I am currently reading Moby Dick and I am about half way through it and don't know if I can (or want to) finish it. I think I would rather pull out a tooth than finish, but all the reviews that I have read (including my wife's) say how great the book is so I want to finish. Does it get better in the second half? Or should I just cut my losses and rent one of the movie versions instead?
2007-08-02 01:02:43 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I love Moby Dick and re-read it constantly. But it is a novel for slow enjoyment and is written for the sort of reader who enjoys a particular kind subtle jokes, a heavy dose of philosophical pondering, and methods of storytelling and characterization that are now out of fashion. If you're the sort of reader who reads mostly for the story, and not also for the texture of how the story is told, I'd suggest that you cut your losses. The essential plot of Moby Dick could be told in a tenth the number of pages. A movie version will tell you the story without all of the philosophy, humor, and speculation about the nature of whales.
By the way, my answer might sound judgmental, as if I'm saying "You just don't get it!" But reading tastes, and the things we read for, are as varied as our tastes in ice cream. Someone who prefers Moby Dick to a novel by John Grisham is no more superior than someone who prefers cherry ice cream to chocolate. And the appeal of an author can be unique to that author. Not liking the humor or philosophy of Melville doesn't mean you don't like humor or philosophy. It just means that Melville's methods don't do anything for you.
Speaking as someone who does love Moby Dick, finishing a book that you aren't enjoying seems like a waste of time to me. There are so many books that would be to your taste, and life is short!
2007-08-02 01:20:04 · answer #1 · answered by Yankee in London 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It's not an easy novel to read. Herman Melville used colloquial English with a mixture of New England and Long Island syntax. Very tough read. The movie with Gregory Peck was better as well as Edgar Allan Poe.
2007-08-02 02:19:25 · answer #2 · answered by mac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While I agree with Yankee in London about Moby Dick being written for slow reading and enjoyment, I do believe that you should finish it. If all you ever read were books designed to appeal to your particular instant gratification-kind of reading, would you read anything more than comic books? Would you ever read a Shakespeare play? or the Bible? In fact, what sort of books does this limit you to for a lifetime of reading?
2007-08-02 01:44:34 · answer #3 · answered by actormyk 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ME!!!! PICK ME!!!! I have never read it nor will I ever. I mean a whale and a ship story that goes on for longer than gone with the wind? Please....
2007-08-02 08:26:31 · answer #4 · answered by Jenna 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
You got further than I did. It couldn't hold my attention!
2007-08-02 01:07:03 · answer #5 · answered by Marge Simpson 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Idk really about the movie and I never read the last half b/c of the front!
2007-08-02 01:06:18 · answer #6 · answered by Christy W 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋