Moby-Dick is a novel narrated by Ishmael, a restless young man who signs on to a whaling ship, the Pequod, out of Nantucket. The ship's captain, Ahab, is driven by an obsessive purpose that gradually shapes the whole voyage, and the crew is a varied company drawn from many parts of the world.
The book is part adventure, part sea lore, part meditation on knowledge, nature, fate and obsession. Chapters on whales and whaling sit beside dramatic scenes and philosophical reflection. Little noticed on publication, it is now widely counted among the greatest novels in English.
Quotes
Call me Ishmael.
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.
To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.