This one is a hard one. And one I should probably read again, because I think I got like half of it. Also, this is (ironically), one of the driest books I’ve ever read (see what I did there? Because it is about a whale and set in the sea. Okay, I’m a bad comedian).

I think most people know more or less what Moby-Dick is about a Captain (Ahab) who is obsessed with a white whale (aka. Moby-Dick). He goes after it, trying to catch him (I think it was a he), so his pride can be satisfied. But that’s hubris and in classic literature, it means you’re doomed. So he dies in the end, never catching the whale. There you have the abridged version.

Oh, and the narrator is called Ishmael. Call him that.

One of the most interesting things about this book is Melville’s description of the life in the seas. When he was young, he worked in a whale-ship for some time, so he clearly knows what he’s talking about. He also adds extra information (lots of it) on whales and how products were made from them. While I will never approve of whale hunting and how they were treated, it used to be part of the lives of a lot of people.

As I wasn’t expecting the long descriptions of whales and the whole old industry of whaling, at some points I got a little bored. I felt they stalled the plot a lot, and I wanted to get to the exciting parts. Someone should’ve told old Melville to “cut to the chase”. Seriously, he had an amazing way of not addressing the main points for hundreds of pages. The parts that were not about whales, I loved. The characters are so interesting and their life was actually very enjoyable to read. The scientific descriptions of the reproduction of sperm whales, not so much, to be honest.

I did like how he wrote the way in which the characters speak. He portrays these seamen (let’s not forget he lived among them) very realistically and that helped a lot in this book. Maybe it’s because I live in a completely different context and time, but it’s clear that all the detail and work he puts on the setting of the novel helps to put the reader in that world. And it was probably the same in his time, because I’m quite sure most Melville readers were not whalers or anything around that world, pretty much like most modern Melville readers, as myself. So, he was able to show and communicate a completely different world from what people were used to. And that’s a huge thing.

However, I must recommend this with some reserve: it’s not for everyone. There’s a lot of scientific descriptions of whales, and it’s very dense. Sometimes, it feels as if the plot drags forever. So, if you want something action-packed, give Moby-Dick a miss. If you don’t mind dense and tiresome writing, this might be very regarding.