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/lit/ - Literature

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23192593 No.23192593 [Reply] [Original]

What could be finer?

>> No.23192609

>>23192593
Moby Dick... and Balls

>> No.23192615
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23192615

The complete works. Almost there...

>> No.23192623

>>23192593
Bow My Dick

>> No.23192670

>>23192593
Just finished this.
I’m gonna be honest, the encyclopedic whale autism parts were horribly boring (still read all of it).
The main story with Ahab and the white whale are alright, becoming especially good towards the end of the book but that’s it.
Far from the best novel I’ve read, there are far better classics out there.
It’s only great if you’re really passionate about whales.

>> No.23192739

>>23192593
I love this cover and edition SOOOOOO MUCH except for the fucking corrugated edges, so so fucking gay

>> No.23192803

>>23192670
I just finished this.
I'm going to be honest, the encylopedic whale autism inspired me to pick up bass in the 30 hours since I finished it. https://voca.ro/182RIkzhXqD1 Not the best but I started from nothing.
The main story with Ahab and the white whale was metal as fuck, becoming hardcore towards the end of the book but that wasn't all of it.
Easily the best novel I've read in years, there are far worse classics out there.
It's only great if you have a dick and balls pumping blood and spermacetti.

>> No.23192891

>>23192615
And gummo on dvd holy based. Great taste anon.

>> No.23192923

>>23192593
I'm just over halfway through and I absolutely love this book. After I finish writing this post I am going back to drink coffee and read another hundred pages. I probably wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for the /lit/ recommended charts. I didn't give a fuck about Nantucket whaling culture before starting this book but god damn Melville got me invested the son of a bitch.

>> No.23193006

I have about a hundred pages left and I’m taking a break but I do really love the book. I would say that the cetology portions are “boring,” but the author’s wit and charisma shines through no matter what he’s writing about. He starts a chapter with a lecture about the whale’s blowhole and by the end it turns into a sermon about divine inspiration.
It does feel overly-long, but it’s an indulgent work and that comes with the territory. Some of my favorite films, like Inland Empire and Abel Gance’s Napoleon, feel overly-long, but to suggest that the creator needed to be reigned in for the satisfaction of the audience sounds like a betrayal of the whole point of the work.

>> No.23193103

>>23192593
Nothing, this is top tier.

>> No.23193108

>>23192615
I’m jealous

>> No.23193158

I feel like half the people who read moby dick say it's REALLY good and the other half say it's boring and lame
what gives?

>> No.23193256

>>23193158
To properly enjoy Moby Dick there are a few pre-requisites you need to have to enhance the experience. You need to have an appreciation of Science, Art, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Literature, Nature and all it encompasses, an interest in religion and a sense of humour. These disciplines and themes are the glue that Melville uses to tell his story (as well as phenomenal prose) so it makes sense that if a person lacks an interest in any of these that the story may fall flat.

>> No.23193270

>>23193256
I think you also need a touch of the tism to enjoy all the encyclopedia type parts.

>> No.23193277

>>23192615
The Confidence Man was one of the first books that was recommended to me on /lit/ circa 2016 and I read it and loved it and that's why I'm a lifer.

>> No.23193289

>>23192593
best work of literature of all time
some people understand, some don't

>> No.23193600

>>23193158
Americans have a really desolate literary tradition and this is the only book that is of any note, and even then it still doesn't compare to really any European literary fiction, so they have to shill it and pretend it is actually super duper good when it's at best mediocre and at worst completely boring.

>> No.23193610

If you aren't reading a used trade paperback copy you're reading it WRONG.

>> No.23193613

>>23193610
FUCK I meant mass market. I have brought shame upon my famiry.

>> No.23193654

Is it true that the Confidence-Man is his second best novel?

>> No.23193660

>>23193270
Not really. If it was just a dry infodump that would be the case, but I’ve never found myself thinking “Oh no, he’s autistic” during the cetology portions. It’s usually framed in a way such as “the experts often say that the whale is this way, but I’ve been there and I’ve seen it so I think it’s like this.” Or he connects the lecture to something like history or myth or religion. I’m usually pretty engrossed in those parts.
It’s weird because I always hear people complain about “the encyclopedia bits” in Moby Dick, but that’s like 75% of the book. Most chapters are Melville waxing poetic about little tidbits of whaling information, very rarely does anything actually happen, and even when it does it’s usually not plot-related. The main “problem” with Moby Dick is just that it’s very long for what it is. It feels like you’re on a ship for months with nothing to do, just waiting to catch a glimpse of the white whale. The digressions about whaling and cetology are just an easy target to project that complaint on to I think.

>> No.23193708

>>23192593
The favorite book of every 18-22 year old who has read less than 50 books in their lifetime

It’s a great book but it seems to really appeal to younger, newer readers for some reason

>> No.23193795

>>23193600
there might be a bit of that yeah

>> No.23193978

>>23193708
The youthful, masculine urge to go out to sea

>> No.23194123
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23194123

>> No.23194228

>>23193654
Probably Pierre, but they're pretty much tied. Both go much deeper into some themes he only highlighted in Moby Dick.

>> No.23194274

>>23194123
This is pretty good too. Moby Dick is better though.

>> No.23194332

>>23194274
No

>> No.23194345

>>23194123
ew

>> No.23194353

>>23192739
Why is it so good? Does it contain the same stuff as the regular Penguin Classics?

>> No.23194520

>>23194345
Gay sailor sex is more icky.

>> No.23194525

>>23194228
Melville's later works need more recognition.

>>23193708
The appeal of a quiet, plodding drama with a psychological focus comes with time and experience. Ahab, sailing and whaling are more dramatic even though they do the same things. It's also a weird book that's less subtle with what is captivating in literature. Everyone in it is fucking crazy.

>> No.23195564

>>23192593
What's the best edition? I want the complete work. No abridge test or cuts.

>> No.23195647

>>23195564
It's a fluid text with a shitty history of edits, good luck. I think the Northwestern University edition has the most amenable blend of editions. Library of America is also nice and uses that version, but it's a fat anthology with two other books in it.

>> No.23196351

Meme trilogy is out.
Welcome the meme quadrivium:
>Moby Dick
>Stoner
>2666
>Blood Meridian

>> No.23196368

>>23196351
>>Blood Meridian
Nice try

>> No.23196391

>>23196368
It is unironically the most popular one there.

>> No.23196400

>>23196391
>unironically
Go back

>> No.23196406

>>23196400
That's a 4chan word, newfag

>> No.23197153

>>23194123
>reddit the book

>> No.23197421

>>23197153
https://www.reddit.com/r/mobydick/