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Herman Melville's peerless allegorical masterpiece is the epic saga of the fanatical Captain Ahab, who swears vengeance on the mammoth white whale that has crippled him. Often considered to be the Great American Novel,
Moby-Dick is at once a starkly realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure, and a searing drama of heroic courage, moral conflict, and mad obsession. It is world-renowned as the greatest sea story ever told.
Moby-Dick, widely misunderstood in its own time, has since become an indubitable classic of American literature.
Customer Rating: 



Review Summary: This book will cure all types of insomnia
Review: I am in the middle of reading a number of classics and this book was on my list. I've moved on to War and Peace (thankfully). I can't imagine a more rambling, nonsensical, self-indulgent piece of tripe than this horrid book.
If you don't believe me, just read the reviews written by the journalists in the prologue. Even they thought the book was exhausting and convoluted.
If you want to read the classics, I suggest you read this. Once complete, you can spout your intellect by shouting "WHAT A TERRIBLE BOOK!!!"
Customer Rating: 



Review Summary: A sometimes incomprehensible, always masterful story containing everything you ever wanted to know about whales and whaling.
Review: This epic story begins, as most readers are aware, with, "Call me Ishmael." Unfortunately, that is where the easy reading ends. It follows the adventures of Ishmael and his friend, cannibal and harpooner Queequeg (my favorite character), as they first meet in Nantucket before heading off on the Pequod with a vengeful Captain Ahab and his crew. The chapters run chronologically, although some find the narrator going off on tangents about whales, whaling and other related subjects. Those involving encounters with whales are the most easily read and comprehensible. Others are extremely detailed and difficult to follow. Although nowhere near the top of my list of favorite novels, the time, energy and concentration required to get through Moby Dick are well worth the effort, even if one is unable to fully appreciate or understand each and every word. It might be better read as part of a high school or college course, where the nuances of the symbolism and goings on in various chapters could be studied and discussed in great detail. An excellent but challenging read - better swallowed with a dose of Cliff Notes. Other interesting sea creature-related books include: The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, The Devil's Teeth (sharks) by Susan Casey, The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch and The Grim Grotto (book 10 in the series) by Lemony Snicket (for its Moby Dick-related plot elements).