Book #7: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
I had mixed feelings about this book, in which Captain Ahab becomes obsessed with killing the white whale who was responsible for him losing his leg. While the story is very thrilling, it is also quite long-winded and padded out by various essays regarding whales and whaling, which at some points actually sound like Herman Melville getting up on his soapbox. There were some enjoyable moments in the essays, including parts of the spine from a dead whale being used by children for playing with, and how the men responsible for cutting up blubber frequently cut off their own toes, but a lot of this just seems tedious and definitely won’t be to all tastes.
There is, however, some enjoyable action, during the scenes when whales are harpooned at sea, and the book does not shy away from any realism. The best moment in the book for me, however, was the entrance of Queequeg, the cannibalistic harpoonist, as the whole sequence is very descriptive and gives an immediate sense of unease. This is good to read it you are able to persevere, but it is definitely not an easy read.
Next book: A Scandal in Bohemia and Other Stories (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)