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knownever: A more enjoyable, shorter, and less allegorical story of sailing life, although there aren't any whales. The author of this one kind of looks down on whalers. All together a more jaunty sea tale.
GaryPatella: Compared to Moby Dick, The Confidence Man is a much lighter read. But after ploughing through Moby Dick, this may be a welcome change. It is not as profound, but you also don't have to struggle through any of it. This is worth reading.
tootstorm: Melville's heir struggles to close his relationship to his preceding literary genius. Click the link above, read what you can, and get yourself hooked on one of the most critically-adored yet criminally-underread novels written in a century defined by self-analysis and experimentation.… (more)
Oct326: "Qohelet" e "Moby Dick" sono due grandi libri, molto diversi ma con un tema in comune: l'inconsistenza, l'insignificanza e l'inutilità dell'agire umano al cospetto della natura e dell'universo.
WilfGehlen: Camus was greatly influenced by Melville and in The Myth of Sisyphus mentions Moby-Dick as a truly absurd work. Reading Moby-Dick with Camus' absurd in mind gives a deeper, and very different insight than provided by the usual emphasis on Ahab's quest for revenge.… (more)
I read this because it is a classic, even though I couldn't understand why someone would want to voluntarily sign on to the hard life of work on a whaling ship. I could understand what characters were doing, but seldom could see why they did what they did. The chapter on whales was skippable, since outdated. I did enjoy, afterward, reading reviews and analysis of this famous novel. ( )
‘I baptise thee not in the name of the Father, but in the name of the Devil’
I am uncharacteristically at a loss on how I feel about this book. It’s such a strange creature - a mongrel of King James’ Bible and the works of Shakespeare as people have quite rightly summated. The sole focus on whaling, much like Hemingway with bullfighting (although it must be said that Hemingway is far inferior to Melville), does of course border on the nauseating. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt. But the humanistic edge, the absolutely spectacular prose, the sheer ease at which Melville utilises mythology and religion, all point to a masterpiece. I’m gonna love this book in a decade or so; but I’m glad to be done with it at the moment. ( )
It's been a while since I read Moby-Dick and, though I liked it a lot I am unlikely to read it again (so many books, so little time). But a graphic novel edition? Yes, please! It was a treat to get a refresher in the form of a book I could finish in one sitting, as well as reintroductions to the characters and overall narrative arc. I would have preferred an illustration style that was a bit less stark, but a lack of color is arguably a fitting artistic choice. ( )
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.
Quotations
I’ll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy.
...so at nightfall, the Nantucketer, out of sight of land, furls his sails, and lays him to his rest, while under his very pillow rush herds of walruses and whales.
...Heaven have mercy on us all—Presbyterians and Pagans alike—for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.
‘Whale-balls for breakfast—don’t forget.’ (Stubb, second mate)
And with what quill did the Secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Cruelty to Ganders formally indite his circulars? It is only within the last month or two that that society passed a resolution to patronize nothing but steel pens.
The urbane activity with which a man receives money’s really marvelous, considering that we do earnestly believe money to be the root of all earthly ills, and that on no account can a moneyed man enter heaven.
But soon I found that there came such a draught of cold aur over me from under the sill of the window, that this plan would never do at all, especially as another current from the rickety door met the one from the window, andboth together formed a series of small whirlwinds in the immediate vicinity of the spot where I had thought to spend the night.
Last words
The second day, a sail drew near, nearer, and picked me up at last. It was the wandering Rachel, still looking for her missing children. But she found only me, Ishmael, another orphan.
Please do not combine adaptations or abridged editions of Moby Dick with unabridged versions. Versions aimed at children are normally abridged editions and should not be combined here. Also, books ABOUT Moby Dick (such as study guides) should not be combined with the unabridged nor the abridged novel. Please keep such books as an independent work.
The ISBN 9025463312 is shared with a different work.
The Penguin Classics 150th Anniversary Ed (ISBN 0142000086) is not abridged, although that word has appeared in some user's data.
Norton Critical editions, Longman Critical editions and other scholarly editions should not be combined with the unabridged novel. The scholarly-type editions contain much additional material so they should be considered as separate works.
A young seaman joins the crew of the whaling ship Pequod, led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in pursuit of the white whale Moby Dick.
▾Library descriptions
No library descriptions found.
▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
The first English edition of Herman Melville, "The Whale" (London, 1851; 3 vols, 12mo, blue cloth cover, uncut) was issued prior to the first US edition, which appeared later in the same year under the title "Moby-Dick; or The Whale", and contained thirty-five passages omitted from the English edition. (Sale catalogue of A. Edward Newton's collection, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 15 May 1941, lot 729, reproduced in The private library, 4th series, vol. 7, no. 2, Summer 1994, p. 80).
Haiku summary
Call me Ishmael. Score: Whale 1, Ahab 0. I alone returned. (bertilak)
Nor been sparing of
Historical whale research
--Chapter one-o-one
Do ye love sperm, boys? Poke my leg into the deck And sail against God! (captainfez)
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Moby Dick
Wikipedia in English (8)
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