Recent reading

[regshoe]

The Bee-Man of Orn and Other Fanciful Tales by Frank R. Stockton (1887), which I read a little while ago when one of the stories from it caught my attention in the once_upon_fic tagset. Although I didn't end up matching on or writing for it, I'm glad I read the collection! The stories are weird and sideways in their priorities in an enjoyable way that I really like in original/modern fairytales—especially 'The Griffin and the Minor Canon', the story that was nominated for once_upon_fic; many of them, including that one, aren't centred around romances, which was refreshing; and Stockton's writing style is also enjoyable.


Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851). Things I had osmosed about this book before reading it: 1) it's about a mad quest for revenge after a whale; 2) it's really gay, 3) it contains a lot of long digressions full of dubiously accurate whale facts and 4) it's completely bonkers. These are all true; osmosis failed to prepare me for just how true. It's an amazing book, well worth reading, and I can't quite sum up what it's like. It's kind of like if Victor Hugo was American and the French Revolution was whales, perhaps. The structure and style are very funny, even besides the passages—they take up too much of the book, both in length and significance, really to call them digressions—in which the narrator Ishmael tells us everything he knows about whales and whaling. While Ishmael's voice is very important throughout, he's not really the POV character of a lot of the narrative sections, which frequently include scenes he's not apparently there for, focus on other characters and explore their thoughts in detail; much of the dialogue consists of theatrical soliloquies, quite a few chapters open with stage directions and occasionally the whole thing actually switches into script format for a chapter. This book is also incidentally the most ethnically-diverse nineteenth-century novel I've ever read.

As for being really gay, the book opens with canon There Was Only One Bed (and I do mean the fanfic trope There Was Only One Bed, not simply bedsharing) between Ishmael and Queequeg the fascinating Pacific Islander harpooneer; a day or two later they're declaring that they are now married and going off happily to sign up on a whaling ship together, whence the rest of the plot. Though there are occasional good moments, Ishmael/Queequeg is rather neglected later on in the book in favour of whale drama and whale information, which was a bit disappointing. On the other hand I very much enjoyed the whale drama and whale information—Melville(/the narrative written by Ishmael) sees the whole world in whales and whaling, and has an amazing talent for making things significant, besides a distinctive, chaotic and frequently hilarious narrative voice.

As for the main plot, however, I was on Moby Dick's side. What a conservation icon.

Comments

[starshipfox]

I always say that, in my opinion, Moby Dick has a happy ending, because the whale survives and thrives.

I really enjoyed the whale parts of Moby Dick -- poetic, surprising, imagistic. Some of the rest of it lost me, but I do love the only-one-bed opening.

[regshoe]

He just wanted to be left alone and not hunted to extinction! Shame about Queequeg and all, but really it's very reasonable of him. I'm glad you agree :D

[dr_zook]

I'm delighted you're pointing out the only-one-bed opening, which is clearly selling me to finally read the book, haha! I also assume I won't be as prepared about the bonkers parts as I think, but I'm looking forward to it. :D

[regshoe]

The Only One Bed isn't the half of it! Really this book is incredibly gay for 1851, and I really sincerely like that it's a real aspect of the book alongside the more famous whale-related ones. I hope you enjoy it :D

[skygiants]

I've often thought that Ishmael and Grantaire would have a really fascinating meeting between their mutually incomprehensible forms of voluble depression.

[regshoe]

Now there's an idea! I think Ishmael is a bit more convincingly sense-making than Grantaire, but I would read that crossover, anyway.

[littlerhymes]

Beautiful and accurate summary of Moby-Dick.

What a conservation icon.
SO true.

[regshoe]

:D Glad you think so.

[sanguinity]

I’ve read the first third of Moby Dick several times, plus lots of random dipping in and out (I love the chapter about rope) and yes, the book is weirder and gayer and more wonderful than anyone tends to osmose. So glad you enjoyed it!

Re the diversity, the New England whaling trade was fully integrated, with lots of Wampanoag and Black whalers at all levels, including captains and owners. It was a vanishingly rare thing in American society at the time. I recently reviewed a book by Skip Finley about it. (I’m on my phone, or I’d link.)

[regshoe]

It is SO weird and gay and wonderful. Just the first third because that's where most of the Ishmael/Queequeg is, or for some other reason?

I saw that review, I thought it was very interesting! IIRC all Melville's captains and owners are white, but beyond that the book does really give a sense of the whaling ships as a place where people from many cultures, places and walks of life come together and mix.

[sanguinity]

Just the first third because that's where most of the Ishmael/Queequeg is, or for some other reason?

Had a couple of goes at reading it with Whale Weekly (who publishes the sections more-or-less in real-time), and when the pace falls off to an entry a week or so, it becomes very easy for me to never get around to reading them, and wow, now I'm a year out of date and don't remember all the boat crews anymore. What I need to do is just read it on my own, but my tbr stack is of the devil, and worse now that I'm in the alumni Humanities bookclub.

[regshoe]

Ah, that makes sense, and I'd find that a struggle too! I think immersing my mind in the book for a couple of weeks reading it in one go made it much easier to read than it would be just a little bit at a time. Anyway, if and when you do get to it in the tbr stack I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

[phantomtomato]

much of the dialogue consists of theatrical soliloquies, quite a few chapters open with stage directions and occasionally the whole thing actually switches into script format for a chapter

This is very interesting even just from a publishing perspective! I wonder how that came to be. What was it like to read and encounter those script sections?

[regshoe]

It is! Especially since I don't think the book would at all work as a play, at least not without major changes—Ishmael's voice as narrator, and the non-narrative informational chapters, are both so important to its being what it is. It was surprising and weird, but among all the other weird things about the book I think it works—the story has a certain theatrical portentousness as a tragedy and I think it gives weight to that.

[greenwoodside]

It's kind of like if Victor Hugo was American and the French Revolution was whales, perhaps.

٩( ᗒᗨᗕ )۶!!!

I gave up on my first and only attempt to read Moby Dick 17 years ago.

This has just persuaded me of the value of a second attempt.

[regshoe]

:D

I hope you enjoy it this time!

[garonne]

You have convinced me to give Moby Dick a try for the first time!

[regshoe]

Yay, I hope you enjoy it!

[sovay]

The Bee-Man of Orn and Other Fanciful Tales by Frank R. Stockton (1887), which I read a little while ago when one of the stories from it caught my attention in the once_upon_fic tagset.

I read both the title story and "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" as a child because Maurice Sendak had illustrated picture books of them! It took me until high school to catch up on the famous one of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" which had nowhere near the same effect.

It's kind of like if Victor Hugo was American and the French Revolution was whales, perhaps.

That's a great description.

[regshoe]

Aww, they would have worked well as illustrated picture books!

[genarti]

I have mixed feelings about Moby-Dick mostly because, well, I'm most interested in Queequeg and in Starbuck and in Moby Dick surviving and no whales having to deal with any of these assholes; Queequeg's page time mostly comes early on, and Moby Dick does survive but does have to deal with these assholes, and of course a number of other whales die of encountering them. Starbuck does carry on through, though. Anyway I'm not only interested in that, of course -- there are a lot of interesting characters! there's a lot of interesting non-character stuff! many of the digressions are great! you're absolutely right about the ethnic diversity of it, and it's very 19C but nonetheless! -- but it does mean that a lot of my favorite parts come early on in the novel, which makes the back half sometimes a slog for me. (I simply cannot view a whale as a metaphor rather than as a living being who does not deserve to deal with Ahab's obsessive projection, lol.) I think I'm in the minority, though, at least among my friends.

[regshoe]

I liked Starbuck a lot too, as the voice of reason who opposes Ahab but nevertheless understands him on an important level.

(I simply cannot view a whale as a metaphor rather than as a living being who does not deserve to deal with Ahab's obsessive projection, lol.)

I think I was less emotionally affected by the whale death than you—I would much rather the whales were left alone, but as it is I can suspend disagreement to appreciate the drama and historical interest of hunting them—but otherwise I agree!

[theseatheseatheopensea]

As for the main plot, however, I was on Moby Dick's side. What a conservation icon.

That's it, that's the novel! :D (Well, the "There Was Only One Bed" trope is important too!)

[regshoe]

1) There Was Only One Bed, 2) Save the Whales (Or They'll Save Themselves). True classic literature :D

[luzula]

Have you read China Mieville's Moby Dick AU where the whale is a giant albino mole and the ships are trains? Yes, really. It is called Railsea.

Quoting from my 2014 review: Miéville is sometimes too grim and squalid for me, but this book wasn't--"swashbuckling" would describe it, rather. Also it reminded me of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (without the Christian symbolism). Towards the end I wondered how he'd pull it together, but he did so very satisfyingly! I am delighted and charmed.

I haven't read the actual Moby Dick, though.

[regshoe]

Moby Dick AU where the whale is a giant albino mole and the ships are trains?

1) No, I've never heard of it; 2) o__O

That description sounds like the sort of thing I might like, though!