Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Moby Dick had long been one of those books I instinctively shied from, put off by its intimidating girth and tedious reputation. Recalling film adaptations seen in my childhood and the real life inspiration for the tale, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, still fresh in my memory, I never felt the need to undertake Melville's monolithic text. Over the years my aversion was solidified by waves of US literature students complaining about the book, most of whom probably never finished reading it. So imagine my surprise when I  encountered the easy-going, confiding voice of the narrator Ishmael in the opening pages. Where were the elaborately wrought and brooding ponderings so oft mentioned? They were to appear later on, but for the beginning at least, I was hooked, borne along with what promised a gripping adventure on the high seas. Best of all, I knew not how it ended.

The story begins with our narrator, Ishmael, seeking to escape his despondency by going out to sea. Prior to departing, he befriends the cannibal harpooner, Queequeg, during a comical bed sharing incident. The blossoming buddies sign up for a three year job with the Pequod, a Nantucket whaling ship captained by the maimed and mysterious Ahab. Once the expedition is underway, Ahab declares the true nature of the voyage, namely a monomaniacal mission to hunt the white sperm whale known as Moby Dick, the monster that 'dismasted' him. It is Ahab's all consuming obsession for revenge which propels the Pequod on, but sadly not the narrative. Here things start to founder. Enter the digressions, the whaling lore, the exhaustive chapters on maritime pursuits and cetacean anatomy, the rambling soliloquies of crew members. All fine in themselves, but this is research most writers would have the foresight to leave out; to bolster, not replace the story. But so it goes.

My main gripe with Moby Dick is that it didn't go where I wanted it to. The bickering Quaker owners of the ship, Peleg and Bildad, are discarded from the plot soon after their amusing introductions. Ishmael and Queequeg are similarly displaced, ceasing to provide anything more than background crew. The stage is given over to the mentally unhinged Ahab, a man whose doom laden mutterings eventually become a real bore. I have never studied the novel in an academic context but I imagine much has been written of its biblical allusions, resonant mythic power and grandiose metaphors. I did feel a little like a naughty school boy sailing irreverently over passages of profound philosophical meaning, but close analysis is a luxury for the idle. In spite of pacing issues, I did enjoy it overall. There are passages of great tension and excitement, particularly the final, three part chase of the white whale. The underlying (and unexpected) homosexual subtext added a dimension of interest to a sometimes difficult and temperamental read.        

Rating: 2/5