Moby-Dick

This book would probably make my Top Five list, never mind my Top Ten. I can see why it's so well-considered among scholars. Brilliant descriptions, mesmerizing plot, captivating characters, scintillating prose, and memorable scenes. Loved it, loved it, loved it! I'll definitely read this one again, probably next summer.

I had heard about the "hundreds" of pages of descriptions about whales and whaling, and I was ambivalent about them. I tend to enjoy that sort of detail, but many people are turned off by those sections. I was about halfway through the book, still looking for those endless chapters of boredom, when I realized that I had been reading them all along. I had been enjoying them so much that I didn't realize I was "supposed" to be bored by them. (Except the one entitled "Cetology". I was pretty bored by that one.) I found the technical discussions fascinating and useful. I would have appreciated some additional ones about boats, however. (I don't know a top-gallant sail from a forecastle.) The incredible quantity of references, mostly Biblical, was most impressive. I'm fairly literate, but I didn't recognize half of Melville's allusions, except that they came from the Bible and classical literature, history, and mythology.

The characters were great: Ishmael, Queequeg, Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, and of course, Ahab. I was disappointed by Ahab, though. Found him a bit too one-dimensional (I guess he was supposed to be). Still, I would have liked more background on him. Melville seemed more intent on giving information about whaling and whales than about providing character background. I found this refreshing (if I can say that a 150-year-old book is "refreshing") because of the modern novelist's habit of providing too much character background (c.f. Stephen King), a tendency I find over-indulgent. Queequeg was easily my favorite character. From his bravery at saving Tashtego, to his ever-present optimism and his choice to not die when he was sick (talk about opposing the theme of Fate!), I enjoyed reading about him the most.

I thought the battles with Moby Dick were too fast and some of the descriptions difficult to follow, but there were some great scenes: Moby Dick rising quickly from the depths to bite Ahab's boat in half, surfacing beneath Ahab's boat, the Parsee lashed to Moby Dick's back, and the exciting (okay, symbolically-heavy handed) ending. (I'll probably re-read the final three chapters after the novel has "settled". I was a bit tired from having read the final hundred pages in one morning; I'd like to enjoy the chases again when I'm fresh.) Speaking of which, when I first saw "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" I was particularly impressed by Khan's curse to Kirk: "From hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee." I remember thinking, "That sounds like an allusion." As I was reading "Moby Dick," I thought, "This is probably the book from which Khan's quote was taken. It would be perfect." I figured it would occur -- if it did at all -- when Ahab encountered Moby Dick, so I kept an eye out for it. But I didn't see it, didn't see it, didn't see it, and ultimately I was almost disappointed. Almost. Best line of the book.

I feel like I should talk about themes, but there simply isn't room here. Nor do I have the time.

Final comments: A profound book. Ahab is appropriately larger than life, although I found Wolf Larsen to be more intimidating as a captain. The prose is muscular but dense at times. The novel resonates like nobody's business. I'm glad I waited as long as I did to read it; I needed all the seasoning I could get to enjoy it. I hope I'll be able to teach the novel some day.

Note:  It is now five years later, and I have had the chance to use Moby-Dick in my Advanced Placement Language and Composition class three times.  The first time did not go over that well, as most of the students (to my later disappointment) did not read the book.  The next two groups mostly did (I think).  The final group (2012-13) was academically better prepared for the task and more intellectually curious, so I'm pretty confident they read it.  Many of the students even said they enjoyed it.  I use the book to help the students grapple with archaic prose, and the novel is well-suited to do that.  I also want to share with them my love of the novel.  I recognize that the book is massive, so I edited the book down for them, cutting out about 1/3 of the novel.  I hope some of them go back and read the whole thing, and I know that several this past year did accomplish that task.  I am proud of those who completed it as well as those who even attempted it.
-MF

The Sun Also Rises

This is my third Hemingway, though I read The Old Man and the Sea quite a long time ago. I enjoyed this one, though not as much as A Farewell to Arms. Seemed less polished overall--the prose, I mean. I liked the characters: they seemed realistic and compelling. The fiesta section of Part 2 was great, and I found myself eagerly anticipating the descriptions of the bull-fights. Parts dragged, but it was a quick read and I liked it. Not a favorite, though. I figure if I read one more--For Whom the Bell Tolls--I can allow myself an informed opinion of him as a writer.

Faust

Impressive work! Reminded me of Paradise Lost, probably because of the religious theme. Difficult to read at times, but worthwhile. Before reading this, I had been considering the reasons for human existence, and I was pretty pleased with myself when I came up with "striving." I figured that humans--and all life on the planet, in fact--were put here to strive and work and improve themselves as individuals (sorry Darwin!). I thought I had something really original there, until I realized that Goethe had figured out pretty much the same thing a few hundred years ago. Whatever. At least I had the same thought as Germany's great uber-literati.

Next...

I am reluctant to do this, but I will have to put aside much of my reading for enjoyment in favor of professional texts. I am going to turn more to nonfiction as I prepare for my next (and possibly last) major academic endeavor which I anticipate will take much of my free time for the next few years. I will still continue to read, but not nearly at the same pace I have been doing for the past couple years. Ah, well. I have to prepare myself for more sacrifices in the future (e.g., fiction, poetry, and NaNoWriMo). I am sure it will be worthwhile, though.

The Grapes of Wrath

Blew me away! I had not been looking forward to this novel. For some reason, I thought it would be boring or difficult to read. It was neither. The story and characters were so compelling that I couldn't put the book down. I loved the dialect Steinbeck wrote in for much of the book. Too often, even skilled novelists who try to write in dialect either can't get the intonations and speech patterns across accurately/effectively, or they try too hard and end up confusing the reader (as in Wuthering Heights). Steinbeck struck the right balance, and after a while, I found myself reading in an "Okie" accent.

I liked his intermediary chapters which mixed nonfiction with fiction to give the reader a sense of what was happening in the world. Sometimes the Joads fell victim to the worst-case scenarios presented in these chapters; sometimes they avoided them. I found myself looking forward to reading them to see how the Joads would handle them. Clearly, they were meant to foreground some issue or event in the novel, to provide some kind of real-world possibility of what might happen.

The characters were varied and realistic, even as they attempted to illustrate the archetypal migrant farmers. The family dynamic, the politics, the social reality -- all were portrayed vividly in immense complexity. There's so much I could say about this novel, but there just isn't space here for it. Loved Ma for her strength, Tom for his steadfastness, Al for his loyalty despite his urge toward independence, Pa for his work ethic, Uncle John for his self-loathing and guilt, Casy for his back-country philosophy, and the dog for his early flattening on the highway.

Ending was ambiguous, but I'm sure Steinbeck intended it that way. We don't know what happened to Tom, Noah, Al, and the rest of the Joads. I am reluctant to assume the worst, despite the harshness of the impending situation (i.e., three months of unemployment looming and no money cushion) because they had escaped hardships in the past. The final scene in which Rose of Sharon suckles the starving man was a disturbing end to a disturbing book.

The way the family faced adversity was truly inspiring. I don't know where Ma got her strength, but it was there when she (and the family) needed it. One of the most memorable quotes from the novel, and which sums up all that is admirable about the attitude of the Joads, was spoken by "Family-First" Ma as the flood waters are rising, threatening to wash them out of the railroad boxcar in which they are living: "Worse off we get, the more we got to do [for each other]." Amen.