Andrew Delbanco, Melville: His World and Work

About: An overview of Melville’s life and texts and the historical, cultural, and literary milieu in which he wrote.

Verdict: The book is very informative but also quite dense, so it's not a quick or easy read. I preferred the author's discussions of more concrete topics—such as the commercial uses of spermaceti or his scrutiny in chapter 5 of Melville's description of New Bedford. (Delbanco points out, for example, that in Melville's text "the range of alliterated initial consonant sounds mimics the 'blended noises' of men laboring on the docks.") That kind of close analysis of a text is fascinating. But long paragraphs laced with abstractions and erudite literary allusions leave me cold, and in a couple of places Delbanco imposes sexual interpretations on the text that are not to my mind supported (pp. 133-134, 142). And I've never heard anyone call Yale's Ingalls Rink "Moby Dick." It's the Yale Whale.

Publication: 2006 · 446 pages
Rating: 4 stars