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Could You explain in few simple words why Moby Dick is worth reading ? I've got through first few chapters recently (I use it for touch typing practice so I go
by v-erne 4y ago
Could You explain in few simple words why Moby Dick is worth reading ?
I've got through first few chapters recently (I use it for touch typing practice so I go through it quite slowly) and found it to be extensively dragged out. Its almost funny how many unnecessary and boring details we get from Ishmael narration. I understand that You should not judge book by its cover and not everything have to start like hickok movie but after few chapters I would like to be hooked by the book otherwise what's the point.
- keiferski 4y agoIf you are reading Moby Dick for information, you’ve already missed the point. It is intended to be an immersive experience and an overwhelming journey. I suggest slowing down, reading very carefully, and stop worrying about how “useful” it is.
- v-erne 4y agoIt would be hard to read it slower for me - as I said I use it for touch typing practice and I'm not the fastest typer in the west. I transcribed 10% of this book at this point and start to wonder if should switch to something more interesting. I'm not native speaker and my english could be better so maybe this somehow prevents me from appreciate the beauty of this book.
- keiferski 4y agoHmm yeah I can imagine it being difficult as a non-native speaker. I am a writer and native English speaker and still had to look up 3-4 words per page. I would say try some simpler writers that are easier to understand, write clearly, and have more action. Hemingway is always a good choice
- dmbche 4y agoI've found Moby Dick to be a great book to carry around, and to read a chapter (most of the books chapters are 8-15 pages) when I had some time. It basically is the journals of a whaler, the first scientific treaty on whales, explanations of the daily life on a boat at the time. When finishing the book, the story that stays with you isn't Ishamel's, it's Ahab's. Ishmael is just a part of Ahab's quest to kill the white whale, and we are in his shoes. You are put in the shoes of someone following orders towards an insane goal, in unconventional circumstences. I like to think of Moby Dick kind of like the Bible. Every chapter has something to say about the human condition, and was written earnestly by someone who cared to translate their experience. And english is my second language as well - looking at your username I assume you are french speaking? I would go look at André Malraux's La Condition Humaine, which has similarities to Moby Dick in some of the ways I mentionned higher.
- v-erne 4y ago>>I like to think of Moby Dick kind of like the Bible. Every chapter has something to say about the human condition, and was written earnestly by someone who cared to translate their experience. That's intresting take, I will give Moby Dick another chance, and try to look at it from Your point of view. >> looking at your username I assume you are french speaking? Not even close :) I'm Polish, and nick is just an homage to favourite author from my childhood (Around the World in Eighty Days was one of first books that I read and still remember from that time).
- Breza 4y agoI read it last year and I felt like I was actually on a whaling voyage. You have periods of boredom, people telling stories, other people spouting off about their philosophical ideas (God loves whalers!), and then sudden bouts of intense action.