Quote:
Originally Posted by Trollheart
Oh god I tried to read Moby Dick once but it was so BORING! I hadn't even a clue what was going on. Left it after about 100 pages. So tedious. And not a whale in sight! 
Your comment though reminds me of something my brother used to say disparagingly about Americans:
"You don't understand? What's wrong boy: don't you speak American?"  |
I could see how you might get that impression from Moby Dick upon a cursory attempt, but if you stick with it, you'll find one of the most fascinating and hilarious novels in the English language. I read it fully maybe 3 or 4 years ago. I learned from my grandparents that this novel used to be mandatory reading in school which astounds me, just because it's not necessarily an easy book to read. The language is verbose and flowery, the chapters take diversions into the mundane (classification of whales for example, and not even the non-fictitious kind), but yet, it's still a riveting novel.
I'll take Moby Dick any day over the complete snorefests that are "The Great Gatsby" or "The Scarlett Letter". Joyce's "Ulysses" or Lowry's "Under the Volcano" are much more challenging novels than "Moby Dick" when all is said and done.