NARRATOR:
'Moby-Dick' was the sixth novel by American, Herman Melville. Released in 1851, 'Moby-Dick' follows the adventures of Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaling ship 'Pequod', commanded by the tyrannical Captain Ahab. After joining Ahab's crew, Ishmael learns that the captain intends to use the 'Pequod' to hunt one specific whale. Moby-Dick, a Great White whale, known throughout the whaling world for his legendary size and ferocity. Ahab and the white whale had met before, in an encounter which cost the captain his leg. Ahab is obsessed with extracting revenge, by pursuing Moby-Dick to the death.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Well, the sixth novel, as you heard, and in fact, not greatly savoured during his time, it sold just 3,000 copies, though of course, was re-discovered, and re-appraised, in later times. David, this was your choice, 'Moby-Dick'. Please speak to us.
DAVID MALOUF:
It is my favourite work of fiction, in English, I think. I've read it a lot of times.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
I believe every year.
DAVID MALOUF:
Well, between about 15 and 25, maybe, I read it every year, yeah. It's a huge book. It's a kind of compendium, really, of almost anything you like to think of. It's about whaling, more than just the whale. So it's about the nature of the whale, it's about the whole business of whaling, all the intricacies of how you deal with the whales, so it's kind of got all that encyclopaedic essayistic stuff.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
We'll come back to you. Ever since reading it, I've just been dying to talk about this book. I've fallen totally in love with it. What did you think?
MARIEKE HARDY:
I liked it! I got clapped for liking my critique - Holocaust book, no. The whale book - hooray! I'm particularly glad I read it, so thank you for bringing it to the show because I would never have gone near it otherwise. I do think it could possibly have been 835 billion pages shorter. It is extraordinary. I love the story. I found the encyclopaedic whale history, while an important historical document, absolutely a slog to get through. The man is obsessed with whales. I felt like I'd gone to a speed-dating event and said "So, Herman, I hear you like whales" and three hours later, I'm signalling someone to help me. It just goes on and on. I did find taking the details was a bit much. But the story was so exciting and really funny. There are moments of incredible humour. That's what surprised me most of all.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Hold that thought! A quick response from you.
JASON STEGER:
I was very surprised to be reading it again. I read it more than 30 years ago, the first time. You read it at 15, I read it at probably 19.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Confess. Show this.
JASON STEGER:
I read the pop-up book.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Can you show us the whale?
JASON STEGER:
There we go. That's Moby Dick in the pop-up edition of Melville's classic.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
That is the fate of a classic, really.
JASON STEGER:
That's a lot of fun and it will take you about 20 seconds to read. It's an absolutely brilliant book, an absolutely berserk book. It's the most wonderful reading experience. I read it at 19 and I did get becalmed on occasions. The thing about the whaling industry and the whale is fascinating. He's endeavouring, in some sort of postmodern or modernist exercise, to capture everything about a whale in language.
MARIEKE HARDY:
And he succeeds.
JASON STEGER:
He does succeed. It's the most extraordinary thing.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Hang on - it's so exciting to talk about because once you rediscover it, it's like, Lordy, this is great! Johanna?
JOHANNA FEATHERSTONE:
I absolutely loved it. I thought it was awesome and giant. I thought it was stinky and bloody.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
And funny?
JOHANNA FEATHERSTONE:
Very funny. Very sexy as well. I think that reading it now. There's only so many times you can read "sperm", "foam", men on board, naked, running around.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
It's all very Teddy Tahu Rhodes, isn't it?
DAVID MALOUF:
That's deliberate on his part.
JOHANNA FEATHERSTONE:
It was very overwhelming, as well. Partly its size, but the amount of detail. I couldn't get enough and would happily go back in. I also found I could read chapters out of order. I skipped a bit and came back and that was really fun.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
I have to say, unusually, Marieke, you and I are on disagreement.
MARIEKE HARDY:
No!
JENNIFER BYRNE:
We don't agree on this. I remember skimming it - I don't think I even read it as a young one. The story of the whale - got that. I thought the story of the chase of the whale was incredibly minor. The chase doesn't start till past page 600, which is your point. They don't sight the whale.
MARIEKE HARDY:
I liked all the other battles in the sea. They were gripping. They were really exciting. I love a good swashbuckle and that was swashbuckling up the wazoo. There was rigging, and lots of shirts being torn and people overboard. It was thrilling.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
But I have to ask - and anyone can answer this. You've got one good theory. What is it about? What IS this book about?
DAVID MALOUF:
Well, one of the reasons he has to keep writing about the whale is first of all he wants us, when we see those scenes of action, in dealing with the whale, he wants us to know every detail about what's actually going on. So, he describes all the implements in detail, he describes the size of the whale.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Endlessly.
DAVID MALOUF:
All the most wonderful detail about the anatomy of the whale. I think that that is in itself interesting because it's so mysterious. Partly what his interest is is a double one. One is that this is an absolutely astonishing piece of God's creation. That's one thing. He's mesmerised by the wonder of that. At the same time the whale - this would have been especially true for 19th-century people but it is for us, too - the whale is already a semi-mythical creature. People feel about whales now the way they don't really feel about practically any other animal, which is why we get so upset if a whale beaches itself. There's something about that animal which we see as being the essence of what the animal world is and our real awe and wonder in front of that world.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
What does Ahab's relentless, obsessive, insane pursuit of the whale mean? What's the symbol?
DAVID MALOUF:
Well, it's not really quite a symbol. He has been wounded, he feels, by life. Behind that wound that he has received from life, there must be an agent, and that agent is God. Essentially, he is in rebellion against God.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
Did you see the whale as signifying anything?
JASON STEGER:
There's arguments about the whale being the white race, the monoculture of America and Queequeg being a completely different form of America.
MARIEKE HARDY:
Why couldn't it just be a whale? This is such a po-faced way of looking at it. I was vaguely terrified about coming on and tackling this with Mr Malouf, as well. We're on our way here and Steger says "What do you think the whale is?" and I thought "Oh, God... a whale!"
JASON STEGER:
That's fair enough.
DAVID MALOUF:
I'm going to read one sentence about Ahab's view of Moby Dick and it says "He piled upon the whale's white hump "the sum of all the general rage and hate "felt by his whole race, from Adam down." Now, that is madness. That is what Starbuck continually tells him, is madness.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
What do we make of Ahab?
JOHANNA FEATHERSTONE:
I'm still thinking.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
You're still on the symbolism.
JOHANNA FEATHERSTONE:
I am. The question you asked is "What's it all about". My answer was going to be, that's what the book is asking - what on earth is it all about? Ahab is this totally manic individual who is constantly in search of this answer and is trying all he can to find out why he's here and what's next. I felt this - you said crazy search for a metaphor or a symbol - to me, says so much about him. If I was on that ship and found the captain was in search of a symbol, I'd get off quickly.
JENNIFER BYRNE:
There you have it - 'Moby Dick', a book with something for everyone. It's a mighty epic, a mighty effort. Thank you for bringing it. A real treat - 'Moby Dick'.