Book Review // Moby Dick

Hello Everyone! Today, I have another book review for you.! I know my past reviews have been book recommendations, but today, I’m going to venture into uncharted territory for me and give you a book warning 😊 I hope you find this helpful and please know that all opinions expressed here are my own and I in no way am trying to force you to agree with me. So, with that said, let’s get started!

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

A young seaman joins on with Capt. Ahab, who is obsessed with killing the White Whale, Moby Dick, who ate the captain’s leg. The book chronicles their journey to find Moby Dick and the final battle.

Genre: Adventure; Literary Classic Fiction; Quest; Tragedy
Setting: The Seven Seas 😉 Starts out in America
Theme: Revenge
 
My Review:
 
First, I will say that the copy I read was a children’s version of the book, Abridged and Adapted by Treasury of Illustrated Classics, 2009. So, while I have not read the unabridged version, I can honestly say I’m glad I didn’t. After reading more information on the full version on the internet, I was shocked by some topics that were (thankfully) left out of the children’s version.
Now, I did love the nautical feel of the story and the variety of backgrounds the seamen came from was very interesting to me 😊 Also the names were pretty neat.
But…there was far more negative reactions from me than positive. There was a professed Christian taking part in pagan worship, taking God’s name in vain, unbiblical comment about everyone being a child of God whether they are Christians or not, drinking, mysticism/devil worship, a muslim predicting a man’s death, a man thinking he was a prophet…and it was rather gory in my opinion.
That wasn’t everything, but I think you get the point.

Historical Accuracy: I don’t know what the era is supposed to be, I’m assuming 1800’s, but it rang true for me.

As a Reader: I personally didn’t like all the superstition and above negative content, but I did really enjoy learning about whaling and the method of catching the whale and processing it for food/resources.

As a Writer: I wish I could evoke setting so effortlessly in my writing. I felt like I was on a whaling ship! Also, some parts of the story seemed a bit rushed and random, which nobody wants in their writing, but again, this was an adaptation.

What I learned as a Reader: Whaling is dangerous and revenge consumes.

What I learned as a Writer: Setting is amazing! And be very careful what you write. You never know who is picking up your book and you definitely want it to be non-scarring for the reader!

Favorite Scene: Probably when they are catching a whale.

In conclusion, I would not recommend this book to anyone to be honest, but if you are going to read it, I would strongly urge you to wait until you are an adult.
 
Thank you for stopping by today! Also, I recently updated by post on Journey to Love with a book graphic from the author, so check that out!

Have a blessed day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22