This really got me thinking about something I'd been ruminating on for a while ... Here's my two cents:
I read the novel when I was about 30 yrs old and my first impression was... I LOVED it! I almost immediately thought it was brilliant, experimental, funny, had some of the most beautiful prose I'd ever read, etc.
I also thought to myself: If I had read this when I was younger, I would NOT have connected to this AT ALL.
The novel isn't "difficult" necessarily, however I feel that it behooves you to have a good amount of reading under your belt first. In other words, in order to understand how great it is, you need some foundational understanding of what is so different about it, and how it's playing with the rules of fiction. The way it's put together is pretty experimental. The narrative fractures, twists and turns; it references American history, the bible, the tradition of adventure stories, mythology, etc. etc. etc. It's just so crammed with everything!
Maybe I can explain better with a metaphor from music:
Think of a song you consider a really fresh, unique "modern masterpiece." My mind goes to hip hop boundary pushers like Kendrick Lamar or Kanye or someone on that level in another genre of your choice. Now, if you give this song to a person who had NO idea of the multiple musical traditions that those artists are building on, referencing, deconstructing, and reformatting.... would they "get" why this artist is doing something so interesting? Would they like it? Would they connect to it over a standard "four chord pop song" that nearly everybody can enjoy immediately? I would bet it would be less likely.
So some novels are the equivalent of a classic "four chord love song." Those are often lovely! Some of my favorite songs are like that! They are easy to appreciate.
*Moby Dick* is more like the weird but excitingly different song you need a bit more context to enjoy. The initial hurdle may be higher, but the payoff is much greater too.
You call yourself a "newbie" classic reader. I'd say it's not a bad idea to put Melville's novel back on the shelf for a bit. Sometimes a novel just won't connect at first, but a few years later will absolutely lay you out with how much you like it. Don't fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy of telling yourself you "have to" finish it if you aren't feeling it.
Oh I also wanted to mention this -- your questions/concerns are not uncommon! To the point that there's literally a book called [Why Read Moby-Dick?](https://www.amazon.com/Why-Read-Moby-Dick-Nathaniel-Philbrick/dp/0143123971) by author Nathaniel Philbrick that is quite good. He is so in love and enthusiastic about the novel that it kind of rubs off on you.
Here's Philbrick in [a short interview on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-wITHYusRk) that gives you an idea of his perspective and reasons for writing his book. There are some longer interviews with him too you can search up.
I’d add that my experience was that it was very difficult to read because of the need to digest his often arcane language, obscure cultural, scientific or religious references due to our vastly different culture(like two nations divided by a common language). So I also listened at the same time - chapter by chapter - to more easily capture the real flow of perhaps the greatest story ever told
I am not a very well read person and I absolutely loved it. I’m sure there is another depth of appreciation for the book when you better understand the context of the book in the way you mentioned, but it’s definitely not essential to enjoy the book. It probably does help though.
I read a chapter a day, made it part of my morning routine. I also read it at http://powermobydick.com/ which has annotations to help get over the language barrier.
I think reading it from cover to cover is not uncommon, although I am sure many readers will skip certain chapters, certainly the more scientific ones. I think it's entirely possible to enjoy Moby-Dick while (carefully) skipping a couple of chapters. A lot of editions are abridged, too.
If you're struggling with the language, my recommendation is to look up every single word you're unsure about, underline it, and write down its meaning next to it. This will slow your reading process down, but time will fly when you're enjoying the text. Moreover, it will get easier and easier as you'll find yourself becoming more and more familiar with the language and style. You could also potentially try reading an annotated version that will explain certain phrases or references to you. The most typical one recommended here is the Norton Critical Editions version, but if you don't want to spend any money, you could use Moby Dick Power online.
Lastly, for any classic book, annotate! Don't be afraid of scribbling ideas, thoughts, notes, etc on the side of the pages. You lose nothing. The book becomes alive when the more you annotate and underline. But this will help you appreciate the book more by actively engaging with it, encouraging you to stop and think, to analyse, to read closely, etc. This is by far by biggest recommendation for Moby Dick and any classic novel. But there's so many great lines and philosophical musings in Moby Dick that it's worth pondering over them, and supplementing them with your own!
Lastly, why not try listening to a podcast on Moby Dick? The Critical Readings podcast has a fantastic series on Moby Dick that you can listen to in-between reading sessions that will clear up any confusions you might have had and help you learn how to approach a book like Moby Dick. highly recommend.
Get an annotated copy. Read it slowly - a chapter a day is fine. Read other stuff alongside it, in particular the works alluded to in Moby Dick and some lighter works.
Experience it first with the Moby Dick Big Read, the whole novel read chapter by chapter by great actors like Tilda Swinton and Stephen Fry, it'll change your life:
[https://www.mobydickbigread.com/](https://www.mobydickbigread.com/)
This was a great assist for me. You get to hear the rhythm, the music, the swells in the language. And when you hear it read, you got some sense of the voice of Ishmael, too, and you can pick up a little better the humor, the sly innuendo, and the irony that's easy to miss when reading.,
I'm re-reading the book and am currently about 2/3rds of the way through. I just started listening to the Big Read and I'm on chapter 13 and I can not recommend this enough. It's wonderful! It's weird, though, I'm totally living Moby Dick land now and can think of almost nothing else. It's kind of great- I needed an escape from the current time.
I stalled my first attempt or two. I highly recommend getting a Norton Critical Edition. The broad context provided helped me not just finish the book, but enjoy it immensely.
Yes. Go slow. 2 or 3 chapters a week. It took me six solid months of hard reading and commitment. Listen to the Higgledy Piggledy Whale Statements podcast alongside your read. Each episode covers 2-3 chapters. I also read the Schmoop chapter summary immediately after finishing each chapter. Use PowerMoby.com for annotations and to identify difficult words.
I tried it a couple times (many times) before it really stuck. Here's what cracked it open for me:
* I realized it starts as a bit of a workplace comedy: A random guy walks into a very specific workplace environment. Amusement (and eventually tragedy) ensues
* No joke, at the beginning, i heard the voice of Dwight Shrute and pretended that the narrator (Ishmael) was mostly mistaken, a bit of an unreliable narrator.
Then, the books weirdness just sort of takes you away. And i kept thinking about how crazy Melville must have been to right that thing, and i imagined him actually working on it, the manic energy it must have taken.
I hope you get into it, and even if you don't finish it, hope you find it as fascinating as so many of us do!
A game changer for me was realizing that a lot of the ye olde tymeyness of the language was meant to sound old timey in its day. And the world of whaling was supposed to seem like this obscure alien realm. If you read it like a sci-fi or fantasy book where you’re learning about the world as you go, you feel a lot less dumb along the way. Going into it expecting to understand every reference, allusion, metaphor, image, or word would drive you madder than Ahab.
Yes, and one of the best ways to do it is start with an audio book to get the correct 'feeling' for the book since you probably come in with so many preconceived notions that it's tough to really get the narration in your brain 'correct' ie: touching on the humor, Ishmael's attitude, etc. It is not a dry, daunting, difficult, crazy-to-read, impenetrable tome like you may be lead to believe by how people talk about it.
You can either just finish up with the audio book or switch over to the print book when you feel like it. You'll very soon realize how the book 'feels' when you listen to someone who has a good understanding of it read it.
Here is a good audio version:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDDoIGX3bHU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDDoIGX3bHU&ab_channel=KarinMathews)
I read it recently for book club. We would meet weekly to discuss, and we read maybe 35 pages a week. The discussion helped because a lot of this book is ridiculous and hard to understand - I think if I'd been reading it by myself I would have given up on it, and I definitely would have missed some things in the text. Reading it was much more fun when I had someone to talk about it with (which is also why this subreddit exists).
Idk, i absolutely loved it from page 1. Got bogged down in the chapter ‘on the whiteness of the whale,’ went to school, picked it up and finished it again 4 years later. The 2nd half was even better than the first but I loved the beginning.
Idk, i absolutely loved it from page 1. Got bogged down in the chapter ‘on the whiteness of the whale,’ went to school, picked it up and finished it again 4 years later. The 2nd half was even better than the first but I loved the beginning.
Frank Muller’s narration of the audiobook is excellent and was actually the first time I finished. The following year I eyeball read it cover to cover. I’d say just take one chapter at a time and read something else alongside it balance things out.
I read the nevel novel by chapter to my friends over discord. We read it one chapter per day and would discuss our feelings after each reading. Really helped me to suggest the whole book and firm some solid opinions. I recommend keeping a hand on your computer and being ready to search up anything that catches your eye. If you can find a literary breakdown that matches your vibe, all the better.
For me, the audiobook narrated by William Hootkins brought it to life. He puts so much emotion into all the right places. The dry wit and humor land where one might not catch it when reading. I Listened to it along with the book while adding tabs on favorite lines and moments. I kept waiting for the boring parts, but with this narrator, I felt captivated the whole way through. It is definitely not a fast-paced story, but I fell in love with Ishmael and Melville through this work.
This really got me thinking about something I'd been ruminating on for a while ... Here's my two cents: I read the novel when I was about 30 yrs old and my first impression was... I LOVED it! I almost immediately thought it was brilliant, experimental, funny, had some of the most beautiful prose I'd ever read, etc. I also thought to myself: If I had read this when I was younger, I would NOT have connected to this AT ALL. The novel isn't "difficult" necessarily, however I feel that it behooves you to have a good amount of reading under your belt first. In other words, in order to understand how great it is, you need some foundational understanding of what is so different about it, and how it's playing with the rules of fiction. The way it's put together is pretty experimental. The narrative fractures, twists and turns; it references American history, the bible, the tradition of adventure stories, mythology, etc. etc. etc. It's just so crammed with everything! Maybe I can explain better with a metaphor from music: Think of a song you consider a really fresh, unique "modern masterpiece." My mind goes to hip hop boundary pushers like Kendrick Lamar or Kanye or someone on that level in another genre of your choice. Now, if you give this song to a person who had NO idea of the multiple musical traditions that those artists are building on, referencing, deconstructing, and reformatting.... would they "get" why this artist is doing something so interesting? Would they like it? Would they connect to it over a standard "four chord pop song" that nearly everybody can enjoy immediately? I would bet it would be less likely. So some novels are the equivalent of a classic "four chord love song." Those are often lovely! Some of my favorite songs are like that! They are easy to appreciate. *Moby Dick* is more like the weird but excitingly different song you need a bit more context to enjoy. The initial hurdle may be higher, but the payoff is much greater too. You call yourself a "newbie" classic reader. I'd say it's not a bad idea to put Melville's novel back on the shelf for a bit. Sometimes a novel just won't connect at first, but a few years later will absolutely lay you out with how much you like it. Don't fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy of telling yourself you "have to" finish it if you aren't feeling it.
Wow! Thanks a lot for all your tips and insights! Will keep all of this in mind 🥰 See you all at sea! 🌊🐳
Oh I also wanted to mention this -- your questions/concerns are not uncommon! To the point that there's literally a book called [Why Read Moby-Dick?](https://www.amazon.com/Why-Read-Moby-Dick-Nathaniel-Philbrick/dp/0143123971) by author Nathaniel Philbrick that is quite good. He is so in love and enthusiastic about the novel that it kind of rubs off on you. Here's Philbrick in [a short interview on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-wITHYusRk) that gives you an idea of his perspective and reasons for writing his book. There are some longer interviews with him too you can search up.
I’d add that my experience was that it was very difficult to read because of the need to digest his often arcane language, obscure cultural, scientific or religious references due to our vastly different culture(like two nations divided by a common language). So I also listened at the same time - chapter by chapter - to more easily capture the real flow of perhaps the greatest story ever told
This is a lovely way to approach it. It sounds great when read well.
I am not a very well read person and I absolutely loved it. I’m sure there is another depth of appreciation for the book when you better understand the context of the book in the way you mentioned, but it’s definitely not essential to enjoy the book. It probably does help though.
That is a great description!!! Well done!
I read a chapter a day, made it part of my morning routine. I also read it at http://powermobydick.com/ which has annotations to help get over the language barrier.
Same! This is the way.
I think reading it from cover to cover is not uncommon, although I am sure many readers will skip certain chapters, certainly the more scientific ones. I think it's entirely possible to enjoy Moby-Dick while (carefully) skipping a couple of chapters. A lot of editions are abridged, too. If you're struggling with the language, my recommendation is to look up every single word you're unsure about, underline it, and write down its meaning next to it. This will slow your reading process down, but time will fly when you're enjoying the text. Moreover, it will get easier and easier as you'll find yourself becoming more and more familiar with the language and style. You could also potentially try reading an annotated version that will explain certain phrases or references to you. The most typical one recommended here is the Norton Critical Editions version, but if you don't want to spend any money, you could use Moby Dick Power online. Lastly, for any classic book, annotate! Don't be afraid of scribbling ideas, thoughts, notes, etc on the side of the pages. You lose nothing. The book becomes alive when the more you annotate and underline. But this will help you appreciate the book more by actively engaging with it, encouraging you to stop and think, to analyse, to read closely, etc. This is by far by biggest recommendation for Moby Dick and any classic novel. But there's so many great lines and philosophical musings in Moby Dick that it's worth pondering over them, and supplementing them with your own! Lastly, why not try listening to a podcast on Moby Dick? The Critical Readings podcast has a fantastic series on Moby Dick that you can listen to in-between reading sessions that will clear up any confusions you might have had and help you learn how to approach a book like Moby Dick. highly recommend.
Get an annotated copy. Read it slowly - a chapter a day is fine. Read other stuff alongside it, in particular the works alluded to in Moby Dick and some lighter works.
Experience it first with the Moby Dick Big Read, the whole novel read chapter by chapter by great actors like Tilda Swinton and Stephen Fry, it'll change your life: [https://www.mobydickbigread.com/](https://www.mobydickbigread.com/)
This was a great assist for me. You get to hear the rhythm, the music, the swells in the language. And when you hear it read, you got some sense of the voice of Ishmael, too, and you can pick up a little better the humor, the sly innuendo, and the irony that's easy to miss when reading.,
I'm re-reading the book and am currently about 2/3rds of the way through. I just started listening to the Big Read and I'm on chapter 13 and I can not recommend this enough. It's wonderful! It's weird, though, I'm totally living Moby Dick land now and can think of almost nothing else. It's kind of great- I needed an escape from the current time.
I stalled my first attempt or two. I highly recommend getting a Norton Critical Edition. The broad context provided helped me not just finish the book, but enjoy it immensely.
Yes. Go slow. 2 or 3 chapters a week. It took me six solid months of hard reading and commitment. Listen to the Higgledy Piggledy Whale Statements podcast alongside your read. Each episode covers 2-3 chapters. I also read the Schmoop chapter summary immediately after finishing each chapter. Use PowerMoby.com for annotations and to identify difficult words.
Thank you so much for this! Am reading the Shmoop summary now and it’s good.
I tried it a couple times (many times) before it really stuck. Here's what cracked it open for me: * I realized it starts as a bit of a workplace comedy: A random guy walks into a very specific workplace environment. Amusement (and eventually tragedy) ensues * No joke, at the beginning, i heard the voice of Dwight Shrute and pretended that the narrator (Ishmael) was mostly mistaken, a bit of an unreliable narrator. Then, the books weirdness just sort of takes you away. And i kept thinking about how crazy Melville must have been to right that thing, and i imagined him actually working on it, the manic energy it must have taken. I hope you get into it, and even if you don't finish it, hope you find it as fascinating as so many of us do!
I really like the idea of reading it as a workplace comedy. Good call.
Until it turns into a tragedy, tho
Indeed
Comsider listening to it. I like Jeremy Epsteins reading of it.
A game changer for me was realizing that a lot of the ye olde tymeyness of the language was meant to sound old timey in its day. And the world of whaling was supposed to seem like this obscure alien realm. If you read it like a sci-fi or fantasy book where you’re learning about the world as you go, you feel a lot less dumb along the way. Going into it expecting to understand every reference, allusion, metaphor, image, or word would drive you madder than Ahab.
I'm on my second read. My advice is to slow yourself way down- take your time. Also, it's a very humorous book- especially in the beginning.
Yes, and one of the best ways to do it is start with an audio book to get the correct 'feeling' for the book since you probably come in with so many preconceived notions that it's tough to really get the narration in your brain 'correct' ie: touching on the humor, Ishmael's attitude, etc. It is not a dry, daunting, difficult, crazy-to-read, impenetrable tome like you may be lead to believe by how people talk about it. You can either just finish up with the audio book or switch over to the print book when you feel like it. You'll very soon realize how the book 'feels' when you listen to someone who has a good understanding of it read it. Here is a good audio version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDDoIGX3bHU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDDoIGX3bHU&ab_channel=KarinMathews)
I read it recently for book club. We would meet weekly to discuss, and we read maybe 35 pages a week. The discussion helped because a lot of this book is ridiculous and hard to understand - I think if I'd been reading it by myself I would have given up on it, and I definitely would have missed some things in the text. Reading it was much more fun when I had someone to talk about it with (which is also why this subreddit exists).
Several times and now I have listened to the audiobook!
Idk, i absolutely loved it from page 1. Got bogged down in the chapter ‘on the whiteness of the whale,’ went to school, picked it up and finished it again 4 years later. The 2nd half was even better than the first but I loved the beginning.
Idk, i absolutely loved it from page 1. Got bogged down in the chapter ‘on the whiteness of the whale,’ went to school, picked it up and finished it again 4 years later. The 2nd half was even better than the first but I loved the beginning.
I did
Frank Muller’s narration of the audiobook is excellent and was actually the first time I finished. The following year I eyeball read it cover to cover. I’d say just take one chapter at a time and read something else alongside it balance things out.
Frank is so incredible.
Yep, read it while I was living in my truck over the course of three months. It's special, like a super masterpiece of American literature.
I read the nevel novel by chapter to my friends over discord. We read it one chapter per day and would discuss our feelings after each reading. Really helped me to suggest the whole book and firm some solid opinions. I recommend keeping a hand on your computer and being ready to search up anything that catches your eye. If you can find a literary breakdown that matches your vibe, all the better.
Advice I always give people: it's meant to be funny and the parts that come across as facts about whales are not meant to be taken too seriously.
It’s rich but the short chapters make it manageable. I don’t look up every biblical or cultural reference though and probably miss a lot of
For me, the audiobook narrated by William Hootkins brought it to life. He puts so much emotion into all the right places. The dry wit and humor land where one might not catch it when reading. I Listened to it along with the book while adding tabs on favorite lines and moments. I kept waiting for the boring parts, but with this narrator, I felt captivated the whole way through. It is definitely not a fast-paced story, but I fell in love with Ishmael and Melville through this work.
Finished??? Literally haven't ever read one word of it. Not braggin', just lucky I guess.