..regarding MD, what is it about that book that people like so much, .
Few things:
1. it's difficult and hard.
Just as the thrill to climbing Mt Everest comes from the fact that it is so difficult, "Moby Dick" offers an extremely challenging read and the reward is there when you finish. Look, I like doing crossword puzzles. I finish them, no big deal. But one time I actually finished the incredibly difficult "NY Times Sunday Crossword." It was thrilling to work through something mentally challenging. Finishing that crossword puzzle did give me a charge. Same can be said upon finishing "Moby Dick."
2. it has the greatest character in all of literature
Everybody loves STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN. I saw it in the theaters and you can see the audience loved Khan's lines like: "from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee." Well, as you know that comes from Captain Ahab. We all liked Khan delivering those lines, imagine how much greater they are when the real guy says those lines. Nothing like Ahab. The chapter when Ahab stands before his crew and he God-like controls St. Elmos' fire is astounding. Nothing like Ahab. What he does and what he says inspires awe. Plus he's a loon.
3. it has the greatest line in all of literature
"Ahab is for ever Ahab. This whole act's immutably decreed.
'Twas rehearsed by thee and me a billion years before this ocean rolled. "
Astonishing. That part in italics hit me and moved me like no other bit of art ever did or could. Ahab is Ahab, Ahab will hunt the whale....this whole thing has been worked out and set in motion a billion years before the oceans even formed! Incredible.
Yes, MOBY DICK is a slog to get through. But then suddenly those final one hundred pages move at break-neck speed. The book becomes the greatest adventure tale ever told. The ending is phenomenal. When I finished the book I actually said aloud, "Holy shit." Stunning work.
We all love this guy...but the character he is based upong is a billion times better.
