Ahab's Wife or, The Star-Gazer
by Sena Jeter Naslund
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From the opening line-"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last"-you will know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller and in the company of a fascinating woman hero. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an enthralling and compellingly readable saga, spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. At once a family drama, a romantic adventure, and a portrait of a real and loving marriage, Ahab's Wife gives new perspective on the show more American experience. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more. show lessTags
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ecleirs24 Cause this novel is based upon a passage from Mobi Dick......
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"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last."
Thus opens this sweeping novel of the infamous Captain Ahab's wife, Una. Starting in a Kentucky cabin in deepest winter and ending on the windswept eastern edge of Nantucket, the novel takes us through the middle part of the 19th century, using the touchstone of the story of Captain Ahab and his nemesis, Moby Dick, to explore themes of family, abolition, faith and science, suffrage and women's right to self-determination, and revenge. I thoroughly enjoyed Una's story and loved the brief visits by famous souls such as Frederick Douglass and Margaret Fuller, along with a fascinating cast of truly fictional characters. Sena Jeter Naslund wanders just a wee bit too far down the path show more of philosophical musings at times but otherwise this is a satisfying ambitious read. show less
Thus opens this sweeping novel of the infamous Captain Ahab's wife, Una. Starting in a Kentucky cabin in deepest winter and ending on the windswept eastern edge of Nantucket, the novel takes us through the middle part of the 19th century, using the touchstone of the story of Captain Ahab and his nemesis, Moby Dick, to explore themes of family, abolition, faith and science, suffrage and women's right to self-determination, and revenge. I thoroughly enjoyed Una's story and loved the brief visits by famous souls such as Frederick Douglass and Margaret Fuller, along with a fascinating cast of truly fictional characters. Sena Jeter Naslund wanders just a wee bit too far down the path show more of philosophical musings at times but otherwise this is a satisfying ambitious read. show less
Opening line: Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last.
Melville’s classic Moby Dick contains perhaps three or four sentences that reference Ahab’s wife – “… not three-voyages wedded – a sweet, resigned girl…” – but those brief references were enough to inspire Neslund to write this tome.
Una is a marvelous character: intelligent, forthright, adventurous, eager to learn, ready to work, open to new ideas, questioning of the status quo, tenacious, principled, loyal and loving. Neslund takes her from her childhood in Kentucky, raised in a remote cabin near the Ohio River, by a God-fearing man who will beat the Lord into his daughter if necessary, and a devoted mother who will ensure her child’s safety, to show more her later years in Massachusetts. Along the way she encounters a wonderful cast of colorful characters – from her Aunt and Uncle, to the young men she is courted by, to the sailors / whalers she comes to admire, and the neighbors who form her “family” in Nantucket and ‘Sconset (including Mary Starbuck, wife of Ahab’s first mate).
Neslund fills the novel with details of life in 19th century America:. the difficulties of a winter in a small Kentucky cabin, the excitement (and terror) of sailing on a whaling vessel, the tragedy of slavery, the joy of intellectual pursuits, the dangers of childbirth, and the quiet peace of a happy home.
But make no mistake, the story is Una’s, first and foremost. show less
Melville’s classic Moby Dick contains perhaps three or four sentences that reference Ahab’s wife – “… not three-voyages wedded – a sweet, resigned girl…” – but those brief references were enough to inspire Neslund to write this tome.
Una is a marvelous character: intelligent, forthright, adventurous, eager to learn, ready to work, open to new ideas, questioning of the status quo, tenacious, principled, loyal and loving. Neslund takes her from her childhood in Kentucky, raised in a remote cabin near the Ohio River, by a God-fearing man who will beat the Lord into his daughter if necessary, and a devoted mother who will ensure her child’s safety, to show more her later years in Massachusetts. Along the way she encounters a wonderful cast of colorful characters – from her Aunt and Uncle, to the young men she is courted by, to the sailors / whalers she comes to admire, and the neighbors who form her “family” in Nantucket and ‘Sconset (including Mary Starbuck, wife of Ahab’s first mate).
Neslund fills the novel with details of life in 19th century America:. the difficulties of a winter in a small Kentucky cabin, the excitement (and terror) of sailing on a whaling vessel, the tragedy of slavery, the joy of intellectual pursuits, the dangers of childbirth, and the quiet peace of a happy home.
But make no mistake, the story is Una’s, first and foremost. show less
I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. I have not been able to start reading another book since finishing Ahab's Wife, because of it's profound effect on me. This epic novel was a gift to me on my second visit to Nantucket. Knowing the places the author describes so well made the experience of reading richer on a sensory level than if I had never been to Nantucket before. Yet, I know that visiting the island need not be a prerequisite for appreciating this book. I found Ahab's Wife at times heart-warming, then heart-wrenching, and even heart-breaking with our heroine, Una becoming the champion of my heart. I was delighted at many points throughout the book to look ahead and see that the book's end was show more nowhere in sight. What a pleasure to find an author with the patience to weave a complex and stunning tale that allows us to ponder the issues that motivate us to live and die! SImply wonderful. show less
Una is drawn to water... whether the rivers of Kentucky or the Atlantic Ocean. This saga covers her full life, including a marriage to Ahab of Moby-Dick. Vivid writing, if at times verging on over-wrought (I smelled a romance novel trying to emerge! Ugh...) The first part of the book kept me reading... from her life under her religious zealot father to the lighthouse (one of my fav periods) to life aboard a whaling ship and wrenching shipwreck... Una's latr life in Nantucket, awaiting Ahab's return was for this reader boring and too philosophical. I agree with other reviewers who said they felt Una was too enlightened for her era and thus, in the end, unbelievable.
What an amazing piece of literature. The research into Nantucket's culture, the whaling ships, references to madness and living with despair, and life in the Kentucky wilderness are all top notch. Not to mention life as part of a lighthouse keeper's family: where their meals came from, keeping roses, the island's hidden secrets, all the minutiae of life. And one of the best parts was that Una was a heroine who loved sewing! Yay for the needle and thread and for warm Kentucky quilts!
There is sensuality and flirtation as well, as Una lives in a world with men who find her attractive and she reacts to their overtures. She has a romantic side that she discovers and that side also becomes the pull for her to leave her lighthouse family and show more go a-whaling. Whether this happened in real life or not is up for discussion; what Una realizes as events unfold is that some things can not be discussed and her reaction to the same events will be different from the two men she loves.
In a book this size there are bound to be characters who come and go, and Naslund does a good job of moving some characters' stories off of the main stage so that others who are more suited for a new chapter of Una's life can enter. The issue of slavery is discussed right at the beginning and in various points and *trigger warning* the book opens with a difficult and tragic birth. This tragedy is, even now, a commonplace occurrence, and the reasons for it being at the beginning of Una's narrative are given towards the end.
If you want to curl up with a glimpse of a woman's life in the early 1800's or to research the history of whaling (yes, it's in there) or the island of Nantucket, or if you love books that have a rich and warm language, this book is worth its weight. show less
There is sensuality and flirtation as well, as Una lives in a world with men who find her attractive and she reacts to their overtures. She has a romantic side that she discovers and that side also becomes the pull for her to leave her lighthouse family and show more go a-whaling. Whether this happened in real life or not is up for discussion; what Una realizes as events unfold is that some things can not be discussed and her reaction to the same events will be different from the two men she loves.
In a book this size there are bound to be characters who come and go, and Naslund does a good job of moving some characters' stories off of the main stage so that others who are more suited for a new chapter of Una's life can enter. The issue of slavery is discussed right at the beginning and in various points and *trigger warning* the book opens with a difficult and tragic birth. This tragedy is, even now, a commonplace occurrence, and the reasons for it being at the beginning of Una's narrative are given towards the end.
If you want to curl up with a glimpse of a woman's life in the early 1800's or to research the history of whaling (yes, it's in there) or the island of Nantucket, or if you love books that have a rich and warm language, this book is worth its weight. show less
This is a beautifully written book. I can't say enough about Sena Jeter Naslund's prose. Two of the reviews quoted on the cover and first page say so perfectly what I mean. The LA Times said "Lyrical...alluring and wise," while the NY Times Book Review says "Her Una is a deep and wayward creature, undaunted by convention, whose descriptions are dense with a lanquid and sensual interest in the world."
The story itself is the story of Una, a Kentucky girl of twelve years, who leaves her home to live with her aunt. The story follows this unusual female through her adventures as a cabin boy aboard a whaling ship, as a shipwreck survivor, as the wife of a madman, of a ship captain (Ahab), as a single mother raising a son, to her life alone show more after he moves to town for school. But never, really, is Una alone. She has a strength of character that drenches the page; an ability to use her mind to create, entertain, learn and teach; a capacity to chart her own course that surely is unusual in the early 19th century; and a confidence in herself that astounds.
When I started the book I did not realize that the author grew up here in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. To me that made the book even more astonishing, given her detailed characterizations of life on the sea and the whaling, given our landlocked common home.
Need I say I recommend this book highly? It is not a quick read. The story moves slowly but you don't want to miss a word, a description, of Naslund's prose. show less
The story itself is the story of Una, a Kentucky girl of twelve years, who leaves her home to live with her aunt. The story follows this unusual female through her adventures as a cabin boy aboard a whaling ship, as a shipwreck survivor, as the wife of a madman, of a ship captain (Ahab), as a single mother raising a son, to her life alone show more after he moves to town for school. But never, really, is Una alone. She has a strength of character that drenches the page; an ability to use her mind to create, entertain, learn and teach; a capacity to chart her own course that surely is unusual in the early 19th century; and a confidence in herself that astounds.
When I started the book I did not realize that the author grew up here in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. To me that made the book even more astonishing, given her detailed characterizations of life on the sea and the whaling, given our landlocked common home.
Need I say I recommend this book highly? It is not a quick read. The story moves slowly but you don't want to miss a word, a description, of Naslund's prose. show less
I was surprised that I loved this book. I'm drawn to novels with very strong female characters and Una ranks right up there with them. Don't think of it as a re-telling of Moby Dick from the wife's point of view. Una is very much her own character and the whole Moby Dick thing doesn't take up a lot of space in this book. It's more about a woman who was way ahead of her time.
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Naslund, the author of four previous books of fiction, is most successful here sentence to sentence, where her gift for pleasure shines. Her Una is a deep and wayward creature, undaunted by convention, whose descriptions are dense with a languid and sensual interest in the world. Unlike Ahab, Una can wait. She is not driven; for her, the world is enough.
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Author Information
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Sena Jeter Naslund was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1942. She received a Bachelor's degree from Birmingham Southern College, where she received the B.B. Comer Medal in English, and a Master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has taught at the University of Louisville, the University of Montana, Indiana show more University (Bloomington), Vermont College, and the University of Montevallo. She has written several books including The Disobedience of Water, Ahab's Wife, Four Spirits, Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette, and Adam and Eve. She has won numerous awards including the Harper Lee Award, the Hall-Waters Southern Prize, the Southeastern Library Association Award, and the Alabama Library Association Award. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Ahab's Wife or, The Star-Gazer
- Alternate titles
- Ahab's Wife: or, The Star-Gazer
- Original publication date
- 1999-09-22
- People/Characters
- Captain Ahab (from "Moby Dick"); Una Spenser; Kit Sparrow; Giles Bonebright; Starbuck (from "Moby Dick"); Bertha Spenser (Una's mother) (show all 50); Ulysses Spenser (Una's father); Liberty Spenser (Una's son); Justice Spenser (Una's son); Susan (Spenser taken as last name); Agatha (Una's Aunt); Frannie (Una's cousin); Jonathan (Torchy | Una's uncle); Rebekkah Swain; Clifford Fry (Captain); Captain Swain; Sallie Swain; Stubb (from "Moby Dick"); Flask (from "Moby Dick"); Tashtego; Dagoo (from "Moby Dick"); Charlotte Hussey (the 2nd Mrs. Hussey); Mr. Hussey; Abram Quary; Isaac Starbuck (gaoler); Folly; Austin Lord (Judge); Judge Austin Lord; Margaret Fuller (of Boston); David Poland; Aunt Charity (Charity Bildad, Capt. Bildad's sister); Charity Bildad (Aunt Charity | from "Moby Dick"); Captain Bildad (from "Moby Dick"); Captain Peleg (from "Moby Dick"); Justice Spencer (son of Una and Ahab); Hilda Macy (Mrs. Macy, later, Maynard); Mrs. Macy (Hilda Macy, later, Maynard); Captain Robert Maynard; Mrs. Scheffield (later the 3rd Mrs. Hussey); Elijah (from "Moby Dick"); Queequeg; Ishmael (from "Moby Dick", aka David Pollack); David Pollack (aka Ishmael); Betsy Starbuck (Isaac Starbuck's wife); Captain Boomer; Robben Avalon; Reverand Mr. Peal; Tistig; Frederick Douglass; Phoebe Folger (mathematician)
- Important places
- Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA; Louisville, Kentucky, USA (near); Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Siasconset, Massachusetts, USA; New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
- Important events
- Sinking of the Sussex
- Epigraph
- One must take off her fear like clothing; One must travel at night; This is the seeking after God. --Maureen Morehead, "In a Yellow Room"
- Dedication
- In Token Of My Admiration and Affection This Book Is Inscribed To John C. Morrison
- First words
- Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last.
- Quotations
- A dart tipped with pleasure and feathered with pain passed through me.
How could I … become blind? What trajectory intended for me, determined by me, could include the subtracting of sight from the sense of me?
And I thought I would not tell… Though it left me a liar, it left me having placed a higher value on Charlotte’s happiness than on my own clean conscience. But was it not arrogance in me that made me think I knew best in ... (show all)the matter, that my hand at the stopcock had the wisdom to regulate the flow of truth?
Sometimes my mother and I stood and looked at our faces together in the oval mirror she had brought with her from the East. … Thus, elegantly framed, my mother and I made a double portrait of ourselves for memory, by lookin... (show all)g in the mirror.
…I have ever feared the weathervane in me. Sometimes I point toward Independence, isolation. Sometimes I rotate – my back to Independence – and I need and want my friends, my family, with a force like a gale. … I do n... (show all)ot count myself fickle, for I have much of loyalty in me, but I am changeable.
When I hugged Frannie, I felt I was hugging a sturdy little churn. The moment I let go of her, the dasher inside made her jump and jump again with joy.
People cross our paths casually, when trumpets should blast.
At your own death … can the vastness of your own experience be buried in the ground, funneled into nothing but the shape of a grave?
Youth doesn’t last. … I could not through any act of will make my youth last. Cooking recommended me with more assurance.
…I was alone, as everyone is when the universe opens its black mouth. It swallowed my babe and me, and spit me out again.
… it was her absence, not her death, that seemed real. The way she was not held by the walls of the cabin. The vacancy in the air.
The waters of grief rose up in the well of me.
Anger that she should have died lay in my left hand and sorrow, for him, in my right. Someone had knitted black mittens for me, and within their muffling wool, over the mud-stained grave, sorrow clasped anger and anger sorrow... (show all), with all their might, till they were the same.
This is the way it is in life. You pursue something new and don't even know that the wind of your own running is a thief.
Where we choose to be, where we choose to be - we have that power to determine our lives. We cannot reel time backward or forward, but we can take ourselves to the place that defines our being.
"Your idea of dangerous and mine are worlds apart." - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Each day and forever, by the ticking of the mantel clock and by the dark wheeling of the cosmos, we have given time a home.
- Blurbers
- Lamb, Wally
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