Moby-Dick: Final Thoughts

So, it's done.  I'm finished.  I've completed Moby-Dick -- that is, if you count listening to an audiobook the same as reading a book.  To be completely honest, I would say I read about 30% in combination of print and online, and the other 70% via audio.

Anyway, this book really was not what I expected at all.  I really thought there would be more action, more adventure.  I didn't expect non-stop action like Treasure Island or even The Three Musketeers, but I was expecting a little more adventure, for a whaling novel.  There was much more description about whales, and whaling, and butchering whales than I ever expected.

Maybe I would have liked it more if I owned this beautiful Penguin Clothbound Classic!

Overall, I really wish I understood this book better.  Listening to the audiobook certainly made it easier in some ways, especially because I could absorb a little at a time, but sometimes I felt like I was losing the narrative thread (such that it was) since I only listened to a few pages a day.  After a break, I want to read Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick to see if that sheds some more light.  Parts of it were funny, and I really liked Queequeg -- I wish the book had had more about him.  I'm really not even sure what happened to him, though I have my suspicions.  I admired the writing, I appreciate the risks that Melville took, but I'm not sure that I can say I actually liked it.   And now I really want to go on an ocean voyage -- I'd love to go to Alaska now and do some whale watching! 

I'm glad I finished it, and I'm counting Moby-Dick as my American Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge. 

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, Chapters 51 - 90

So, I'm up to Chapter 90 of Moby-Dick.  I really did mean to finish by July 15, but I'm pretty certain that's not going to happen.  I have made some real progress, and I hope to finish it in the next couple of weeks.

I'm very glad that this book is all in short chapters, because I don't know how much I could sit down and read straight through.  In all honestly, if I didn't have the audiobook in the car, I don't know if I would have gotten this far.

There's really not that much narrative at this point -- Ishmael and the boys are on the hunt, and there are far, far more asides than actual plot.  I understand this is probably ground-breaking and experimental, but I'm beginning to understand why this is a book that people either really love or really hate.  There's still not so much character development -- I understand that Ahab is on a quest for revenge against the white whale, but other than that, not much insight into his character, or Ishmael either.  He seems more like an omniscient more than anything else at this point.  Well, there are still about 45 chapter to go, so I suppose that part is upcoming.

What I'm really learning about so far is whales -- the differences between the different types, their anatomy, habits, you name it.  Ishmael (or Melville, I suppose) seems in awe of whales, almost reverent about them -- it's sort of shocking how much he seems to admire them, yet in the very next chapter, or even the next paragraph, will then go on describe how they're going to kill these magnificent creatures.  I'm learning much, much more about the butchering of whales than I would like.  So far, when it comes to Man vs. Whales, I'm firmly on Team Whale.  I'm not a vegetarian, I do eat all kinds of meat, but there's no way I could bring myself to ever eat whale, especially after reading this book.  Maybe I should start on a krill diet.

That being said, the writing is mostly excellent, but I'm finding the story kind of uneven overall -- some chapters are fascinating and others just bore me to tears.  Frank Muller's narration really does enhance the story.  I'm down to the last five discs, so I should finally finish it up in the next week or so.

Is anyone else still working on Moby-Dick?  How are you enjoying it?  

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville: Chapters One through Fifty

So, I've made it through fifty chapters of Moby-Dick -- about 250 pages, which is about 40 percent. Though I'm behind the original reading schedule, I'm quite pleased about my progress.  When I started this read-along, I was really apprehensive -- Moby-Dick is one of those books that are legendary, almost like War and Peace (which I have read) or Ulysses (which I haven't). It seems to be one of those books that either you read in school, and hated, or that you plan to read someday, but never get around to.  

A quick summary of the novel so far:  Ishmael, a rather mysterious narrator, travels to Nantucket to find a place on a whaling ship.  There he meets Queequeg, and the two find jobs on the Pequod.  After several days on board, they meet the notorious Captain Ahab, who is hell-bent on avenging the loss of his leg to the eponymous Moby-Dick, a legendary white sperm whale. 

I like parts of it so far, but mostly, I was surprised by two different things.  First, I was surprised at the close relationship between Ishmael and Queequeg -- on their first night together, they basically share the same bed and become very cosy.  I'm not sure if this was common among sailors back in the 1850s, or I'm reading way too much into it.  

Secondly, I was surprised by the novel's unusual structure.  Like many novels of the era, it's broken up into lots of little short chapters -- some of them are less than a page long.  But it's not a straight narrative like I'm used to.  There are all kinds of random asides, like a short chapter about chowder (which I enjoyed) and a fairly long ramble about the color white (not as much).  

I'm beginning to think this is a novel I would appreciate much more if I was reading this as part of a class -- I'm sure there are tons of allusions and Biblical references and metaphors that I'm just not getting.  I tend not to read introductions and analyses of books until after I've finished them, because I hate spoilers (though I have a pretty good idea of how the book ends).  I never took any American literature classes in college, and I read hardly any in high school -- I think I'm the only one I've ever met who didn't read Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, or The Great Gatsby while I was in school.  

I can't say I love Moby-Dick so far, but I'm going to stick with it until the end.  I've read quite a bit of the book online, but some in my print copy (pictured below), and, lately, some on audiobook, narrated by Frank Muller, which is just wonderful.  My library owns two different versions on audio, and I've actually listened to both of them so far.  I'm sorry to say that the other edition, narrated by Paul Boehmer, was so boring that I was sure I'd fall asleep while driving.  Frank Muller is a much better narrator; in fact, I think I'd listen to pretty much anything he narrates.  

Bloggers, have any of you read Moby-Dick?  Did you love it or hate it?  and which are the big fat books that you still want to read but never seem to get around to starting?  

A Whale of a Read-Along: Moby Dick

The commenters have spoken!!  I have taken the plunge and signed up for Adam's Whale of a Read-Along event at Roof Beam Reader.  Our goal:  to finish Herman Melville's most famous work, Moby-Dick.  If you're interested in reading more about it, or signing up, here's a link to Adam's post.  

I'm pretty scared, but Adam has created a schedule that sounds pretty manageable, only 15 pages per day, about 20 chapters total per week.  How bad could that be?  And I have not one but TWO audiobook versions checked out from the library.  I'll listen to a little of each and decide which one I prefer.

Anyone else interested?  Or has everyone else finished Moby-Dick already?  Did you love it or hate it?   I'll post updates as the readalong progresses.  Wish me luck!!

Moby-Dick or The Hunchback of Notre-Dame?

Readers, I have a conundrum.  A couple of weeks ago, I signed up once again for the Classics Spin VI, one of my favorite blogging challenges.  My spin selection was the #1 book on my list, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, a book I purchased in Paris (at the actual Notre-Dame Cathedral, in the gift shop) way back in 2007.  I've been dreading it ever since, so I was happy and apprehensive at the same time.  I have until July 7 to finish this book and post about it on my blog.

And then Adam over at Roof Beam Reader announced a Moby-Dick readalong that lasts from June 1 through July 15 -- about 15 pages per day, according to his calculations.  It so happens that I have an unread copy of Moby-Dick on my shelves, a beautiful Penguin Deluxe Graphic edition that I received from the nice people at Penguin Books a couple of years ago.  It also happens that Moby-Dick was the second book on my Classics Spin list.

So here's the conundrum -- I know there's no way I can read both of these books at the same time.  So which one should I choose?  Moby-Dick is longer (625 pages versus 429) but it has the advantage of the readalong -- so much more fun to read a book and discuss it online with others!  Also, my library has two different audiobook editions, one narrated by George Guidall and one by Paul Boehmer.  I could possibly listen to the entire thing on audio and keep up with the schedule.  Both of them are on my Classics Club challenge list, and both of them are books I've been putting off forever.  If I finish either of them, I know I'll be very satisfied.

Bloggers, what do you think?  Which one should I read?  Both classics, but I think they're very different.  An American or a French classic?  Queequeg or Quasimodo?  And has anyone listened to any of the audiobook versions?  Which do you recommend?

The Three Musketeers, Part 2

Well, I have finally finished The Three Musketeers.  This is particularly satisfying because it's one of the longest unread books on my TBR shelf, and one that I've owned for about four years, so that's a good thing.  I did enjoy it, but I have to be honest, it's not the greatest work of literature in the world.  It's a fun book, and I'm glad I read it, but it's not particularly deep or literary.

The second half of the book dragged in parts -- first, there was the battle of La Rochelle, which has something to do with Catholics vs. Protestants.  Frankly, action scenes tend to bore me.  I guess I have a hard time imagining them in my head.  Also, there was a section of five or six consecutive chapters about Milady that just went on and on.  I kept trying to slog through them but I'd read a chapter and put the book down, but it was hard to get started again.  I only had a hundred pages to go and I just wanted things to get wrapped up.

The parts of this book that I loved best basically included one or more of the Musketeers, and D'Artaganan -- for me, it started to get boring if it focused on the other characters.  I don't know if these sections weren't as well written, or the story just dragged, but things definitely perked up if one of them was in the scene.  Of course the best scenes of all are the ones when they're all together, usually with some witty banter.  I did get bored with Milady's scheming and Cardinal Richelieu's plotting, though the ending was pretty satisfying.

So -- a good book, overall, though I can't say that I'd ever want to read it again.  I do want to get to The Count of Monte Cristo someday, though is length is a little intimidating.  I'll have to wait until I get through some of the other Big Fat Books on my TBR shelf before I attempt it.

And for those of you who have not seen the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of The Three Musketeers:

Looks fairly ridiculous -- I don't remember any flamethrowers in the book, nor any scenes with Milady dodging bullets Matrix-style!  Script by Andrew Davies (who brilliantly adapted so many classics for the screen including Pride and Prejudice and Bleak House, two of my favorites) yet directed by Paul Anderson best known for Resident Evil.  Riiight.

Thanks again to Allie of A Literary Odyssey for organizing this readalong. I look forward to reading all the other postings.

Villette Readalong -- Finished

Finally, I have finished Villette.  I know, it's a readalong, but I had some real momentum while reading it last week, and bloggers, I just couldn't help myself -- I finished the rest of the book.  The story really picked up for me and I had to keep going.  However, when it came time to actually put some thoughts down, I am kind of at a loss.

Without giving too much away, finally, the entire Lucy/Graham/Polly love triangle was resolved, pretty calmly.  Polly turned out to be a pretty good egg after all; Ginevra was as obnoxious as ever -- one of my commenters last week wrote that she wanted to push her off a cliff, which is about right.  Originally I just wanted to smack her, but then she got worse.

And some other characters who seemed pretty interesting and fairly benign earlier in the book got more complicated, and in some cases, more treacherous.  I won't say which ones in case anyone is still reading it, but some of them really infuriated me.  I know this sounds really vague but a lot happens in the last quarter or so of the book, and I got hooked on it and finished it all up in a couple of days.  I don't know if it's because the story got much better or if I was just unable to drag it out any longer.

After spending so much time on this book I'm at a loss, and I just can't come up with clever and insightful comments about this book.  After some slow spots, I did end up liking it (though I wasn't thrilled with the ending).  While it's not nearly as exciting as Jane Eyre, it has some great character development.  I'm not sure why some people consider it Charlotte Bronte's finest book. I suppose as her final work, it's her most mature.  My copy (Modern Library) has an introduction by A.S. Byatt and some Frenchwoman that probably has all kinds of insights and background which I was saving for the end, but it's 50 pages long, and I am too tired of looking at this book to open it again.  I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, but I'm in no hurry to pick up her other books Shirley (654 pages!) and The Professor (a mere 300).

Thanks again for Wallace at Unputdownables for organizing this.  I did enjoy participating in the Readathon, since it motivated me to keep going.  I apologize for cutting my participation short, but maybe two months was just too long for my short attention span.

The Three Musketeers, Part 1

Sword fighting! Romance! Mystery! Intrigue! What is not to like about The Three Musketeers?

Well, it is long, and it's not exactly what you'd call great literature.  But it is a beloved adventure novel that has stood the test of time, so therefore it is considered a classic.

And isn't that an awesome cover?  This is so shallow of me, but it was really the cover that finally attracted me to this book.  I remember watching an old 1970s film version starring Michael York and Richard Chamberlain, years and years ago, but I'd never had much desire to read it.  However, this recent edition translated by Richard Pevear intrigued me.  I realized I'd read hardly any classic French literature, so I put it on my birthday list. And the book sat on my shelves and was moved from house to house unread, until the combination of the TBR Dare and Allie's Readalong inspired me to finally start it.

If you are not familiar with the story, basically, young D'Artaganan (I don't even know if he HAS a first name), from Gascony, travels to Paris with a letter of introduction from his late father to the head of the Musketeers, who are the king's guards.  Unfortunately, the letter is stolen, so by his wits and skills alone he must attempt to join this elite group.  Along the way, he accidentally insults three different musketeers, who each challenge him to a separate duel.  He has no idea that these are the three famous friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and when they arrive for the challenge (Porthos and Aramis are the seconds so they show up for the first duel early), they are insulted by the cardinal's guardsmen, and end up combining forces against their common enemy.  D'Artagnan impresses the Musketeers with his fighting skills and bravery and becomes their protege.

D'Artagnan soon becomes caught up in political intrigue between the Queen and the evil, power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu; meets a the love of his life (who is married to his nasty landlord); and has to save the day with the help of his brave comrades.

Honestly, this is a really fun book.  Yes, there is sword-fighting and action, but what I like best about this book is the friendship between and the four friends, and the relationship between D'Artagnan and his lackey Planchet. And it's really quite funny.  For such a long classic, it's an easy read, and I had no trouble reading eighty or so pages at a single stretch.

The only problem I have with this book so far is the lack of morals some of the characters are displaying.  These guys think nothing of gambling away a friend's horse, stealing wine, and challenging someone to a fatal duel over a mere insult.  And for such amoral people, they think nothing of meting out some pretty harsh justice for others -- there's a pretty shocking scene toward the middle of the book that I won't give away.  Maybe that's the way things were in the 17th century France, or maybe it's just a fantasy that amused people at the time when it was published in 1840; maybe the musketeers are just doing what all the readers were fantasizing about.  Either way I'm not taking it seriously enough to let it detract from my enjoyment of the book.  I look forward to completing the second half soon.

Dueling Brontes

Right now, I'm reading Villette and listening to Jane Eyre on audio.  Is this a bad idea?  In my previous posting for the Villette Readalong, Melody from Fingers and Prose described it as "dueling Brontes."   Which naturally reminded me of . . . 

Bronte Sisters Power Dolls!!!

  I. Want. These.  That is all.

Villette Readalong Week 5

Sorry, but I'm getting kind of bored with Villette.

Not much happened the last few chapters.  Though she won't admit it, I'm pretty sure Lucy is falling in love with Graham/Dr. John.  They're spending a lot of time together, but I have a feeling he thinks they're "just friends."  During an outing to the theater, there's a panic, and in the throngs of people trying to leave, a young woman swoons.  Naturally, Dr. John comes to her rescue.  This girl is oddly familiar!!

This does not bode well for Lucy -- especially when all of a sudden she doesn't hear from him or his mother for weeks.  Seven weeks, to be exact!  Finally, she gets a note from her godmother, inviting her to come over and meet some old friends -- Ginevra's wealthy uncle and cousin.  Lo and behold, the cousin is the swooning girl who is none other than . . . little Polly, all grown up now!  I had been wondering all along when she would show up, or whether Ginevra and Polly were the same person.

Polly's father, who is now know as Count Bassompierre, is looking for a school for Polly.  She's seventeen but apparently her education has been sketchy.  He's very interested in Madame Beck's school.  Polly seems a lot like Ginevra, equally annoying, but with more money.  She is shocked -- shocked, I tell you!  -- that Lucy actually has to earn a living.

And of course, Dr. John rekindles his friendship with Polly.  I forsee him falling in love with her now that he's over Ginevra, and will break Lucy's heart.  I'm also envisioning some catfights between Polly and Ginevra now that Dr. John has gotten tired of her.  Will this be a love triangle? Quadrangle?  Hopefully things will pick up now because the last few chapters have been awfully slow.

The audio of Jane Eyre, on the other hand, is just getting better and better. And it's overdue at the library, eek!

Villette Readalong Week 4

I haven't touched this book in more than two weeks, since before my last posting -- I was ahead and then I had so much else to read for various online events and my library's book group, I have not given this book a second thought since then. Honestly, I don't think that's such a good thing, since I didn't even miss it.  Also, I made the mistake of starting the audio version of Jane Eyre in the car -- I love rereads when I'm driving around town or on my iPod when I walk the dog, since I don't feel like I have to rush through them to finish the story, since I already know what happens.  I can slow down and just enjoy it, like an old friend.

And although this isn't the best narrated audiobook (I find the reader to be somewhat stilted and robotic at times, especially when she's reading words more than three syllables) Villette really does pale in comparison to Jane Eyre!  I know I shouldn't compare them, but I couldn't help it.  I really had no right to start a different Bronte work at all, but I was so bored in the car and the new film version comes out soon, and I hadn't read it in forever.  But now all I can do when I start to read Villette is think about how Jane Eyre is so much more interesting!

Anyhow -- Lucy has been rescued from her medical crisis by the dashing Dr. John, who, lo and behold, is Graham, her godmother's son!  Ta-da!!! Was anyone really surprised?  I actually was, since how is it she didn't recognize him?  Why wasn't this mentioned at all?  I'm starting to not trust Lucy, honestly.  It did occur to me that she'd fall in love with Dr. John and somehow Graham would be a different character and show up later, and there would be some kind of love triangle.  Now I'm just thinking that the third person in the love triangle will be the wretched Ginevra, whom I still want to smack.   And Lucy Snowe is getting tiresome.  I still have more than 300 pages of this book and it doesn't look promising.  However, I am much too stubborn to give up on it now.

This probably isn't much of a review, but the last section made hardly any impression on me, so I guess I need to give it another shot and write about it while it's still fresh.  So, back to the books! 

Villette Readalong Week 2

So, Villette, chapters six through eleven.  I had some real momentum while reading this the past couple of weeks and I'm way ahead, up to chapter 20.  Either I need to slow down my reading or starting writing posts as I read, because I'd almost forgotten what I'm supposed to be posting about.

After a brief review, I remember that this is the part in which Lucy makes a life-altering decision.  After going to London on her own in search of work (which I think is pretty gutsy for such a young girl) she decides to travel to France to look for a job teaching English.  She doesn't know a soul in France but on the crossing she meets a young girl, Ginevra Fanshawe, who is at a French school in a town called Villette (hence, the title) and Lucy decides to go there to look for work.  Upon arriving at the town at a late hour, she luckily encounters an Englishman man who gives her directions a reputable inn; however, she gets lost, and serendipitously finds Madame Beck's school for girls.

Though Lucy has no references and little experience, Madame Beck sizes her up and decides to give her a shot as a nursery-governess.  Much of the weeks' reading are about Lucy's experiences at the school and a great description of Madame Beck, who is kind of a tough lady making her way in what is still largely a man's world.  Lucy and Madame Beck don't exactly like one another, but it's obvious that there's a lot of grudging respect between the two.  Eventually, Lucy works her way up in the school, teaches more advanced students and apparently becomes pretty fluent in French.  The Englishman reappears, and so does the young lady from the boat, Ginevra.

So far this was my favorite section.  We got a lot of background and character development, especially Madame Beck.  I don't know if I like her exactly -- she's tough, but not quite a villainess -- and I think that's how Bronte wants the reader to feel.  I still don't know that I've gotten to Lucy very well, though I admire her guts -- first, she's gone to London on her own; then, she travels to a foreign country without any contacts or prospects, found herself a job; and now she's taken control of some uppity French students.  There's a great scene [MILD SPOILER ALERT!] in which Lucy is thrown into a situation substituting for the teacher of 60 teenaged girls, not much younger than herself, and she knows if she gives them an inch they'll walk all over her.  She has to show them that she's in control, and she takes a sassy student and locks her in a closet.  Well done!

I've now read about 40% of Villette but there's a lot left to go.  I'll try to catch up and write posts as I'm reading from now on  -- hopefully I won't lose momentum if I slow down a bit.  This book isn't quite as engaging as Jane Eyre, but I'm willing to give it more time.

I'm reading this as part of Unputdownables Villette Read-A-Long. Visit the link if you'd like to read more thoughts on this book.

Villette Readalong, Week 1

I am finally revisiting Charlotte Bronte.  Villette is another book which has been sitting on my TBR shelf for (ahem!) about five years, so when Wallace of Unputdownables suggested the read-along, I knew that participating would inspire me to finally pick it up .  It's been years since I read Jane Eyre, one of the first classics I really loved; strangely, I have yet to reread it.  (Might be a perfect choice for an audiobook -- I love rereads in the car because I don't feel pressured to finish them quickly since I already know the endings).   All I knew about this novel was that it is loosely autobiographical and has something to do with a teacher and Brussels or some such thing.  Sometimes, it's best not to know too much about a novel before you start it, so as not to have preconceived notions, right?

I've actually finished more than 100 pages but am technically not supposed to comment on more than the first five chapters.  It seems okay so far.   Basically, this is the story of Lucy Snowe, a young lady with some sort of family difficulties -- I assume later on that she will have financial difficulties and love problems as well, because isn't that what most young ladies faced during the Victorian era?  Well, in Victorian literature, anyway.

However, the first five chapters have very little information about Lucy, and this puzzled me.  In the first chapter, we learn that young Lucy is having some sort of family issues and has been sent off to visit her godmother, a widow with a teenaged son, Graham.  During her visit, a child of a relative has come to stay with the godmother, a little girl named Polly.  Polly's mother died recently and her father is bereft, so Polly has come to stay while he gets his act together.  He is traveling to France for business of some sort.  Polly is naturally sad at having lost her mother and misses her father terribly, so she's kind of withdrawn and sad.  The only one she really becomes attached to is Graham, who is about sixteen.

Basically, the entire first three chapters of this book is about Graham and Polly and their friendship as observed by Lucy -- we learn virtually nothing our narrator.  I didn't even know how old she was but I'm going to assume she's in her early teens.  I couldn't even figure out how old Polly was, but from the way she talked, I assumed she was about 10 -- until the book mentioned she's only six!  Either Polly was incredibly precocious, or six-year-olds were much more mature back then.  Or else Charlotte Bronte didn't know squat about six-year-olds.  I have two daughters who are now older than six, and they never talked like Polly at that age.  Well, Villette was written about 150 years ago, and times change, right?

Anyway, Polly finally leaves to join her father and the action shifts back to Lucy.  I can only assume that Graham and Polly are going to resurface later in the book, or their relationship is somehow symbolic of something else that's going to happen.  In chapter four Lucy is a destitute young lady working as a companion, and her life is a little bleak.  She has to go and make her own way in this world.  I was surprised that there was so little background about Lucy and her family.

The next few chapters do pick up a little and it's all about Lucy, but I'll save that for next week's post.  I was a little bored with Polly but I'm optimistic about the rest of the book, and wondering if Polly and Graham show up again.  If nothing else, this is a fairly fast read for a Victorian novel.  Who knows, maybe I'll love this and I'll take a chance with Bronte's other two novels, The Professor and Shirley.

Has anyone else read this?  Are you participating in the readalong?  How do you like it so far?  And what about the other Bronte sisters' works?  I hated Wuthering Heights, liked The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and I still haven't touched Agnes Grey, which is waiting patiently on the TBR shelf.  It might be next!