52 Books: Book 42

I did it! It took me almost four months but I finally finished reading the classic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. This may be a record for the length of time it took me to complete a book {not a record I am exactly proud of though}.

I don't even know what to say about this book. The beginning was interesting. Starting with the famous line, "Call me Ishmael," it tells a first hand account of how Ishmael ends up on the ship, the Pequod, sailing with Captain Ahab. But about a quarter of the way in, the book gets really heavy on details. Everything you could possibly want to know about whales and then some. 

Melville goes on to write very graphic descriptions of how they hunted the great whales and then gutted them. It was almost too much. 

Mostly I felt like I was trying to read the book of Leviticus {if Leviticus was 500+ pages long}... the details go on and on and and on and on. The end of the book transitioned to reading more like a play. Overall it never really engaged me like the book Ahab's Wife that I read earlier this year {hence the four months of reading} .

My husband asked if I was glad I finished it. I told him that it was kind of like running a half marathon – it was not that enjoyable but since I chose to read it I am glad that I finished in a "I'm not a quitter" sense.

52 Books: Book 31

Even though I have been slacking on writing my book posts, it has not been for a lack of reading. I was actually reading three books at once over the last couple of weeks and book 31 is over 600 pages!

Book #31 on my list is Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. First I must confess that I have never read Moby Dick and since reading Ahab's Wife, I decided it would be prudent to read the American classic by Herman Melville as well {it is currently on my night stand}.

Since I had not read Moby Dick I had no idea of what to expect from this novel. Having read the overview on Goodreads, I have to admit that some of the meanings and connections to the original novel were lost on me. Having now read the first three chapters of Moby Dick, I can say that the new narrative blends perfectly into the old {so far}.

This novel introduces us to Una when she is a girl. Written from her perspective, it weaves a story of a girl growing up in unusual circumstances who eventually finds herself running away to sea as a cabin boy. Along the way she meets Captain Ahab and several other characters from the original book. We get a glimpse into what it might have been like had Ahab found love, but the love is not enough to overcome his madness to hunt the great white whale.

I found this to be a very intriguing story and I can't wait to get further into Moby Dick. If you have read the classic before, I would definitely recommend this prequel. If you have not read the classic, I would recommend that you pick up both books and read them together as I am doing.