Moby Dick Review | A New Favorite

[@dillardlester8111]

Moby Dick is my favorite novel. It took me a long time to get to it because of the reputation it has. But, when I finally read it I wondered what took me so long. There is a lot more humor in this book than I expected. Its one of those books you can read for the rest of your life and always find new things to think about. Great review.

[@y4bly]

I read Moby Dick about a year ago and it completely rekindled my love for reading. A complete eye-opener for what a novel could be and what a reading experience could be. Thinking back to some of the passages you described actually made me tear up!

[@jenniferbrooks]

Yes, I agree! It's shocking to me just how much it has stayed with me.

[@spiderprint]

Greetings from Sweden. I saw your vacation vid the other day and decided to pick up Moby Dick. Half way through and it is fantastic. I found the entrance to novel somewhat challenging due to the 19th century wordiness of the introduction, but then it takes off! I absolutely loved how Queequeg and Ishmael begin their friendship. So original and interesting. Also, the reflections on the sea itself make me think of my own feelings toward it, growing up in small scottish fishing village. Thanks for the inspiration! :)

[@rougeevolent]

This is one of the best and most beautiful reviews I've ever heard. Thank you, Jennifer.

[@TheNutmegStitcher]

The tangents were the world building enchantment for me. I adored the Shakespearean drama, the over the top characters, Ishmael's wit and wistful dreaming. I was all in after the seaman preacher's sermon. This will be one I read many times, I hope.

[@SandrineDamfino]

I've just finished reading Moby Dick and I'm totally obsessed with it. I watch / read all of the reviews I can find, I LOVE your enthusiasm for this masterpiece and totally relate ! 💙

[@tomlabooks3263]

This was wonderful, Jennifer. I read it many years ago in Italian and I agree with you that the level of realism and psychological immersion in that kind of life is so deep.

[@wesleymercer908]

I have had this book on my shelf for years. After watching this video, i think im ready to finally read it. Great review.

[@closerlookbooks]

Thanks for your report on Moby Dick. I happen to be reading it now first time. I am probably half way through the book and and thoroughly delighting in the skillful way Melvillle wrote. I would read it again simply for the way he writes. So far, I suspect all the care and time he takes to describe whales is probably for me the reader to appreciate the moment Moby Dick appears. Thanks again for your take on the book. Best regards, Steve

[@theramblingreviewer5150]

Moby Dick is such a phenomenal book and is probably my favorite! Like you, I feel this book come back to me all the time. There are times that the story feels grand and almost biblical to me with the character of Ahab, the Persian man, and Moby Dick all representing spiritual concepts, while other parts are so philosophical and internal, particularly the digressions of Ishmael. I remember a particularly wonderful chapter where Ishmael talks about the crows nest. And, of course, the entire book has such lovely prose, humor, and humanity that whenever the story and ideas don't ensnare, the writing does, carrying you alone like you're on a wave. Just talking and listening to you talk about it makes me want to reread it.

[@felixarquer7732]

One of my favorite scenes (I read the book so long ago I can’t remember when this happens or who is involved): After describing the sea postal system (with ships exchanging letters that could take years to reach their recipients), two ships line up side by side and a seaman holds out a letter that the man on the other ship fails to catch, so it falls into the sea and sinks. Then somebody predicts drily: it doesn’t matter, the recipient will soon be reunited with it.

[@greg0879]

I think you are remembering the end of chapter 71.

[@felixarquer7732]

@@greg0879 That has to be the place, thanks. Interesting to see, upon rereading, how my memory had altered the scene.

[@bookishtopics]

This is such an interesting review! Thank you! I'm about to buddy-read Moby Dick in July and I couldn't be more excited! 😍

[@GMJ7]

I'm always impressed by the number of page markers sticking out of your books after you've given them a read. This is also the first time I've noticed you write in them (or at least underline / bracket important passages). Do you have a video where you discuss your note-taking habits, tools, and opinions when it comes to writing in books? Or will you consider making one? I used to relish writing in my copies in high school and college, but I've shied away from it in recent years as I've taken a liking to buying nice-looking editions and wanting even my budget books to remain as unblemished as possible. I know I'm missing out though by not leaving behind any "breadcrumbs" for myself to revisit later on.

[@davidrs9898]

I probably restarted the book 5 to 10 times. I eventually completed it in 1994. 30 years later nudges like your review starts my brain wandering down paths I rarely venture. Mind opening in a slow way rather than mind blowing. The whale, existence, the sea. Everything is bigger than man on his perceived throne of dominion and power is not in winning the battle but knowing our place in the unmeasurable void be it the vast oceans, empty space or our neglected minds.

[@reader4532]

I agree, Moby Dick is a masterpiece, an irreducible work of art. Enjoyed hearing yr impressions here and in your earlier vlog.

[@Barnabas94]

Just finished Moby Dick, first read. I have to admit that while reading the book there were times when I felt exhausted from the offshoots and the language but now that I have finished the book and realized that the plot isn’t the main point but the world that envelopes you and the duality of man as a monster and the monster as a innocent creature I have to say I loved it. I’ll have to read again at some point to pick up on the details I missed this first time round. Great review btw.

[@ItsTooLatetoApologize]

Great review, your take on it was quite different than mine which was really nice to listen to. Thank you for this video. I loved this book and I agree that the tangents about whales really made one understand and appreciate the battle between man and whale that was to come later. It gave me an understanding of this “war of the sea” that is being set up that I would not have appreciated otherwise.

[@FrankGrauJr]

Great review. Thanks for your insights.

[@quintahab1004]

Glad you enjoyed it. I just picked up the pocket edition by Macmillan. Now I can carry it around everywhere. It’s so cute. The Whaling Museum in New Bedford does a Moby Dick marathon thats fun to watch. It’s on KZbin. The Melville Society is there as well. If you’re ever in New Bedford it’s worth checking out. Love the videos. Keep it up. 👍

[@nat4465]

I haven’t finished watching the video yet. But I love your initial opinion on why you loved it, I can see how others can get bogged down by these details he offers but I think the languidness of those parts were what made it realistic to me. It took me probably five+ years to finish this book, picking it up off and on. I felt like I was on this endless ride with them. I appreciated the dullness of it at times because you can tell he had ample amount of time to observe. And also the interactions they had with each other. One of my favorite parts was the part with the nursing whales. The last few moments were so intense. The epilogue sealed it for me. Without it I think, I would have felt like I was led hanging.

[@Tolstoy111]

We never actually find out the narrator’s name. He tells us to call him Ishmael.

[@FeralEcho]

It’s great to hear someone who “gets it” talk about Moby Dick - I completely agree that the tangents completely intensify the tension of the climactic final confrontation. I also don’t get the criticism that his writing is dry and boring - I thought it was exquisite and that he’s also extremely funny, which no one talks about. I read this about 4 years ago and have still not stopped thinking about it. It’s a definite re-read in the near future.

[@goosewithagibus]

Just got my copy, just need to finish Children of DUNE first. I got interested in it because of The Whale, in which a character loves an essay written about Moby Dick.

[@ericquinn1412]

Melville was a poet, and the strength of his voice and the meandering plot reflect this. I am a quaker, and reading MD reminds me of the clarity i experience in silent worship.

[@jenniferbrooks]

Yes!! There is a real reverent quality to the book in general.

[@kellykroger272]

I read it along with Steve Donoghue 3 November's ago and was enthralled. Of course I was nervous but I thought if Steve is doing it slowly with weekly summation then it was now or never. Steve introduced the book before we read and it helped so much. He said to look at the book as a world in and of itself. Total immersion into the time, the sea, the whaling experience knowing it was a way of life that was ending. With this novel, just open your mind and heart and let it wash over you. Accept each chapter for what it is. Oh my I loved this book and I'm not a rereader but this maybe one of the few I reread.❤

[@francescaellis8893]

this one’s been on the tbr for a while cuz one of my friends from school loved it but after this i think i have to pick it up. great video!!

[@nedmerrill5705]

I just finished this book for the first time a few days ago. Melville / Ishmael puts so much thought into whales! Assuming the other Whale Hunters are thinking on these tangents, they may not be have been fully mindful of the utter life-and-death struggle they were in with the Leviathan; Moby Dick was just not your routine whale kill. Humans are so easily distracted, but not so the Leviathan, who is so much closer to nature and his own survival; that is the Whale's advantage in the battle. Were humans ready for Moby Dick? I think not. I'll be thinking about this one for a while. Some great images during the "Chase" chapters at the end - like the one where a boatsman looks down into Moby Dick's mouth as he's coming straight up - holy sh*t!!

[@BookZealots]

Great review Jennifer. Now I think I'll need to add Moby Dick to my 2022 tbr.

[@dariostevens250]

One of my favourite book of all time! I highly reccomend you also Bartebly

[@jenniferbrooks]

I'll check it out!

[@janepetrie1654]

Well this review is perfect and has just pushed Moby Dick up to the top of my TBR, thanks Jennifer 📚

[@ALovelyJaunt]

I enjoy your videos very much. I look forward to (hopefully) see more single book reviews from you!

[@jenniferbrooks]

Thank you!!

[@DebMcDonald]

Wonderful review! I haven’t read it yet because I’m in a Trollope rabbit hole with the occasional Russian novel thrown in. I read In the Heart of the Sea in one sitting. I’m sure there are fingernail marks on the cover as I gripped the book which tells me I might love Moby Dick. Sounds like there might be parallels between the whales and Frankenstein. Who is the monster? Thanks. Deb 🌊

[@BrookeReadsBooks333]

My 2025 goal, honoring our beloved Jenny, is to read Moby Dick. She has been on my mind for weeks now, no surprise since it’s been a year without her. We love & miss you, Sweet Jenny 🤍 I’ll be thinking of you while reading this 🐋🌊

[@SabineThinkerbellum]

I’m so happy that you love Moby Dick too. The thing is: you like so many books that I like as well that I trust your recommendations of the books I haven’t read yet. This is perfect 😘

[@jeffsmith3221]

It's a classic, pure and simple. Everyone should read at least once. Do understand how certain parts can be a bit tedious. Still, overall, it will enrich your life having read it. JS

[@BookTimeWithRyan]

Loved Moby-Dick. I read it a month or so ago. I did a review of it, and some other related videos. It was a 5 star for me too.

[@Jere616]

5:50 Melville's use of the word "murder" about the killing of a whale is one of the ways he illustrates his pantheism because you can only murder an equal (which using "gentlemen" for the whale also shows). Contrasting it within the same sentence to how he [mis]characterizes what churches preach "show unconditional inoffensiveness by all [men] to all [creatures]" is more in line with Buddhism. Further, by juxtaposing "unrighteously-obtained" whale oil with it illuminating solemn churches Melville further gives away his animus toward Christianity. Having Ahab speak in older English is to connect Ahab in the mind of the reader with the King James bible because it was more widely-read among his American audience than Shakespeare I'd say. I draw these ideas from Melville himself: When referring to Moby Dick he told Hawthorne that the book had a secret motto, “Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!” from chapter 113. (I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil!). IMO it helps understand why he uses the second person, he seeks to baptize the reader into his views. He also admits to him in a later letter, "I have written a wicked book." www.melville.org/corresp.htm

[@biskit96]

Another book tuber Bazpierce raved about Moby Dick too. I haven’t read it yet but will eventually.

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

It looks like I'm the only commenter on here that couldn't get into Moby Dick, but never say never. I loved your review, though, and how passionate you are about this book. It's interesting how someone can love a book, but someone else can passionately hate it.

[@misslady2470]

Have u seen the new Moby Dick movie with Thor and them?

[@Roderic07]

there is this movie called " In the heart of the sea" where Herman Melville visits an inkeeper who is the last survivor form a sunken whaling ship...he tells the story from 1820 when they were hunting a big white ( albino) sperm whale...this story gave him the inspiration for his moby dick

[@mlle_darlling]

I really really loved the beginning of the novel, but as soon as Melville settled into the whaling routine, he lost me. A huge chunk of the book is essentially the same sequence of events: the crew catches a whale, more info on the whale lore, another ship shows up and tells a story, rinse and repeat. I wouldn’t mind it if the tension of Ahab’s descent into madness and the crew’s blind loyalty was growing, but imo, Melville didn’t develop this plot at all. He was very skillful at conveying the atmosphere he knew well - the whaling and the life of a sailor, but fell short when it came to psychological depth.

[@bustercrabbe8447]

Ahoy! Hast seen the white whale? Hast seen Moby Dick? Thou Hast?! Thou hast actually seen Moby Dick?! Then thou must report to Captain Rehab right away.

[@ClearOutSamskaras]

You believe Moby Dick is about whales and the whaling industry. Do you also think it is an allegory for particular things in America back during Melville's time?