When I started reading Moby-Dick earlier this summer, I did not really know what to expect. I knew that it was considered one of the greatest novels of all time, I knew that the story was an epic, and I knew that I love reading epics. That's all I knew.
Also, something about whales. But that's all I knew.
I had not discussed the novel with anyone who had read it. I did not check the Wikipedia page ahead of time. I simply took the book out of the bookshelf (it's been there since 2019), and started reading.
I did not expect it to get to academic.
There's a lot about whale anatomy, the differences between different whale species, nomenclature, and whaling in general. It's quite interesting. Reading about all this makes me want to buy a book about whales.
Naturally, there's also a plot and action sequences and all the good stuff. And I suppose they do end up meeting the titular character at some point - well, at the end, one would suppose, at the climax of the story.
But until then, the reader can imagine Ishmael on the deck of the Pequod, toiling away, while explaining everything he knows about whales.
