What more could be said about the greatest American novel? I can add nothing; it is a masterwork. Right here though, I could explain to people who didn't enjoy it or who are wary about starting why it is great and how to read it.

Do not go in expecting a tight plot or a story. The general synopsis everyone is aware of just serves as the structure. The language, the ramblings, the asides, the tangents, the anecdotes, songs, and revelations are the heart of the novel. The miraculous thing about "Moby Dick" is that they are all interesting. If you don't find them profound, you might find them funny. Each sentence carries with it connotations, and a true understanding of the context will help you find the meaning. The context required isn't very deep: reading the Bible beforehand, Shakespeare, Milton, and other Western classics can get you by. Life experience and an accurate understanding of human nature is also necessary.

There are some chapters that seem "irrelevant". Only if you believe everything besides pure plot progression is irrelevant. The chapters on cetology or history serve to ground the reader back into what is "real" as opposed to the "mystical". They also reveal the "real" could be argued to be "mystical". They are also interesting, simply don't rush yourself through them.

The side characters are characters almost out of a stage production. Their role is to fully flesh out Ahab, one of the most human and relatable, tragic and despicable, dramatic and real characters in fiction. Ahab is immensely brave, full of conviction, simultaneously immortal and mortal (his leg), and ordained by God. Through Ahab the nature of the world is questioned and wrestled with, and the answers are debated to this day.

Maybe you went in with false expectations, maybe you picked it up at the wrong time in your life, or school forced you to read it. Pick it up again later. But if you actually believe the book "sucks" or is "meandering" well then maybe you're just retarded. ( )

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did, This may have been the best book I've read all year. All that a bag of chips ( )

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This audio book read by Norman Dietz was quite long and, as with most audio books, my attention would come and go. So perhaps my opinion is not quite fair. But here are my impressions:

Pros: The premise was interesting -- Captain Ahab obsessed with getting revenge on the white whale that took off his leg. A man-against-nature theme, and perhaps man against himself. Some of the writing was quite good. I liked the point-of-view character's narration (Ishmael). And I enjoyed the oddball character of Captain Ahab. (I love strange characters.) The few action scenes with actual whales were lively and fun (notwithstanding my sympathy for the whales -- but that's to be excused, as this was 1851). The audio narrator Norman Dietz had an excellent voice with good accents.

Cons: The story included very little action. Much of the "story" was pure exposition -- dry lectures on whaling, whale boats, and whales. That's okay if you find those topics fascinating. I don't. When I read novels, I expect some minimal amount of action, and this book had very little. The biggest "con" was that I was relieved when the story finally ended.

So, my duty is done -- I got thru this famous classic novel. And I'm glad I "read" this audio book because now I know the story and the characters. But I'm also glad that the pain is finally over.

I will continue to try classics as some of them are very worthwhile. However, there are plenty of classics I would never recommend, such as: Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying," James Joyce's "Ullyses" and E.M. Forster's "Howards End" and "Passage to India." Most of them, I finished, painfully!

But like a moth to the flame, I just can't stop reading classics! ( )

Wow, this was a tough one to get through. It’s incredibly long and, honestly, pretty boring for most of it. I understand that the slow, detailed narrative about whaling is part of the point, but it was a very challenging read. I was intrigued by what felt like a queer, only-one-bed romance setup, which was a pleasant surprise! That subplot fizzled out as soon as the focus shifted to the concept of Moby Dick, and the book then became mostly about the minutiae of the whaling process and endless details about whales. There were some interesting moments but few and far between. I get why this book is considered a classic, but I think it's overhyped. I wanted to give it a fair chance and finish it, but I'm hoping for a more engaging story for my next read. ( )