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It wanders some but the imagery is beautiful and you just have to fall in love with the language. The philosophy slipped into Mardi is thought provoking without messing with the story line. A good read.
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Library of America #1
Typee, Omoo, Mardi
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The inaugural volume of The Library of America presents one of America’s greatest writers, Herman Melville (1819–1891). These three early novels are stirring romances of the South Seas; many of their fictional details resemble some of the events in Melville’s own life in the early 1840s. Like the hero-narrator of Typee and Omoo, Melville shipped out on a whaler, jumped ship in exotic ports, was held captive by native tribes—though here he might have exaggerated his own exploits a bit—and escaped to find passage home in the service of the United States Navy.
Exuberant, highly pictorial, with a clear, swift narrative, Typee (1846) was his most popular work well into the 20th century, outselling all his others, including Moby-Dick. It offers a mostly idyllic account of life among the “cannibals” in which civilized innocence is contrasted with the corrosive effects of 19th-century industrial society.
A sequel to Typee, Omoo (1847) continues this inquiry into Pacific culture and those who intruded upon it, specifically in Tahiti. Melville details the misadventures of the unruly and overworked crew of the Australian trader Julia after they are imprisoned for insubordination; the story will perhaps surprise today’s readers with its humor.
With Mardi (1849), Melville abandons a literary Polynesia for a mythical one. “Mardi” is the Polynesian word for “the world,” and the voyage through imaginary South Sea archipelagoes stops off at Dominora (Britain), Porpheero (Europe), and Vivenza (the United States). Tracing the quest for the elusive and beautiful Yillah, it remains a timely political allegory and a thrilling adventure.
Together, these three romances give early evidence of the genius and daring that make Melville the master novelist of the sea and a precursor of modernist literature.
Exuberant, highly pictorial, with a clear, swift narrative, Typee (1846) was his most popular work well into the 20th century, outselling all his others, including Moby-Dick. It offers a mostly idyllic account of life among the “cannibals” in which civilized innocence is contrasted with the corrosive effects of 19th-century industrial society.
A sequel to Typee, Omoo (1847) continues this inquiry into Pacific culture and those who intruded upon it, specifically in Tahiti. Melville details the misadventures of the unruly and overworked crew of the Australian trader Julia after they are imprisoned for insubordination; the story will perhaps surprise today’s readers with its humor.
With Mardi (1849), Melville abandons a literary Polynesia for a mythical one. “Mardi” is the Polynesian word for “the world,” and the voyage through imaginary South Sea archipelagoes stops off at Dominora (Britain), Porpheero (Europe), and Vivenza (the United States). Tracing the quest for the elusive and beautiful Yillah, it remains a timely political allegory and a thrilling adventure.
Together, these three romances give early evidence of the genius and daring that make Melville the master novelist of the sea and a precursor of modernist literature.
1333 pages, Hardcover
First published May 6,1982
This edition
- Format
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1333 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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May 6, 1982 by Library of America
- ISBN
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9780940450004
- ASIN
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0940450003
- Language
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English
About the author
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There is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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I have reviewed each of the three books in this volume separately, but inasmuch as the texts I read were the very ones used in this volume, I thought I'd review it. (I have it to hand, anyway, so I'll also comment on the packaging, font, etc.) The Library Of America is unrivaled in its textual authority, and the editors who worked on the Melville are Harrison Hayford, Hershel Parker and G. Thomas Tanselle. These texts are the Northwestern-Newberry texts, so, if you read any single novel by Herman Melville, make sure the copyright page says its the Northwestern-Newberry text. You won't have any trouble finding a Library Of America edition through your local library or the library system of which it is a part.
The look of the book: Unless your library has snipped to a nub the bookmark ribbon and chucked the dustjacket, you'll have found a very attractive book. The ribbon bookmark is incredibly handy, if, like me, you tend to tear only the smallest portion of a White Castle receipt to use as a bookmark most of the time. You won't risk the piece of paper fluttering away as you walk around proudly with your tome. You probably won't lose place with the ribbon, but if you do, it's attached to the binding. You can find your place again and put that ribbon in the right spot. The font is small but not extravagantly small, and it is a clear, distinct one. The pages are thin but not transparent. The binding is nice and tight but not the kind of binding which makes the inner margins hard to observe. This is old-fashioned book-binding of a sort not often seen post-1980. Thank the Haddon Craftsmen. On the inside of the jacket are lists of other Library Of America selections. After the main text are a chronology telling you the landmarks in the life of Herman Melville and pages of notes on the text. There is no editorializing or criticism in these volumes. That is very wise and, given the sheer intellect of the scholars who worked to issue as definitive a text as possible, proof of their humility.
The novels themselves: TYPEE, Melville's first, written in his mid-twenties (roughly 1846) is a very detailed, colorful and flowing narrative of a sailor's adventure after abandoning his ship off a Polynesian island. He winds up living with a cannibal tribe. While it reads like a novel it is largely an autobiographical account, as is its follow-up, OMOO, from 1848 or so. Melville specifically addressed doubters in the preface to his third book, MARDI. In effect, he said to his readers that if they didn't believe what he told them in his first two memoirs, perhaps they would believe the fiction which was MARDI. As well-written as TYPEE is, MARDI is light years more elegant. As threadbare as OMOO is, MARDI is as bountiful a story as has ever been put between covers.
One thing I noticed is that the chapters of TYPEE are long and don't wind down until Melville has had his say. In OMOO, he seems to have had an idea of giving the reader brief portions. A typical chapter in TYPEE is about twelve pages. An average chapter in OMOO is about three and a half. But by the time MARDI came along in 1849 Melville managed to write very short chapters which, nevertheless, were so rich in ideas that the brevity of the chapters was a revelation.
I suggest reading these books in order. You will see Melville working on his craft. You may, like me, think he faltered somewhat with OMOO, but I think you'll agree he had to write it to get to MARDI. TYPEE is really enjoyable. OMOO has some great observation, the best chapter being one on hunting wild cattle. (Arguably Melville anticipates today's thinking on animal cruelty, but the sheer realism of that chapter is the stand-out feature.) MARDI is an epic satire. Melville channels Swift, especially in chapters dealing with countries of Melville's invention which mirror the United States, Britain and Ireland. MARDI is also a real meditation on belief. It is harrowing in places. Overall it echoes A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and DON QUIXOTE. It also anticipates James Joyce. A lot of the book involves a group of friends discussing poetry, philosophy and history. In this respect it reminds me of the library scene in Joyce's ULYSSES. I'll also point out that, while the characters talk about real figures in history and the arts, Melville has also created a world of writers, philosophers and historical figures. That is, he invents several figures the main characters talk about and quote. Throughout the book the subject of an author's purpose is discussed. Melville is clearly laying out his view of himself as an artist. Joyce had yet to do so: He wasn't born yet.
The look of the book: Unless your library has snipped to a nub the bookmark ribbon and chucked the dustjacket, you'll have found a very attractive book. The ribbon bookmark is incredibly handy, if, like me, you tend to tear only the smallest portion of a White Castle receipt to use as a bookmark most of the time. You won't risk the piece of paper fluttering away as you walk around proudly with your tome. You probably won't lose place with the ribbon, but if you do, it's attached to the binding. You can find your place again and put that ribbon in the right spot. The font is small but not extravagantly small, and it is a clear, distinct one. The pages are thin but not transparent. The binding is nice and tight but not the kind of binding which makes the inner margins hard to observe. This is old-fashioned book-binding of a sort not often seen post-1980. Thank the Haddon Craftsmen. On the inside of the jacket are lists of other Library Of America selections. After the main text are a chronology telling you the landmarks in the life of Herman Melville and pages of notes on the text. There is no editorializing or criticism in these volumes. That is very wise and, given the sheer intellect of the scholars who worked to issue as definitive a text as possible, proof of their humility.
The novels themselves: TYPEE, Melville's first, written in his mid-twenties (roughly 1846) is a very detailed, colorful and flowing narrative of a sailor's adventure after abandoning his ship off a Polynesian island. He winds up living with a cannibal tribe. While it reads like a novel it is largely an autobiographical account, as is its follow-up, OMOO, from 1848 or so. Melville specifically addressed doubters in the preface to his third book, MARDI. In effect, he said to his readers that if they didn't believe what he told them in his first two memoirs, perhaps they would believe the fiction which was MARDI. As well-written as TYPEE is, MARDI is light years more elegant. As threadbare as OMOO is, MARDI is as bountiful a story as has ever been put between covers.
One thing I noticed is that the chapters of TYPEE are long and don't wind down until Melville has had his say. In OMOO, he seems to have had an idea of giving the reader brief portions. A typical chapter in TYPEE is about twelve pages. An average chapter in OMOO is about three and a half. But by the time MARDI came along in 1849 Melville managed to write very short chapters which, nevertheless, were so rich in ideas that the brevity of the chapters was a revelation.
I suggest reading these books in order. You will see Melville working on his craft. You may, like me, think he faltered somewhat with OMOO, but I think you'll agree he had to write it to get to MARDI. TYPEE is really enjoyable. OMOO has some great observation, the best chapter being one on hunting wild cattle. (Arguably Melville anticipates today's thinking on animal cruelty, but the sheer realism of that chapter is the stand-out feature.) MARDI is an epic satire. Melville channels Swift, especially in chapters dealing with countries of Melville's invention which mirror the United States, Britain and Ireland. MARDI is also a real meditation on belief. It is harrowing in places. Overall it echoes A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and DON QUIXOTE. It also anticipates James Joyce. A lot of the book involves a group of friends discussing poetry, philosophy and history. In this respect it reminds me of the library scene in Joyce's ULYSSES. I'll also point out that, while the characters talk about real figures in history and the arts, Melville has also created a world of writers, philosophers and historical figures. That is, he invents several figures the main characters talk about and quote. Throughout the book the subject of an author's purpose is discussed. Melville is clearly laying out his view of himself as an artist. Joyce had yet to do so: He wasn't born yet.
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authentic and intrigue
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Finished Typee and Omoo. I love Mardi!
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Didn't get to "Mardi," which everyone derides.
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Let's face it, Melville's can be a bit boring. However, these 3 stories (if actually true) are quite amazing. Warning though: EACH OF THESE BOOKS CAN SEEM TO BE A VERY LONG READ and holding all 3 in 1 hand makes them seem even longer. So I recommend buying the individual novels.
On Typee: A great starter story to Mardi and you must read this first. Melville gives an incredible detail of how Polynesians lived in perfect harmony. So, if you are at all interested in their culture and the story of a man who, although was a captive, was embraced and treated like a king by the island dwellers. A good read.
On Omoo: The continuing story... plus. (I can't say more).
On Mardi: I can't say too much here as I was a bit bored and tired after finishing the 1st 2. So I need to revisit this one again before I make any review.
On Typee: A great starter story to Mardi and you must read this first. Melville gives an incredible detail of how Polynesians lived in perfect harmony. So, if you are at all interested in their culture and the story of a man who, although was a captive, was embraced and treated like a king by the island dwellers. A good read.
On Omoo: The continuing story... plus. (I can't say more).
On Mardi: I can't say too much here as I was a bit bored and tired after finishing the 1st 2. So I need to revisit this one again before I make any review.
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Not Melville's best. It is no Moby Dick.
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These books feel both archaic and 100 years before their time. All three are nominally South Seas adventure stories, but the plot quickly takes a back seat to other concerns, whether it's a anthropological study of the Marquesan Islands in Typee or an extended essay on the effect of civilizing missions on so-called primitive societies in Omoo. Mardi is by far the longest novel in this collection, around 650 pages in this edition. Halfway through the novel, Melville pretty much abandons the story altogether and gives us page after page of historical, philosophical, political, and theological speculations. Alternatively brilliant and frustrating.
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