OMG! Looks like Sunday Funday accidentally turned into Drinkday Thinkday!! Is that a thing? I don't think that it is, but it makes sense to me.
ANYWAY, I accidentally drank too much this evening, but looks like it's a win/win because now I can finally review Moby Dick!!
So, I've been reading this book for the past month, and finally finished it a few days ago. Boy was that a chore. Can I just say, that movie Matilda is a total liar. THERE IS NO WAY THAT EIGHT YEAR OLD READ THIS BOOK. I DON'T CARE HOW MANY SUPER POWERS SHE HAD. This is the biggest lie that I have ever witnessed, and I'm pretty sure that it was a deciding factor in me reading this book. "Oh, a fictional eight year old has read it? I can handle it."
Boy, was I mildly wrong. This book is a TOUGH READ. And I like tough reads. I chose to read Infinite Jest during the most drunk year of my life. This book, this book was a way different story.
Ishmael the narrator, incase you've been living under a rock, describes in great detail, so so many things about whales throughout the story that I almost feel like an expert. This book was really hard to get through because of so many digressions. The whole book, I kept thinking about that scene in Catcher in the Rye. DIGRESSION!!!!!! (If you don't know what I'm talking about: READ A FUCKING BOOK.)
But, regardless of the interruptions, and the difficulty of the story, this was a great book. I understand why it's a classic. It was SO MODERN. I remember when I first started it, I was so impressed by how current the language felt. It's totally understandable that this book was ignored in it's time, because it was far too fragmented, it hardly reads like a novel. But that was one thing that I dug about the way it was written, that it jumped around so much. It was super cool, going from narrator to soliloquy to scientific study. It almost felt like reading a thousand books in one.
Plot wise, though, I struggled. There were too many interruptions for me to get borderline obsessed with this book. (I mean, for being called MOBY DICK, where the fuck was the title character? After 400 of 450 pages you finally show your face??? FUCKING RUDE.) I definitely hoped for more excitement. Up until the very end, not too much has happened. Yeah, you guys killed a bunch of whales that don't have books named after them. SUPER COOL.
Still though, I enjoyed this book. The language was incredible. The themes were impressive. I liked all the metaphors too. After I finished this book, I read that it's basically what you want it to mean, that that's why this book is so impressive, that it's just a shell of a lesson. And that really resonated with me, because the book can really be about anything. To me, it's basically about the limits of knowledge. Think about the whale, there is only so much that they know about it, they can only see the surface, yet there is SO MUCH really there. Think about anything in your life: this totally applies.
When I think about the meanings, or how impressive the language is, I like this book. I mean, isn't that why it's a classic? But it was still difficult to read and it felt like a chore. I like the idea of this book more than I actually liked it... (Honestly, I feel like I shouldn't be saying this out loud/in print. THIS IS A GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL AND I'M BASHING IT. DON'T CALL HOMELAND SECURITY. I'M NOT A TERRORIST. OF THE 10 G.A.N.s I'VE READ, I'M OBSESSED WITH THE REST.)
...So onto the ratings:
Did I talk about this book a lot when drunk? Yes. I talked about this book a lot, period. I wanted so badly to finish it. And I complained a lot about it. It was so long and so dull and so time consuming. Oh god, all of those interruptions about whale bones... everyone in my life heard about those. Yet...
Would I recommend this book when drunk? Yes. I mean, to a certain extent. It would depend on the person to whom I was recommending it. Do they like to read? (Really, do they??) Do they like to read difficult books? Do they like the sea? If they're looking for the next Twilight, then no, I wouldn't recommend this book. (Although, why the fuck am I talking to this person? We clearly are not friends.) But if they want a challenge and to read a classic and to love life a little bit more, than yes. Yes, I'd recommend Moby Dick.
THERE, I DID IT! I READ AND REVIEWED MOBY DICK. GOD, I FEEL LIKE AN INCREDIBLE HUMAN BEING!
Now back to books that don't feel quite like a chore.
