I started reading Moby Dick, first, back in 2014 or so, I think. I got a physical copy from Jarir, (or was it the books section of Lulu), but read most of it using the kindle, as is my wont anyway. I read as much as near the 60% mark, before postponing its completion, day by day, and it got abandoned. I never thought that I abandoned the book decisively. But to be honest, there was so much of detail, that I couldn't bring myself to go through the many chapters - some which serve as introduction to all of the families of whales, its physiological system, the reference to whales in times gone by especially in ancient Art etc. and its inaccuracies, all of which serve very little to the purpose of the book, as we may interpret it today. Back in the day, say one hundred years ago, equipped with a copy of Moby Dick, which was possibly going to be your only means of entertainment for the next month or so, the above detail may stretch your term of enjoyment through elastic means. I don't mean that this was the author's intent. The author verily believed that every word wrote, brought in a sense of enjoyment to his intended audience. But I read it - actually I listened to the unabridged audio book version as available in spotify - and that way I could afford to go through all those chapters which I read a good ten years or so back - and then those I had yet to read, while not shaving off my limited reading time.
So what did I find ? There are places which offer good entertainment - especially the initial chapters before Ishmael and Queequeg boarded the Pequod, the patter by Stubb across the book which I found very witty and was presented in such a manner that I couldn't help liking the character and of courses Ahab's tyrannical - at times philosophical, at other times obsessed, spitted out words. All these are as expected with works of literature from an earlier period - rhetorical, most times serving no purpose other than offer a moment of deep insight, shock, or for the reader to ponder over. Yet in the overall scheme, offer the reader good literature from a time gone by ( for example I still enjoy Charles Dickens immensely). But the swaths of digressing that I mentioned in the first paragraph are, on top of these traits of classical literature (which a reader expects if she so decides to turn to a book of the times), and their lied the problem with the book, and hence my modest rating.
I feel that most of those who read Moby Dick has awe for what Melville achieved. Awe, yes, I too have for the work that he had put in. But I can't shed my skin that of a modern man, who is in constant battle with time - read as slots of my life - and the lookout for return of investment is so deep grained, it is a constant battle to select what to read, and what to postpone for a day (if and ) when I have time to kill, and no one is after my time anymore. Hence, as this is my review, and I have to be true to my sentiments, I can only recommend this to those are into audio books, and may they absorb this in small doses, or as they deem digestible, if they want to explore what the fuss is all about this book, and why some call it the greatest (American) novel. For me, I'd rather spend more time on authors like Saul Bellow, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, or Cormac McCarthey etc., in my discovery of great American novels, than take on chapter after chapter that leads no where, interspersed with Ahab's megalomania, all the way to its almost abrupt end. But still I've competed it, after a couple of failed attempts. Thank heavens for the audiobook!
Rating: ***
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