Moby Dick

The next meeting of Book Group was held at my place the day before I heard the news about Pam. The table was set for us to read Moby Dick by Hermann Melville. To say that it was a struggle for us all to finish this book would be an understatement! I did eventually finish the book in time to discuss it but I was the only one of the group that managed to do so, although Lorel and Michele both made valiant efforts to get to the end. When I picked this book I had no idea quite how long it was and how difficult it would be to read.

I think everyone knows the basic premise of the story of Captain Ahab’s insatiable monomaniacal search for the huge white whale, as told through the eyes of a young sailor called Ishmael. There is so much more to this book though, and really in parts it reads more like a manual to whaling, with infinite detail about the processes and equipment involved in the whale hunt and the production of whale oil. Melville obviously knew what he was talking about and did meticulous research for his book. There is also a lot of information about being a mariner on the high seas, and the nature of ships and sailing, including the many perils that a sailor may face on the seas. We also get a sense of the geography of the sea and the vast distances travelled by these ships.

The crew of the Pequod (Ahab’s ship) is a very multicultural affair, although we never really get to know any of the characters in much depth, other than Ahab, and Ishmael himself seems to disappear from his own narrative as the story unfolds. Another intriguing character, Queequeg, a savage from the south seas, whom we meet in the first quarter of the book also seems to gradually vanish from the final chapters.

All in all we are left with a novel which is high in description and factual information, sometimes at the expense of characterisation and plot, which is why I think we all struggled to engage with it at certain points. Having said that I did enjoy reading it and I am glad to have read it, although perhaps it wasn’t the best choice of novel for a book group.

Poor Helen was unwell so she didn’t come to this book group meeting, but the other four of us had a hilarious time, despite the difficulty we all had with the book. I think that our discussions actually helped us all appreciate certain parts of the book more because we were able to share our own interpretations and explain things to one another. And of course there were endless jokes to had from the title, the blubber, the sperm and all of the gay sex that was hinted at throughout the novel (which was totally lost on Lorel!) So considering how serious and worthy the content of the novel was it surprisingly produced one of the funniest book group meetings so far!