The Great British Novel

[shemthepenman]

I don't know. I don't agree with that definition, and it seems a pointless idea to me. Moby-Dick may have used the sea as a symbol for American life. And the narrator seemed a man without a country. And the book was thought of as a flop, a critical failure in the 1800s. Maybe that's what America is all about.

yeah, well i haven’t got time to start redefining words and concepts. i’m just working with the definition we’ve got. and that postscript definition wasn’t for you in particular. just some of the responses here (and elsewhere) seem to be based a miscomprehension of what the phrase stands for. is all. 

the publication and reception history of moby-dick is very interesting. apparently, the british reviewed, what was essentially, a different book—it was heavily edited and missing the epilogue. and because the british critics were superior (being scholars and professionals) to the american critics (essentially slack jawed hillbillies—little has changed), the american critics basically just reiterated the british consensus. which is a shame because it’s a marvelous book.

but that’s neither here nor there. i wonder, why do you think the project pointless? isn’t there something to it? capturing a little bit of the general mood of a nation? i don’t know. maybe you’re right.  as i said, i’ve never thought about it before. and after this i won’t ever want to think about it again.