book review

Moby Dick (Herman Melville)

A tremendous read. At the end of this book, one of my strongest impressions is- I feel privileged that I got the chance in my life to read it for fun. It’s a pleasure.

lasting impressions…

• the musical language- simply too much to try and sum up, but here’s a line from a random page, just now: “There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled but the waves.” You can play this game with the Entire book. Open a page, find the jewel. It’s magnificent.

• the classic 5th grader lines (Whale Balls for Breakfast!)

• Ahab’s hip hop dialogue (talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me)

• the touches of 1850 (the racism, phrenology, categorizing the whale as a fish)

• there was a theme or a purpose invested in the name of each ship they encountered. Once this became clear, it got to be fun trying to guess- from the chapter title- how that name’s theme might unfold.

• some favorite lines and passages- ohio honey hunter, the death of the first whale (a murder- reminded me of the murder in Lolita), ahab’s monologue about the whale seeing the bottom of the ocean, maybe my favorite page of the whole book. the pagelong argument about ginger, the zodiac page. the final struggle- the pequod never stood a chance at all.

• recurrent themes: assigning the whale purpose, when he has no purpose; elevating the whaler to a hallowed status; ahab’s fixation; the unifying of the crew into one instrument with one mission- often the book became a story of politics and totalitarianism. The Chief asserting himself in moments of dark, terrifying drama, the men who cheered, but felt their fears in secret.

• the mingling of the pequod’s voyage with the duties of whaling with the body of the whale.

• the versatility- some chapters are poetry, others are science, others, labor; nightmares; political allegories; tall tales; theatre scenes; character studies. It’s a dazzlingly versatile work.

• The last line of the last chapter is the most astonishingly perfect line of the entire book. You can’t land the thesis any more stunningly than Melville lands it there.

chapter by chapter, some moments that really stood out- and in bold, some of the very best, lasting chapters, particularly worth revisiting-

Intro. the cinematic energy of the excerpts, I. Ishmael’s sense of humor, the music in his words; II & III. excellent turns of phrase, and well-painted duskiness, IV. the phantom story, and a touch of era-appropriate racism, V. the sailors, VI & VII. the haunting, perfect juxtaposition of the whaler’s dream and the whaler’s tragedy, and an intriguing end, VIII & IX. the story of Jonah, a magnificent prequel to the adventure, told wisely and musically, X. the deep, growing love of Ishmael for noble Queequeg, XI & XII. Queequeg’s origin story, XIII. death of the bumpkin, Queequeg the superman, and a dark foreshadow, XIV. awesome line, in praise of the Nantucketers XV. hilarious opening, and a good question XVI. Pequod, many excellent, musical lines; first (badass) mentions of Ahab XVII. funny, ‘hams,’ XVIII. funny, and a great Bildad illustration at the end XIX. sassy prophet XX. getting close XXI. love the opening sentence; odd little chapter, funny, many terrific turns of phrase XXII. Bildad and Peleg say their college goodbyes, a kick in the butt, some beautiful lines, and they’re off

XXIII. compelling little chapter, an ode to Bulkington- the restless pull of the sea, better not to hug land in fear; reminds me of Dan Harmon’s story circle, the sea is darkness, the unknown; the land is light, XXIV. a triumphant celebration of whaling with a magnificent finish and the most ironic line of the book, XXV. take that, snoots! XXVI. starbuck XXVII stubb, flask, tashtego, daggoo, the haunting foreshadow of Pip, XXVIII. the excellently striking introduction of Ahab, and a killer last line, XXIX. beautiful descriptions of the sea, Ahab’s intimidating figure, Stubb startled- and Ishmael turning into Melville, inside Stubb’s head, XXX. an awesome chapter, dark and cinematic, XXXI. dazzlingly weird (stubb’s dream), and the first foreshadows of the white whale,

XXXII. cetology, ishmael’s best efforts to classify the whales. some great lines, and as I’ve seen pointed out, it’s interesting in the pre-darwinian context, XXXIII. a reflection on how ahab used power and customs, and how customs have endowed men with power who were very inferior creatures indeed (not that ahab’s an example), a chapter worth reexamining, XXXIV. some great lines (a perfect Decemberists line), and a contrast drawn between the terrified, stiltedly silent meals of the officers, and the riotous meals of the harpooneers, XXXV. a sublime chapter, the enchanting daydream of the days at the masthead- an excellent chapter, XXXVI. a haunting and crucial chapter- the Devil’s communion, the declaration of Moby Dick- the cult of Ahab flowers, the haunting brass score- and some badass hip hop language, XXXVII. awesome language- Ahab’s diabolical monologue, XXXVIII. Starbuck’s monologue, skepticism, resentments, trepidation, XXXIX. Stubb’s monologue, he’ll laugh off the madness and go with the flow, XL. a scene from west side story on the water, a multiracial dance party turned drunken standoff,

XLI. a political parable- cheer with the crowd, dread in private; a fascinating description of Moby Dick, the superstitious and earthly endowments of his character; the breathtaking recap of Ahab’s first encounter, and the way his soul was warped by the whale- an essential chapter, XLII. a study of whiteness, fascinating, philosophical chapter- approaching whiteness in all its meanings, its holy, esteemed status, but also the frank terror it inspires, its wrongness- ending with a good thesis, that it’s the stark nakedness of a thing, a blinding truth of sorts, no painted color to soften the blow, XLIII. a TV cliffhanger XLIV. spectacular, dark lines XLV. the ongoing, ancient battle, whales vs. mankind, some vicious, killer lines XLVI. ahab’s political calculations XLVII. Ishmael’s free will analogy XLVIII. Fedallah’s introduction, Stubb’s banter, tons of fantastic lines from the heat of the chase, an essential thesis line XLIX. wry; Ishmael makes a will L. cool paragraph about Japan at the end LI. lovely, haunting; good chapter LII. brilliant, wise finish- our search always returns us LIII. great paragraph comparing ships’ social styles, and I’m left thinking about all the old sailor’s stories out in the world

LIV. A great chapter, one of my favorites, the epic fable of Steelkilt, LV. gets good on the last page- the question of drawing a whale, touching similar turf as cetology- the known, the unknown, the gap in between, LVI. exciting finish LVII. beautiful imagery, the living mysteries, and the new york historical society LVIII. the indomitable sea, the hierarchy of nature- a magnificent chapter, essential LIX. first mention of Ahab in fifty pages; the ocean, full of violent mystery, unsolvable riddles, LX. death is everywhere- it’ll get you anywhere; and a lot of sailing lingo I can’t quite interpret,

LXI. some great Stubb banter, and one of the most horrifying pages of the book- the whale’s murder feels like the murder in Lolita, LXII. the harpooneer’s brutal, athletic game, LXIII. some 5th grade classics, and more of the sailor’s impossible perils to balance, LXIV. the post-kill drudgery, and Stubb’s supper, with an 1850s black man, a comedic interlude; and a mirror of sharks and man. LXV. Melville the vegetarian LXVI. brutal- the shark massacre LXVII. the bloody sailor’s grind LXVIII. almost a daydream of Ishmael’s, of whale skin, LXIX. a dark and brilliant little chapter, the whale’s funeral, the corpse at sea. LXX. maybe my favorite passage of the entire book, Ahab reflecting on the whale’s head- the powerful tragedies he has seen in the deep, LXXI. a dictatorship of superstition- classic, essential chapter- how cynical prophets profit by assigning themselves power over random acts, LXXII. the Ishmael-Queequeg bond, rather like marriage, LXXIII. killing a whale, ‘Fedallah’s the Devil,’ LXXIV. some cool, wise thoughts near the end- ‘subtilise it,’ LXXV. funny analogy, great finish, LXXVI. tough chapter to crack LXXVII. the whale, more beautiful than man’s best work (a recurrent theme) LXXVIII. yielding oil, disaster strikes- Queequeg the superman, births Tashtego from the whale’s head- ohio honey hunter!

LXXIX & LXXX. some great lines, whale’s brow, whale’s brain, quack sciences (but Melville’s trying), LXXXI. Pequod vs Jungfrau, an 80s movie tinge, with that agonizing death of the sick old whale- some extraordinary lines, and it sinks for nothing, LXXXII. whaling’s potent starting five, LXXXIII. Jonah historically placed, might be worth a reread, LXXXIV. killer finish LXXXV. Melville names the day; this whale killing has me ready to root for Moby Dick, a really lovely end to this chapter, LXXXVI. I celebrate a tail!, lots of dazzling lines and imagery, the whale attacks whales with his head, ships, contemptuously, with the tail; the unexplainable, unknowable, incomprehensible, and the ache to resolve it all, LXXXVII. cinematic, and excellent lines, the surreal, dreamy wonder of the peaceful center of the whale circle, LXXXVIII. a wonderful chapter, the sociology of the whales, the whimsy and sadness, the anthropomorphism- great chapter, LXXXIX. mine to keep vs. mine to take, XC. the injustice of royal power XCI. classic Stubb dialogue, a really funny chapter- a sitcom calibre scheme, XCII. ambergris, why do people think whales smell bad?, and the ultimate mad magazine sentence,

XCIII. Pip almost drowns and goes mad, a haunting chapter, XCIV. Ishmael’s passionate spermaceti trance; separating the whale into its individual components and textures, cut it up, take the parts that have value, XCV. the whale’s dick, XCVI. pure metal, visions of Hell on water, the balance of a man’s morale, XCVII. a small and lovely chapter, the lamp, XCVIII. what is blood and chaos becomes shiny and clean, and clean becomes dirty again,

XCIX. a return to dark, compelling Ahab, a cycle of characters drawing what they will from the doubloon, Stubb’s Zodiac sermon, shifting perspectives and interpretations of the same ambiguous, alluring object- an odd, unique chapter, C. the ivory-armed captain, the horrifying/astonishing story of the arm’s loss, magnificent, essential pages at the end of this chapter; Ahab is singular, even with the same story, this captain draws an opposite lesson, CI. charming, melville sounds like a grampa- love the dumplings line, some mad magazine names CII. beautiful imagery, a beautiful chapter, the whale’s skeleton takes on a spiritual value, beyond the utilitarian, great line about measuring God, whalenerd CIII. powerful thought at the finish CIV. an excellent chapter, a breathtaking survey of the whale’s timelessness, and a thesis moment CV pre-Darwinian reflections on evolution, cool lines about the West, great line about emigration, and an awesome finish CVI dark, miserable Ahab CVII. terrific character study (the carpenter), CVIII. some 5th grade classics, and a dark, fascinating thought about the invisible body CIX. god damn- a dramatic ahab-starbuck standoff CX. queequeg’s spotlight, pip’s haunting phrase, a 5th grade classic CXI really lovely little chapter, a serenade; with an ominous turn at the end, Ahab’s dark brass theme CXII the tragic, mysterious path that take a man to the sea- a heartbreaking chapter with some amazing lines, worthy of a reread CXIII badass, pitch black chapter, haunting last sentence. great, evil Ahab scene

CXIV what a great chapter, so lovely, and memorable and wise. the cycles of calm and doubt in life. CXV everything was filled with sperm- like a bachelor; the Bachelor is all merriment; the Pequod is missing her bride… CXVI haunting, a little hard to unpack, the dead whale turning towards the sun CXVII fantastic, haunting chapter, the famous prophesies. a black jewel, this chapter. CXVIII great Ahab lines, closes with some hip hop, CXIX a hauntingly prescient line in the first paragraph, some cool Ahab lines, nature at war with the Pequod, Ahab summoning the powers of Hell, more or less- a terrifying and dramatic chapter, worth a reread, CXX, CXXI, & CXXII. cinematic flashes of Ahab, the mates, and Tashtego, as the night moves on- checking in on their perspectives after a wild cult of Ahab sequence, a cycle much like chapters 37-40 CXXIII. Starbuck and the musket, an incredibly intense chapter- Hamletlike, CXXIV. Ahab demonstrating his talents, and finish with a classic, killer line, CXXV. a line that hits me hard, more of Ahab outfoxing the obstacles, Ahab softening around Pip, CXXVI. excellent line about the sailors/harpooneers, the wailing, a musical finish, the rambling carpenter, CXXVII. a good gods analogy, CXXVIII. the Rachel- heartbreaking. a powerful, incredible chapter CXXIX. Ahab breaks up with Pip, some more melodic, crazy Pip lines,

CXXX great first page, tenor getting darker, an eerie Big Brother moment, Fedallah creepiness, and Ahab playing political mindgames with Starbuck. an ominous chapter, intriguing finish, CXXXI little chapter packs a punch- God damn. The Delight- as hideous an omen as they could possibly confront, CXXXII a painful, confessional Ahab monologue, Ahab and Starbuck intimacy, ‘maybe it’s God’s will’- the classic madman’s justification, and a haunting finish, CXXXIII Moby Dick. beautiful descriptions of the whale, great lines, and the crashing inevitability of the ocean, Moby Dick turns his hunters to prey with shocking ease, Ahab rendered powerless almost instantly, caught in the center with his wrecked ship, barely staying afloat, CXXXIV the crew unifies in one purpose, a total war; Moby Dick again breaks the hunt to pieces before they really even get started, and turns his back coldly; Ahab’s hip hop swagger, CXXXV the feeling of reading an epic, some killer lines, the plagues continue to center on Ahab’s boat, the best Starbuck line of the book- an amazing sensation of coming death, the epic misty mountain dramatic imagery of Ahab nearing Moby Dick’s side, the whale seeing in that ship everything that Ahab saw in the whale, and destroying it; astonishing last words from Starbuck, Stubb and Flask; the titanic chaos and drama of the end, and that perfect, astonishing final line. Epilogue. Perfect, heartbreaking.

NY Philharmonic: The Bach Variations

Some quick, simples notes on a concert I saw earlier this month…

Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056 (Bach) The first part is perfect- a crisp, cinematic rain, like the soundtrack from an arthouse crossover. The second part- slow, delicate start, rises to a classic energy; lovely.

Keyboard Concerto No. 3 in D major, BWV 1054 (Bach) 1st- instantly recognizable, Springlike; the classic move of the strings like a butterfly's wings. 2nd- somber, more reflective. 3rd- merry, like some gathering in the grand Dining Room at Brighton Pavilion.

Sinfonia No. 9 in C Major, Swiss (Mendelssohn) 1st- a fine drive, an uptempo, harmonious energy, merry. 2nd- more subdued, delicate, an evening. and a perfect finish. 3rd- familiar, quick, percussive, as many of these are; a fine piece.

Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 (Schumann) Opens lush, dramatic, the brass adds an authority and pomp. Later on, a thoughtful beginning- the warrior's morning, a meeting with his lady. A dewy twilighy morning. Then a sudden surge at the end. (I closed my eyes for a while, and now the stage seems to glow in amber light.) It rises to the level of a King's march. Great piece. The sounds an orchestra can make are just unparalleled, all rising together, humanlike, blending into one clean, magnificent sound. No recording does justice to the amazing living, breathing blend of sound that one experiences live; this is one of those categories of experience that takes on an almost sacred vibe- meant to be experienced as a communion. (and… a great finish, a triumphant swift surge of energy, and the grand close.