interest in it you won't have to break the bank to try it out.

Summary: