Two Guys Read Moby-Dick
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Book Overview
In 1960, two high school friends were assigned to read the Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick. Neither one of them read it. Four decades later, plagued by feelings of guilt at never having read The Great American Novel, the two friends grab for belated gusto. Over the six months of their reading odyssey, the authors wrote a series of letters and e-mails chronicling their experience and encouraging each other's progress. This body of correspondence is now a book. Actually, the reading of Moby-Dick is just a platform. And while it is the primary substance of the book, the writers do not worry themselves much about staying within subject matter boundaries. The letters also touch on: their fifty-year friendship, growing old, Alex Rodriguez, the War in Iraq, Bob Dylan, speculation on the chances of getting sick in Mexico, the true story of how Hemingway got to Sweden, the cause of nightmares, Bebe Rebozo, Vladimir Nabokov, redemption and death. TWO GUYS READ MOBY-DICK will have you laughing from start to finish, and pondering life's many mysteries, of course!
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1931741638
ISBN13:9781931741637
Release Date:January 2006
Publisher:Robert Reed Publishers
Length:110 Pages
Weight:0.46 lbs.
Dimensions:0.4" x 7.3" x 9.0"
Related Subjects
Biographies Books & Reading General Literary Criticism Literary Criticism & CollectionsCustomer Reviews
5 ratings
Delightful!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Although it is a very quick read, I find myself still pondering each of the writer's thoughts and feelings about a whole slew of things. Moby, Death, getting older, baseball and the mathematics of dieting! Hilarious at times and introspective at others. The friendship between these two gentlemen is inspiring and truly wonderful. Each author has a distinct style of communicating. Steve is straightforward with a spiritual bent and Terry tends to go off in tangents that seem to miraculously all pull together and the end of each email. I will be waiting for the sequal or their next brilliant idea for a story, cuz these guys have much to offer. Good Job!
A Great Read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I read this book non-stop in three hours and plan to read it again. The authors use Moby Dick as their reference point and take off from there to discuss their decades old friendship, their take on Moby Dick, and their respective takes on life, on death, and on the years yet to live. At times, laugh out loud funny, at times moving, this book is worth reading.
Melville, Moby & More
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
A thoroughly marvelous read! I no longer feel guilty that I never finished reading "Moby Dick." (Passed my test thanks to Classic Comics.) But more importantly, through this winner book, with its unusual back and forth style, I got to know the remarkably talented Terry and Steve. Along with their fresh,witty,intuitive literary analyses, there's a good lesson in what a truly meaningful relationship between friends is all about...two guys in each other's corner, in total support of one another. (Applause goes here.)
Quirky, Interesting Fun
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
This is a wonderful book based on a most fascinating conceit: Two chums who know each other over 40 years e-mail each other back and forth while they read Moby Dick together, a book both feel they should have read in the past but have not. However, don't be put off if you have no interest in the great white whale story. This book is about much more than Moby Dick. Indeed, the two guys spend as much, if not more, of their time musing about all the complexities and perplexities of life than they spend talking about the book. They talk football, politics, gay issues, film, philosophy, travel, high school, families and all the other messy aspects of life today that two long time friends would really talk about. I found it very funny, insightful and totally captivating. And, it's like nothing else I've ever read. Try this book - I think you'll like it!
An inspiring, thought-provoking, delightful, fun read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
What a great format - a series of emails between two lifelong, introspective, erudite, quick-witted friends. Although at times the writings appear tangential and meandering one always finds that the thread stays woven regardless of the topic, inspiring one to keep reading to reach the next level of these guys' extraordinary verbal legerity. Although both writers are ultra well-read, there's no pomposity, no pretension - they're just guys thoughtfully and comfortably musing about life's oddities and idiosyncrasies in a format that almost makes one feel as if s/he is eavesdropping on a private conversation. No matter - it is a fun read that has inspired me to do more reading myself. Hope a sequel is on the horizon - these guys have a lot more to say.
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