I just finished it! In my opinion, the first and last 100 pages move well…but the middle was not, in my opinion, a quick read. No. Not at all. Glad I did it though. Previously, I stumbled upon the book In the Heart of the Sea which is the non-fiction narrative of the Whaleship Essex. The Essex tragedy, I learned, was Melville’s inspiration for Moby Dick. Since In the Heart of the Sea got me very interested in whaling (just reading about it, not actually hunting whales…I’d never do that), I knew it was time for me to tackle this great American novel. Challenging, yes…but in the end, I did enjoy my sojourn into the watery part of the world.