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Moby Dick does literally everything most genre works want to do better than genre. I was debating opening a let's read Moby Dick thread, dunno if there is interest.
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May 31, 2020 20:18
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Balzac's The Black Sheep is worth a read.
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Jun 7, 2020 06:44
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The North Tower posted:Re: Moby Dick, I just dived in without having read much other literature. I was happily surprised to find out that it was like jumping in the water: the first leap is the hardest, and after you let it wash over you. It's a straightforward adventure story, with lots of cool facts about ships and whales. God drat do I love chapter 32: WHALE FACTS: There is one thing and one thing only that everyone, everywhere, we all can agree on about whales. Without doubt. Without question. Whales ARE fish. There's also a celeb-heavy online reading at http://www.mobydickbigread.com/, including John Waters (sadly he doesn't read the chapter where they squeeze the sperm and the sailors' hands keep touching), David Attenborough and Stephen Fry. I had a great time, and without a huge library of books read at that point. I read it concurrently with Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy, which I wouldn't necessarily call lit (but I like that he included political economy into sci-fi). I'm happy I read both, and I got different things out of each. The "Whales are Fish" part is great because not only does Ishmael loudly proclaim he's ignoring Linnaeus, but those sections (cetology, et all) usually come after some major fuckup (the first landing, etc) and represent Ishmael trying to gain some semblance of rational understanding over the sheer brutality and foreboding of the voyage. It's important to note that he just kind of gives up near the end as Ahab finishes his mad quest. I need to stop because otherwise I will not shut up about Moby Dick.
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Jul 25, 2020 22:01
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More on Ishmael (and someone feel free to come in and make fun of my interpretation) but the thing where he disregards Linnaeus is to convey to the reader that despite all his philosophizing, Ishamael knows no more about this mad quest than Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, or the rest of the beleaguered denizens of the Pequod. He's astute enough to pick up on some of the essentials but never connects the infernal imagery to the prophet Elijah showing up to tell him and Queequeg that this is a really bad idea and indeed is sublimated when the ship begins to fire up the furnaces (I forget the exact name) that turns the Pequod from a regular whaling ship into the damned bellows of hell. Really, I love the Biblical imagery from Ahab standing tall against the lightning (and God) wielding his burning harpoon while the crew cowers in terror to the last whirlpool that drags even the bird down with it because Ahab's brand of evil never rests until he has pulled everyone down with him. Anything in particular you guys want to talk about?
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Jul 26, 2020 22:29
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Strom Cuzewon posted:I'm only a little way in, but Ishmael is wonderfully full of poo poo, like the whole first chapter is him hiding how he's broke and unemployed. But being paid is the most wonderful thing! Did you get to the part where Ishmael confidently assigns himself a good share, but then is really only brought aboard because Captains Peleg and Bildad want Queegueg's harpooning skills?
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Jul 28, 2020 08:06
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