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Review on second reading:
Rating second read: 3 stars
Is it sacrilege to say that the book in translation was way better than the book in its original language?
A friend of mine told me one day that reading a book in its original language and reading the exact same book but this time in translation is like reading two different books. I was so skeptical about this because the translation is supposed to be like a bridge between you and any novel you want to read. But, alas!, he was (sort of) right. And no, this has nothing to do with the translation I read first, though sometimes you can pick up a book with a poor translation and I would agree that that makes a lot of difference, in fact, that might end up ruining your whole reading experience – as for this particular case, I don't believe there was something wrong with the edition I picked up back in 2021, but the other way around: I feel like I actually read Moby Dick, the real Moby Dick, and it was partly because of the translation that I ended up loving this book, I even sent an email to the translator and thanked him for his great job and somehow making this book one of my all-time favorites, literally the number one back then. So, was Melville himself who ruined this second reading experience for me?
Of course not! Well, perhaps just a little bit.
I must confess that reading Moby Dick in its original English was rather hard, both language wise and content wise, whereas reading the book in translation was complex—yes, I would agree on that—yet mostly readable, understandable, and quite enjoyable. The content was by no means an obstacle when I read the book the first time, though I had to look up some words—nautical terms, sea vocabulary, and whatnot—that I'd never come across before, words that I didn't know in Spanish, and words that, perhaps at this point, I have even forgotten.
This second time I was so naïve and optimistic, I genuinely thought I could read Moby Dick in English, when I just started reading in English two years ago—I know, such a bad decision. Since Moby Dick was our pick in September for our book club—September and I'm finishing it in November, holy cow!—I thought it would be a great idea to read it along, so I said to myself 'you already read it once, and you loved it, you understood the story, you enjoyed the non-fiction chapters the most, go, warrior, and pick it up again, what on earth is the worst thing that could happen?' Well, it turns out that I ended up hating one of my all-time favorite books. Nothing much, right?
Honestly, my main problem with Moby Dick was a particular thing that is impossible to translate into Spanish, therefore I didn't know that the book was written in this way until I picked it up again: thou, ye, thy, thee, and repeat, thou, ye, thy, thee, and again. Yes, I had no idea that Melville's writing style in Moby Dick was like the King James Bible or any random Shakespeare's play (here I might be mistaken). It works, maybe, but reading a huge book written in this way was utterly painful and quite overwhelming. Even when I sort of got used to the language, even when I watched a couple of videos to understand how to use those pronouns, the verb conjugation, and the like, I couldn't get the point. Was it supposed to be symbolic? I don't know, but this time I found the dialogue very unnatural and somewhat unrealistic, but, who knows, perhaps my impressions happen to be like that only because of my deep disappointment. On the other hand, the non-fiction chapters were again those that I enjoyed the most, this time slightly more to my surprise, and mainly, again, because of the content—the cetological chapters are still vividly in my head.
I admit I was unprepared for reading a book like Moby Dick in my second language, but even so I can't help but think that the author and his prose didn't make things easier. It was the other way around, basically. Now, I just have to live with this—the fact that Moby Dick is not anymore what I thought it was—and be prepared for the third time, that, for the record, I'm pretty sure won't be in the near future by any means.
“But war is pain, and hate is woe. Come in thy lowest form of love, and I will kneel and kiss thee; but at thy highest, come as mere supernal power; and though thou launchest navies of full-freighted worlds, there’s that in here that still remains indifferent. Oh, thou clear spirit, of thy fire thou madest me, and like a true child of fire, I breathe it back to thee.”
——
Review on first reading:
Rating first read: 5+ stars
Moby Dick, one year later...
Review in English below
Best book I read in February 2021
Actualización un año después: Así es amigos, un año ha pasado desde que terminé este libro y sigo sosteniendo lo que dije el 03 de febrero de 2021: Moby Dick es el libro de mi vida.
No hay ninguna otra historia, al día de hoy, que sea tan especial para mí como lo fue esta novela.
Durante este año, por cierto, algunas veces me apetecía volver a leer Moby Dick y lo sacaba del librero, lo habría en una página aleatoria y leía, ya fuera el capítulo completo si era de los cortos, o apenas unas páginas si me tocaba uno de los más extensos; pero siempre con el mismo entusiasmo como cuando lo leí la primera vez.
A veces solo tenía ganas de recordar mis frases favoritas, y sin haberlas marcado en el libro, hoy por hoy aún recuerdo el capítulo y, en casos extremos, la página exacta de donde se encuentra la frase que busco. Por ejemplo, mientras escribo esto tengo aquí mi edición junto a mí, abierta en una de mis frases favoritas de toda la obra:
“¿Qué era América en 1492, sino pez suelto en el que Colón plantó la banderola española? ¿Y Polonia para el zar? ¿Y Grecia para los turcos? ¿E India para los ingleses? ¿En qué se va a convertir México para los Estados Unidos? Son todos peces sueltos. ¿Y los derechos del hombre, y las libertades del mundo? Peces sueltos. ¿Y las mentes y las opiniones de los hombres? Peces sueltos. ¿Y el principio de la libertad religiosa? Un pez suelto. ¿Y los pensamientos de los filósofos para los plagiarios? Peces sueltos. ¿Y qué es este enorme globo, sino un gigantesco pez suelto? ¿Y tú, lector? Un pez suelto, un pez agarrado.”
Sin duda seguiré visitando esta magnífica obra de arte de cuando en cuando, releerla sería todo un placer, pero por ahora tendrá que esperar. Ya veremos.
——
“Y lucho de este modo contra ti hasta el último segundo, te atravieso desde el centro del infierno y en nombre del odio aquí vomito sobre ti mi último suspiro.”
Estoy completamente seguro de que este libro es ya mi favorito, no del año, sino de la vida.
¿Cuántas veces un libro les ha marcado tanto que deciden ponerlo en un ‘lugar especial’? ¿Cuántas veces una historia ha llegado a tocar las fibras más sensibles de sí mismos? ¿Cuántas veces han terminado un libro y ya quieren volver a empezarlo para evitar ese vacío que les ha dejado? No sé en el caso de cada quien, pero sin duda Moby Dick lo hizo conmigo.
Y no voy a decir que es un libro perfecto o algo parecido, sino que son las particularidades que tiene junto con la profundidad del contenido lo que hizo de mi lectura una experiencia completa y muy satisfactoria.
Moby Dick es un libro, me atrevo a decir, único en su forma, en su narrativa y en su historia. No estoy convencido si debo recomendarlo a todo el mundo, ya que cada lector es un mundo en sí mismo, pero sí tengo que decir que vale la pena darle una oportunidad; es una experiencia lectora que cada quien debe experimentar a su manera.
Los capítulos de Moby Dick yo los dividiría en tres tipos:
1. Los capítulos que siguen el hilo de la historia, narrado desde la perspectiva de Ismael y su viaje en el Pequod junto a sus compañeros y el enigmático capitán Ahab. Algunas veces incluso se nota que Ismael es ‘suplantado’ por Melville, dado que es imposible que como narrador conozca todos los detalles (como el pensamiento o sentir de algún personaje, o cuando está ausente de la escena, por poner ejemplos).
2. Los capítulos reflexivos, filosóficos, donde se hace el uso de alegorías, en mi opinión muy bien narradas y estructuradas, cargados de simbolismos que quedan a la interpretación del lector en muchos casos.
3. Los capítulos descriptivos, donde conforme avanzamos en la historia se hace mucho hincapié en las características de las ballenas y en la caza de las ballenas. Por decir algo, nos describen los tipos de ballenas, el aceite de ballena, la cola, el esqueleto, las llamadas ‘escuelas de ballenas’ y de igual forma, las partes del barco ballenero, entre muchas cosas más.
4. Se podría definir un cuarto tipo de capítulos, a los que tienen una combinación de los tres anteriores, que sí que los hay.
Y los capítulos que merecen mención honorífica (todo basado en mi opinión personal) son los que enlisto a continuación:
⁃ La colcha (un capítulo íntimo en sí mismo)
⁃ El sermón (de mis favoritos y el capítulo que empezó todo, mi fascinación por esta novela)
⁃ La reina Mab
⁃ Cetología (el más claro ejemplo de un capítulo descriptivo)
⁃ La toldilla (yo lo llamaría ‘Un cambio de planes’)
⁃ La blancura de la ballena (mi favorito sin ninguna duda)
⁃ Historia del Town - Ho (el capítulo más largo del libro)
⁃ Stubb caza una ballena
⁃ La cuerda de mono (un capítulo que representa el sentido de la amistad)
⁃ Honor y gloria de la caza de las ballenas
⁃ Escuelas y maestros (me gustó la reflexión sobre la ballena que viaja sola; uno de los mejores capítulos)
⁃ Un apretón de manos (también de mis favoritos)
⁃ Ahab y el carpintero
⁃ Queequeg y su ataúd
⁃ El mosquete (el capítulo que yo renombraría como ‘La última oportunidad’)
⁃ La cabina
⁃ La sinfonía (uno de los capítulos más bellos y emotivos)
⁃ La persecución. El tercer día (último capítulo; no pudo haber sido un mejor final)
No quisiera decir más porque podría pasarme escribiendo todo el día lo que me hizo sentir y vivir esta novela, y aquí es donde reflexiono y me doy cuenta (aún más) que los libros tienen el poder de impactar a un lector en cierta medida que casi parece magia.
¡Gracias por tanto Moby Dick!
——
——
——
Update one year later: That's right my friends! A year has passed since I finished reading this book and I still stand by what I said on February 03, 2021: Moby Dick is the book of my life.
There is no other story that is as special to me as this novel was from that moment on.
In fact, during this whole year since I finished Moby Dick, sometimes I felt as though I needed to read it again; and so I took the book out of my bookcase, I opened it, I chose just one random page and then I read, either the whole chapter if it was from the short ones, or just a few pages if I got one of the longest. Either way, I was always with the same enthusiasm just exactly how I was the first time I read it.
Sometimes I just wanted to remember my favorite phrases, and without having underlined them in my edition, to this day I still remember the chapter and, in extraordinary cases, the exact page where the phrase I'm looking for is found. For instance, right now, while I am writing this paragraph, I have my edition next to me, I decide to open the book and I find one of my favorite lines from the entire novel:
“What was America in 1492 but a Loose-Fish, in which Columbus struck the Spanish standard by way of waifing it for his royal master and mistress? What was Poland to the Czar? What Greece to the Turk? What India to England? What at last will Mexico be to the United States? All Loose-Fish.
What are the Rights of Man and the Liberties of the World but Loose-Fish? What all men’s minds and opinions but Loose-Fish? What is the principle of religious belief in them but a Loose-Fish? What to the ostentatious smuggling verbalists are the thoughts of thinkers but Loose-Fish? What is the great globe itself but a Loose-Fish? And what are you, reader, but a Loose-Fish and a Fast-Fish, too?”
I will certainly continue reading this magnificent piece of literature from time to time; it would be a pleasure to reread it altogether, but for now that journey will have to wait. We'll see.
——
“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
I am completely sure that this book is already my favorite, not only of the year, but also of my life.
How many times has a book touched you so much that you decide to put it in a 'special place'? How many times have you read a quite memorable story that evokes strong feelings and memories on you? How many times have you finished a book and already want to start it again in order to fill that void it has left you? I don't know how your personal experiences have been, but without a doubt Moby Dick occupies that place in my mind and my heart.
I am not going to say that this is a perfect book or something similar, but rather that its peculiarities and its meaningful, deep content were those characteristics that made my reading a complete and very satisfying experience.
Moby Dick is a book, I have to say it, unique in its form, its narrative and its plot. To be honest, I am not quite sure if I should recommend this novel to everyone, since each reader has their particular, special tastes; however, I do have to say that it is worth giving it a shot – it is a reading experience that everyone should live in his own way.
Now, I would divide the Moby Dick chapters into three types:
1. The chapters that follow a narrative thread, narrated from the perspective of Ishmael, his journey aboard the Pequod with his comrades and the enigmatic captain Ahab. Sometimes it is noticeable that Ishmael is "impersonated" by Melville, since it is impossible for the narrator to know all the specific details/personal traits of each person aboard (such as the thoughts and feelings of each character, or for instance, when he (Ishmael) is absent from a particular scene).
2. The thoughtful, philosophical chapters, where you can find many allegories in them. In my opinion, these chapters are very well narrated and structured, loaded with symbolism, metaphors, and so on, whose interpretation depends on the reader in many cases.
3. The non-fiction chapters, at which we can learn a lot of information about the characteristics and hunting of the whales, to say the least. At the beginning, these kinds of chapters are not the usual, however, as long as we continue reading the book there is a constant emphasis on such topics. For instance, these chapters might describe the different types of whales, how the whale oil is used, parts of whales such as the tail and the skeleton, the so-called 'schools' of whales, and likewise, the parts of a whaling ship, and so on and so forth.
4. A fourth type of chapters might be found as a combination of the previous three ones; actually, there are a lot of chapters which belong to this fourth category.
From my point of view, the chapters that deserve an honorable mention are the ones listed below:
⁃ The Counterpane (a chapter with an intimate relationship in it)
⁃ The Sermon (one of my favorite chapters and that that started my fascination with this novel)
⁃ Queen Mab
⁃ Cetology (the clearest example of a non-fiction chapter)
⁃ The Quarter-Deck (I would have called it 'A Change of Plans')
⁃ The Whiteness of the Whale (this is without a doubt my favorite chapter)
⁃ The Town-Ho’s Story (the longest chapter in the book)
⁃ Stubb Kills a Whale
⁃ The Monkey-Rope (a chapter that shows what a true friendship means)
⁃ The Honor and Glory of Whaling
⁃ Schools and Schoolmasters (I liked the reflections on the whale that travels alone; one of the best chapters)
⁃ A Squeeze of the Hand (this is also one of my favorites)
⁃ Ahab and the Carpenter
⁃ Queequeg in His Coffin
⁃ The Musket (the chapter that I would rename as ‘The Last Chance’)
⁃ The Cabin
⁃ The Symphony (one of the most beautiful and emotional chapters)
⁃ The Chase.—Third Day (last chapter; it could not have had a better ending)
I would prefer not to say anything else since I could spend all day talking about what this novel means to me, and what made me feel and live. It's just here where I think and realize (even more) that books have the power to impact in a reader to a certain level – that sensation almost feels like magic.
Thank you so much Moby Dick, for everything!
Rating second read: 3 stars
Is it sacrilege to say that the book in translation was way better than the book in its original language?
A friend of mine told me one day that reading a book in its original language and reading the exact same book but this time in translation is like reading two different books. I was so skeptical about this because the translation is supposed to be like a bridge between you and any novel you want to read. But, alas!, he was (sort of) right. And no, this has nothing to do with the translation I read first, though sometimes you can pick up a book with a poor translation and I would agree that that makes a lot of difference, in fact, that might end up ruining your whole reading experience – as for this particular case, I don't believe there was something wrong with the edition I picked up back in 2021, but the other way around: I feel like I actually read Moby Dick, the real Moby Dick, and it was partly because of the translation that I ended up loving this book, I even sent an email to the translator and thanked him for his great job and somehow making this book one of my all-time favorites, literally the number one back then. So, was Melville himself who ruined this second reading experience for me?
Of course not! Well, perhaps just a little bit.
I must confess that reading Moby Dick in its original English was rather hard, both language wise and content wise, whereas reading the book in translation was complex—yes, I would agree on that—yet mostly readable, understandable, and quite enjoyable. The content was by no means an obstacle when I read the book the first time, though I had to look up some words—nautical terms, sea vocabulary, and whatnot—that I'd never come across before, words that I didn't know in Spanish, and words that, perhaps at this point, I have even forgotten.
This second time I was so naïve and optimistic, I genuinely thought I could read Moby Dick in English, when I just started reading in English two years ago—I know, such a bad decision. Since Moby Dick was our pick in September for our book club—September and I'm finishing it in November, holy cow!—I thought it would be a great idea to read it along, so I said to myself 'you already read it once, and you loved it, you understood the story, you enjoyed the non-fiction chapters the most, go, warrior, and pick it up again, what on earth is the worst thing that could happen?' Well, it turns out that I ended up hating one of my all-time favorite books. Nothing much, right?
Honestly, my main problem with Moby Dick was a particular thing that is impossible to translate into Spanish, therefore I didn't know that the book was written in this way until I picked it up again: thou, ye, thy, thee, and repeat, thou, ye, thy, thee, and again. Yes, I had no idea that Melville's writing style in Moby Dick was like the King James Bible or any random Shakespeare's play (here I might be mistaken). It works, maybe, but reading a huge book written in this way was utterly painful and quite overwhelming. Even when I sort of got used to the language, even when I watched a couple of videos to understand how to use those pronouns, the verb conjugation, and the like, I couldn't get the point. Was it supposed to be symbolic? I don't know, but this time I found the dialogue very unnatural and somewhat unrealistic, but, who knows, perhaps my impressions happen to be like that only because of my deep disappointment. On the other hand, the non-fiction chapters were again those that I enjoyed the most, this time slightly more to my surprise, and mainly, again, because of the content—the cetological chapters are still vividly in my head.
I admit I was unprepared for reading a book like Moby Dick in my second language, but even so I can't help but think that the author and his prose didn't make things easier. It was the other way around, basically. Now, I just have to live with this—the fact that Moby Dick is not anymore what I thought it was—and be prepared for the third time, that, for the record, I'm pretty sure won't be in the near future by any means.
“But war is pain, and hate is woe. Come in thy lowest form of love, and I will kneel and kiss thee; but at thy highest, come as mere supernal power; and though thou launchest navies of full-freighted worlds, there’s that in here that still remains indifferent. Oh, thou clear spirit, of thy fire thou madest me, and like a true child of fire, I breathe it back to thee.”
——
Review on first reading:
Rating first read: 5+ stars
Moby Dick, one year later...
Review in English below
Best book I read in February 2021
Actualización un año después: Así es amigos, un año ha pasado desde que terminé este libro y sigo sosteniendo lo que dije el 03 de febrero de 2021: Moby Dick es el libro de mi vida.
No hay ninguna otra historia, al día de hoy, que sea tan especial para mí como lo fue esta novela.
Durante este año, por cierto, algunas veces me apetecía volver a leer Moby Dick y lo sacaba del librero, lo habría en una página aleatoria y leía, ya fuera el capítulo completo si era de los cortos, o apenas unas páginas si me tocaba uno de los más extensos; pero siempre con el mismo entusiasmo como cuando lo leí la primera vez.
A veces solo tenía ganas de recordar mis frases favoritas, y sin haberlas marcado en el libro, hoy por hoy aún recuerdo el capítulo y, en casos extremos, la página exacta de donde se encuentra la frase que busco. Por ejemplo, mientras escribo esto tengo aquí mi edición junto a mí, abierta en una de mis frases favoritas de toda la obra:
“¿Qué era América en 1492, sino pez suelto en el que Colón plantó la banderola española? ¿Y Polonia para el zar? ¿Y Grecia para los turcos? ¿E India para los ingleses? ¿En qué se va a convertir México para los Estados Unidos? Son todos peces sueltos. ¿Y los derechos del hombre, y las libertades del mundo? Peces sueltos. ¿Y las mentes y las opiniones de los hombres? Peces sueltos. ¿Y el principio de la libertad religiosa? Un pez suelto. ¿Y los pensamientos de los filósofos para los plagiarios? Peces sueltos. ¿Y qué es este enorme globo, sino un gigantesco pez suelto? ¿Y tú, lector? Un pez suelto, un pez agarrado.”
Sin duda seguiré visitando esta magnífica obra de arte de cuando en cuando, releerla sería todo un placer, pero por ahora tendrá que esperar. Ya veremos.
——
“Y lucho de este modo contra ti hasta el último segundo, te atravieso desde el centro del infierno y en nombre del odio aquí vomito sobre ti mi último suspiro.”
Estoy completamente seguro de que este libro es ya mi favorito, no del año, sino de la vida.
¿Cuántas veces un libro les ha marcado tanto que deciden ponerlo en un ‘lugar especial’? ¿Cuántas veces una historia ha llegado a tocar las fibras más sensibles de sí mismos? ¿Cuántas veces han terminado un libro y ya quieren volver a empezarlo para evitar ese vacío que les ha dejado? No sé en el caso de cada quien, pero sin duda Moby Dick lo hizo conmigo.
Y no voy a decir que es un libro perfecto o algo parecido, sino que son las particularidades que tiene junto con la profundidad del contenido lo que hizo de mi lectura una experiencia completa y muy satisfactoria.
Moby Dick es un libro, me atrevo a decir, único en su forma, en su narrativa y en su historia. No estoy convencido si debo recomendarlo a todo el mundo, ya que cada lector es un mundo en sí mismo, pero sí tengo que decir que vale la pena darle una oportunidad; es una experiencia lectora que cada quien debe experimentar a su manera.
Los capítulos de Moby Dick yo los dividiría en tres tipos:
1. Los capítulos que siguen el hilo de la historia, narrado desde la perspectiva de Ismael y su viaje en el Pequod junto a sus compañeros y el enigmático capitán Ahab. Algunas veces incluso se nota que Ismael es ‘suplantado’ por Melville, dado que es imposible que como narrador conozca todos los detalles (como el pensamiento o sentir de algún personaje, o cuando está ausente de la escena, por poner ejemplos).
2. Los capítulos reflexivos, filosóficos, donde se hace el uso de alegorías, en mi opinión muy bien narradas y estructuradas, cargados de simbolismos que quedan a la interpretación del lector en muchos casos.
3. Los capítulos descriptivos, donde conforme avanzamos en la historia se hace mucho hincapié en las características de las ballenas y en la caza de las ballenas. Por decir algo, nos describen los tipos de ballenas, el aceite de ballena, la cola, el esqueleto, las llamadas ‘escuelas de ballenas’ y de igual forma, las partes del barco ballenero, entre muchas cosas más.
4. Se podría definir un cuarto tipo de capítulos, a los que tienen una combinación de los tres anteriores, que sí que los hay.
Y los capítulos que merecen mención honorífica (todo basado en mi opinión personal) son los que enlisto a continuación:
⁃ La colcha (un capítulo íntimo en sí mismo)
⁃ El sermón (de mis favoritos y el capítulo que empezó todo, mi fascinación por esta novela)
⁃ La reina Mab
⁃ Cetología (el más claro ejemplo de un capítulo descriptivo)
⁃ La toldilla (yo lo llamaría ‘Un cambio de planes’)
⁃ La blancura de la ballena (mi favorito sin ninguna duda)
⁃ Historia del Town - Ho (el capítulo más largo del libro)
⁃ Stubb caza una ballena
⁃ La cuerda de mono (un capítulo que representa el sentido de la amistad)
⁃ Honor y gloria de la caza de las ballenas
⁃ Escuelas y maestros (me gustó la reflexión sobre la ballena que viaja sola; uno de los mejores capítulos)
⁃ Un apretón de manos (también de mis favoritos)
⁃ Ahab y el carpintero
⁃ Queequeg y su ataúd
⁃ El mosquete (el capítulo que yo renombraría como ‘La última oportunidad’)
⁃ La cabina
⁃ La sinfonía (uno de los capítulos más bellos y emotivos)
⁃ La persecución. El tercer día (último capítulo; no pudo haber sido un mejor final)
No quisiera decir más porque podría pasarme escribiendo todo el día lo que me hizo sentir y vivir esta novela, y aquí es donde reflexiono y me doy cuenta (aún más) que los libros tienen el poder de impactar a un lector en cierta medida que casi parece magia.
¡Gracias por tanto Moby Dick!
——
——
——
Update one year later: That's right my friends! A year has passed since I finished reading this book and I still stand by what I said on February 03, 2021: Moby Dick is the book of my life.
There is no other story that is as special to me as this novel was from that moment on.
In fact, during this whole year since I finished Moby Dick, sometimes I felt as though I needed to read it again; and so I took the book out of my bookcase, I opened it, I chose just one random page and then I read, either the whole chapter if it was from the short ones, or just a few pages if I got one of the longest. Either way, I was always with the same enthusiasm just exactly how I was the first time I read it.
Sometimes I just wanted to remember my favorite phrases, and without having underlined them in my edition, to this day I still remember the chapter and, in extraordinary cases, the exact page where the phrase I'm looking for is found. For instance, right now, while I am writing this paragraph, I have my edition next to me, I decide to open the book and I find one of my favorite lines from the entire novel:
“What was America in 1492 but a Loose-Fish, in which Columbus struck the Spanish standard by way of waifing it for his royal master and mistress? What was Poland to the Czar? What Greece to the Turk? What India to England? What at last will Mexico be to the United States? All Loose-Fish.
What are the Rights of Man and the Liberties of the World but Loose-Fish? What all men’s minds and opinions but Loose-Fish? What is the principle of religious belief in them but a Loose-Fish? What to the ostentatious smuggling verbalists are the thoughts of thinkers but Loose-Fish? What is the great globe itself but a Loose-Fish? And what are you, reader, but a Loose-Fish and a Fast-Fish, too?”
I will certainly continue reading this magnificent piece of literature from time to time; it would be a pleasure to reread it altogether, but for now that journey will have to wait. We'll see.
——
“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”
I am completely sure that this book is already my favorite, not only of the year, but also of my life.
How many times has a book touched you so much that you decide to put it in a 'special place'? How many times have you read a quite memorable story that evokes strong feelings and memories on you? How many times have you finished a book and already want to start it again in order to fill that void it has left you? I don't know how your personal experiences have been, but without a doubt Moby Dick occupies that place in my mind and my heart.
I am not going to say that this is a perfect book or something similar, but rather that its peculiarities and its meaningful, deep content were those characteristics that made my reading a complete and very satisfying experience.
Moby Dick is a book, I have to say it, unique in its form, its narrative and its plot. To be honest, I am not quite sure if I should recommend this novel to everyone, since each reader has their particular, special tastes; however, I do have to say that it is worth giving it a shot – it is a reading experience that everyone should live in his own way.
Now, I would divide the Moby Dick chapters into three types:
1. The chapters that follow a narrative thread, narrated from the perspective of Ishmael, his journey aboard the Pequod with his comrades and the enigmatic captain Ahab. Sometimes it is noticeable that Ishmael is "impersonated" by Melville, since it is impossible for the narrator to know all the specific details/personal traits of each person aboard (such as the thoughts and feelings of each character, or for instance, when he (Ishmael) is absent from a particular scene).
2. The thoughtful, philosophical chapters, where you can find many allegories in them. In my opinion, these chapters are very well narrated and structured, loaded with symbolism, metaphors, and so on, whose interpretation depends on the reader in many cases.
3. The non-fiction chapters, at which we can learn a lot of information about the characteristics and hunting of the whales, to say the least. At the beginning, these kinds of chapters are not the usual, however, as long as we continue reading the book there is a constant emphasis on such topics. For instance, these chapters might describe the different types of whales, how the whale oil is used, parts of whales such as the tail and the skeleton, the so-called 'schools' of whales, and likewise, the parts of a whaling ship, and so on and so forth.
4. A fourth type of chapters might be found as a combination of the previous three ones; actually, there are a lot of chapters which belong to this fourth category.
From my point of view, the chapters that deserve an honorable mention are the ones listed below:
⁃ The Counterpane (a chapter with an intimate relationship in it)
⁃ The Sermon (one of my favorite chapters and that that started my fascination with this novel)
⁃ Queen Mab
⁃ Cetology (the clearest example of a non-fiction chapter)
⁃ The Quarter-Deck (I would have called it 'A Change of Plans')
⁃ The Whiteness of the Whale (this is without a doubt my favorite chapter)
⁃ The Town-Ho’s Story (the longest chapter in the book)
⁃ Stubb Kills a Whale
⁃ The Monkey-Rope (a chapter that shows what a true friendship means)
⁃ The Honor and Glory of Whaling
⁃ Schools and Schoolmasters (I liked the reflections on the whale that travels alone; one of the best chapters)
⁃ A Squeeze of the Hand (this is also one of my favorites)
⁃ Ahab and the Carpenter
⁃ Queequeg in His Coffin
⁃ The Musket (the chapter that I would rename as ‘The Last Chance’)
⁃ The Cabin
⁃ The Symphony (one of the most beautiful and emotional chapters)
⁃ The Chase.—Third Day (last chapter; it could not have had a better ending)
I would prefer not to say anything else since I could spend all day talking about what this novel means to me, and what made me feel and live. It's just here where I think and realize (even more) that books have the power to impact in a reader to a certain level – that sensation almost feels like magic.
Thank you so much Moby Dick, for everything!
