A new album, an old book, and some trail mix
Moby Dick
After years of intending to read it, I finally cracked open Moby Dick a few weeks ago—mostly because Gone Girl cost $15 on the kindle, but Moby Dick was free through the Gutenberg Project. I know it’s supposed to be the Great American Novel and stuff, but it’s surprised me by being not just rich and insightful but also very readable. It rivals The Great Gatsby in terms of old books that flow beautifully, even for the modern reader—and it’s a century older. Partly that’s because Herman Melville was preternaturally modern for his era. He understood how corporatism defeats the soul in a way writers like Jack Kerouac would explore over 100 years later. He engages with issues of race in a forthright (if antiquated) way. And though the book so far emphatically does not pass the Bechdel test (a woman has yet to utter a word!), there is plenty enough homoerotic subtext to pass the time. But the best thing about Melville is his sense of humor. Moby Dick is very funny, and that above all makes the pages flip by. [Sonia Saraiya]