I finally finished reading Moby Dick late last week. Moby Dick is a short story interrupted by a book length digression on whales and nineteenth century whaling. Other than that I don’t have much to say about it. My second reading was more enjoyable than the first because I knew what to expect – very little story, but the digression was interesting enough by itself. Still not one of my favorite books but worth taking the time to read again.
A Couple of days after I finished reading Moby Dick I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel in which they mentioned the Essex, which is said to have been the inspiration for Moby Dick. I hadn’t heard about that before. Isn’t it interesting how sometimes things just happen to come up at the right time?
April 19th, 2011 - 5:39 pm
There’s a fantastic nonfiction book about the Essex, called “In the Heart of the Sea”, if you’re interested in more tales of whaling expeditions gone horribly wrong.
April 20th, 2011 - 7:35 am
Thanks!
April 22nd, 2011 - 10:04 pm
“…a short story interrupted by a book length digression on whales and nineteenth century whaling.”
Ha! Great synopsis. And no spoilers. *heh* (I actually enjoyed the “book length digression on whales and nineteenth century whaling,” but then I’m a bit bent that way–toward historical/sociological info from contemporary sources.)