I love reading classic literature. To me, if it hasn't lasted at least fifty years then why take the risk! I think I am the most happy when I am sitting in my living room all alone with a nice hardcover book, a glass of red wine, dark chocolate in easy reach, and a nice breeze blowing in the window. Bliss!
Right now, I'm on a Herman Melville kick. I'm reading his books in order of when he wrote them. Last year, I did a James Fenimore Cooper run and read all five books of the Leatherstocking Tales. We'll see how long I make it with Melville.
Typee was Melville's first book, and it became an immediate success because of his colorful handling of his (arguably) real adventures after deserting a whaleship in the South Seas and living with the natives for a few months. I'm pretty sure that, were it written today, Typee would be classified as 'narrative fiction', meaning he took his actual experiences but molded them a bit to communicate a larger idea he had in mind.
Melville's theme in Typee is the contrast between so-called civilized Europeans and the 'savages' of the South Sea islands. What I love about reading books from this long ago is that they can be a window to a time and place that is completely lost. Even though Melville can't explain many of the Typees' customs, it's fascinating to read his account and see a 'peep' of how they lived before the incursion of Europeans. While the plot is a little thin, Melville switches subjects quick enough so that you don't get bored and there is enough of a plot to keep this from turning into a travelogue.
I enjoyed Typee a lot. After I read it, I went onto amazon.com to see what other people thought and I had to laugh. There were some Melville groupies on there talking about how 'deep' and 'symbolic' Typee was. I think sometimes people think that just because Melville wrote Moby Dick that everything he wrote was some complex meditation on nature and the universe. I guess academic types have to do what they can to make it in the publish-or-perish world.
Anyway, I recommend the book as the topic is just as interesting today as it was to the people in Melville's time who made Typee - and the author - famous overnight.
Right now, I'm on a Herman Melville kick. I'm reading his books in order of when he wrote them. Last year, I did a James Fenimore Cooper run and read all five books of the Leatherstocking Tales. We'll see how long I make it with Melville.
Typee was Melville's first book, and it became an immediate success because of his colorful handling of his (arguably) real adventures after deserting a whaleship in the South Seas and living with the natives for a few months. I'm pretty sure that, were it written today, Typee would be classified as 'narrative fiction', meaning he took his actual experiences but molded them a bit to communicate a larger idea he had in mind.
Melville's theme in Typee is the contrast between so-called civilized Europeans and the 'savages' of the South Sea islands. What I love about reading books from this long ago is that they can be a window to a time and place that is completely lost. Even though Melville can't explain many of the Typees' customs, it's fascinating to read his account and see a 'peep' of how they lived before the incursion of Europeans. While the plot is a little thin, Melville switches subjects quick enough so that you don't get bored and there is enough of a plot to keep this from turning into a travelogue.
I enjoyed Typee a lot. After I read it, I went onto amazon.com to see what other people thought and I had to laugh. There were some Melville groupies on there talking about how 'deep' and 'symbolic' Typee was. I think sometimes people think that just because Melville wrote Moby Dick that everything he wrote was some complex meditation on nature and the universe. I guess academic types have to do what they can to make it in the publish-or-perish world.
Anyway, I recommend the book as the topic is just as interesting today as it was to the people in Melville's time who made Typee - and the author - famous overnight.
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