Andrew G.: Here’s one for Moby Dick

Die Qualität Melvillescher Prosa äußert sich nicht für jeden anhand der gleichen Vorzüge. Andrew G. zum Beispiel lernt Joseph Conrad und Robert M. Pirsig schätzen.

“Moby Dick” has been hyped far beyond its worth because it was the first American novel with philosophic pretentions. You could read the first ninety pages, then skip to the last ten and miss nothing but a binful of symbols. It’s gauche, jejune, primitive, a graphic novel without illustrations–one of the few American novels improved as a Classics comic book. Joseph Conrad covers the same material better, and Persig better than either of them. This is a wearying tome that no one would read if it weren’t assigned reading. It will teach you… nothing.