Herman Melville – författare

"It will be a strange sort of a book, tho', I fear; blubber is blubber you know; tho' you may get oil out of it, the poetry runs as hard as sap from a frozen maple tree;--& to cook the thing up, one must needs throw in a little fancy.... Yet I mean to give the truth of the thing, spite of this."Moby-Dick has a monumental reputation. Less well known are the novel's unexpectedly weird, funny, tantalizing, messy, and wondrous moments. Narrator Ishmael, along with the whaleship Pequod's other "meanest mariners, and renegades and castaways", is beguiled into joining Captain Ahab in his vengeful pursuit of the white whale that "dismasted" him. But along the way, Ishmael takes the reader along many a detour into variegated ways of knowing. In a tone "strangely compounded of fun and fury", Moby-Dick brings outlandish curiosity to bear on the multitudinous, oceanic scale of our diverse world. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

En sjöman, som vill att vi kallar honom Ismael (vi får aldrig veta hans riktiga namn), kommer en iskall vinterkväll till värdshuset Valfisken i New Bedford. Några lediga rum finns dessvärre inte, och Ismael tvingas välja mellan att tillbringa natten utomhus eller att dela säng med en tatuerad kannibal, harpuneraren Queequeg. Ismael väljer efter stor vånda att sova med Queequeg, och till hans stora förvåning blir de snabbt bästa vänner. Ismael och Queequeg gör sällskap till Nantucket och bestämmer sig för att ge sig ut på valfångstresa tillsammans. Skeppet de mönstrar på heter Pequod. Fartygets oinskränkte härskare är kapten Ahab, vars ena ben blivit avslitet av Moby Dick, en jättelik vit kaskelot. Efter att under lång tid dolt sig för besättningen i sin kajuta träder Ahab en morgon fram och avslöjar att syftet med resan inte är det sedvanliga: att döda så många valar som möjligt. Nej, det är endast en val som måste dö: den vita valen, Moby Dick. Den hämndlystne Ahab är beredd att satsa allt i kampen mot sin fiende. Pequods resa är från och med nu en färd mot undergång eller seger, hämnd eller död. Moby Dick av Herman Melville är det stora amerikanska nationaleposet, ett mästerverk vars skiftande berättartekniker, hisnande perspektiv och profetiska prosa ger en läsupplevelse som både är tidlös och chockerande, modern och uråldrig, undflyende och djupt meningsfull. Historien om kapten Ahab och Moby Dick är berättelsen om en kamp som aldrig upphör, den mellan människa och natur, mellan Gud och Satan, mellan tro och vetenskap.

Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.In Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab is an eerily compelling madman who focuses his distilled hatred and suffering (and that of generations before him) into the pursuit of a creature as vast, dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. More than just a novel of adventure, this is a haunting social commentary populated with some of the most enduring characters in literature. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith and the nature of perception.

Betyg fem av fem. Viktor Andersson, BTJ. "Vilken underbar, underbar novell det är", Josefin de Gregorio, SvD. "Novellen hör till novellkonstens genuina mästerverk... Det är inte bara en novell som finsmakare vördar, det här är en politisk text med potential att i grunden förändra vår livshållning." Bernur. "Nästan lika kanoniserad som Moby Dick... Utmärkt översättning", Rebecka Kärde, Dagens Nyheter "Äntligen finns en av mina favoriter bland klassiker i nyutgåva!" Yukiko Duke, Vi Läser. Herman Melvilles berättelse Bartleby, skrivaren i nyöversättning och med efterord av Marie Berthelius. Romanens berättare är advokat i New York. Till sin hjälp har han anställt tre skrivare vilka samtliga sköter sina arbetsuppgifter både plikttroget och noggrant. Efter en tid behöver han anställa en fjärde skrivare. Det blir Bartleby. Även denne arbetar till att börja med både plikttroget och noggrant. Han renskriver raskt varje protokoll han får på sin pulpet. Inte nog med det, han verkar leva för sitt arbete, verkar inte ha några vänner och inga fritidsintressen. Så en dag, när Bartleby ges ännu ett protokoll att renskriva, fäller han den märkliga repliken: "Jag föredrar att inte göra det." Advokaten, hans chef, tror först inte att han hört rätt. "Vadå föredrar? Jag ger er nu i uppdrag att renskriva detta dokument. Sätt igång!" Men svaret kvarstår: "Jag föredrar att inte göra det." Så svarar Bartleby i fortsättningen på alla uppmaningar. Varje gång han får en arbetsuppgift säger han med alldeles lugn röst att han "föredrar att inte göra det". Chefen anstränger sig för att tala den halsstarrige tillrätta, men lyckas inte det minsta. Bartleby är orubblig. Han håller benhårt fast vid sitt raka besked - han föredrar att inte utföra det som åläggs honom. Sakta men säkert driver han både chefen och kollegorna närapå till vansinne. Och detta stillsamma beteende får allt större förvecklingar, det hela går mycket längre än man först kunde tro. Herman Melvilles berömda kortroman har nyöversatts av Marie Berthelius som också skrivit efterordet. Berättelsen skrevs 1853 och betraktades först som en parentes i Melvilles omfångsrika författarskap, som domineras av den makalösa romanen Moby Dick - vilken med tiden blivit ett av den amerikanska litteraturens mest centrala verk - men också den lilla historien Bartleby har blivit klassisk. Huvudpersonens underliga beteende har under snart två sekler lockat till otaliga tolkningsförsök. Bartlebys lilla beslutsamma minirevolt med mild röst blir på något vis en alldeles fruktansvärd, en alldeles ohygglig handling som ifrågasätter själva grunden i arbetslivet. För var skulle vi hamna om alla skulle börja känna efter hur det egentligen känns? Herman Melvilles kortroman Bartleby, skrivaren i översättning och med efterord av Marie Berthelius. ISBN 978-91-7742-620-2. Högkvalitetspapper, sydda ark, mjuka pärmar med flikar. 96 sidor.

The original 'Great American Novel', Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is a masterful study of obsession. This Penguin Classics edition contains an introduction by Andrew Delblanco, with explanatory commentary by Tom Quirk.'Call me Ishmael.'So begins Herman Melville's masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. As Ishmael is drawn into Captain Ahab's obsessive quest to slay the white whale Moby-Dick, he finds himself engaged in a metaphysical struggle between good and evil. More than just a novel of adventure, more than an paean to whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting social commentary, populated by some of the most enduring characters in literature; the crew of the Pequod, from stern, Quaker First Mate Starbuck, to the tattooed Polynesian harpooner Queequeg, are a vision of the world in microcosm, the pinnacle of Melville's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is a profound, poetic inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.Based on the Northwestern University Press edition, this Penguin Classics edition includes a critical introduction by Andrew Delbanco, as well as valuable explanatory notes, maps, illustrations and a glossary of nautical terms.Herman Melville is now regarded as one of America's greatest novelists. Much of the material for his novels was drawn from his own experience as a seaman aboard whaling ships. He wrote his masterpiece Moby-Dick in 1851, and died in 1891.If you enjoyed Moby-Dick, you may like Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, also available in Penguin Classics.'After reading Moby-Dick, you will have enhanced your sense of wonder, you will have increased the size of your universe'E. M. Forster'One of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world ... It moves awe in the soul'D. H. Lawrence

Ismael letar efter äventyr och mönstrar på ett valfångstfartyg. Han vet att det är ett tufft jobb och han får hjälp av sin nyfunne vän, harpuneraren Queequeg. Det de inte vet är att skeppets kapten drivs av ett hämndbegär så stort att det äventyrar allas liv på skeppet. Det ända kapten Ahab vill är att hitta och döda Moby Dick, den vita valen. Hegas böcker – lätta att läsa. Svåra att motstå.

HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics.‘Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee…’Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale is a timeless epic – a thrilling tale of vengeance and obsession, and a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe of moral ambiguity.Inspired by true events, Moby Dick is a work of astonishing psychological depth. It is perhaps the greatest sea story ever told and one of the great classics of literature.

Complete and unabridged.Teeming with ideas and imagery, and with its extraordinary intensity sustained by mischievous irony and moments of exquisite beauty, Moby-Dick is both a great American epic and a profoundly imaginative literary creation.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an afterword by Nigel Cliff.On board the whaling ship Pequod a crew of wise men and fools, renegades and seeming phantoms is hurled through treacherous seas by crazed Captain Ahab, a man hell-bent on hunting down the mythic White Whale. Herman Melville transforms the little world of the whale ship into a crucible where mankind's fears, faith and frailties are pitted against a relentless fate.

This is about the quest of Captain Ahab, a man consumed by his obsession with a legendary, giant white whale, Moby Dick. As the ship sails into dangerous waters, The captain's hysterical pursuit becomes a symbol for the inherent, often destructive, nature of human ambition. "Moby-Dick" is not merely a tale of daring do; it is a profound meditation on the human condition itself. It can be read as part thriller, part sea adventure and part allegory.

The text here is based on Hershel Parker and Harrison Hayford’s 1967 edition, footnoted to include biographical discoveries. Reviews, letters by Melville and belated praise is collected, and a wealth of new biographical material has been added, while new research is highlighted. Parker also explores what writing Moby-Dick cost Melville and his family.

HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics.‘Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!’It is the end of the eighteenth century, and the navy recruits the eponymous hero – the ‘Handsome Sailor’ – to its fleet. Accused of mutinous behaviour, Billy Budd is forced to defend himself, but his fearful, silent response soon gives way to a terrible act of violence. The consequences are disastrous, and nothing can prevent the force of judgment and eventual justice upon him. Discovered among Melville’s papers after his death and published posthumously in 1924, ‘Billy Budd’ is a powerful tale of guilt and innocence, crime and punishment, and the cost of adhering to duty.From the author of ‘Moby Dick’, Melville’s allegorical tales are loaded with symbolism, and showcase his distinctive writing style and themes in shorter form.

Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale is a timeless epic – a thrilling tale of vengeance and obsession, and a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe of moral ambiguity. Inspired by true events, Moby Dick is a work of astonishing psychological depth. It is perhaps the greatest sea story ever told and one of the great classics of literature. ‘Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee…’

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee…’ Few literary masterpieces cast quite as awesome a shadow as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale is a timeless epic – a thrilling tale of vengeance and obsession, and a searing parable about humanity lost in a universe of moral ambiguity.Inspired by true events, Moby Dick is a work of astonishing psychological depth. It is perhaps the finest sea story ever told and one of the great classics of literature.

"Melville at his best invariably wrote from a sort of dream self, so that events which he relates as actual fact have indeed a far deeper reference to his own soul, his own inner life." - D.H. Lawrence. Here are ten stories that represent some of the best short work of American master Herman Melville, including "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street," "The Happy Failure," and "The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids." Alongside THE HAPPY FAILURE, Harper Perennial will publish the short fiction of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, and Oscar Wilde to be packaged in a beautifully designed, boldly colorful boxset in the aim to attract contemporary fans of short fiction to these revered masters of the form. Also, in each of these selections will appear a story from one of the new collections being published in the "Summer of the Short Story." A story from Alex Burrett's forthcoming collection, MY GOAT ATE ITS OWN LEGS, will be printed at the back of this volume.

'The ultimate fish story' Bob DylanWhen Ishmael sets sail on the whaling ship Pequod one cold Christmas Day, he has no idea of the horrors awaiting him out on the vast and merciless ocean. The ship's strange captain, Ahab, is in the grip of an obsession to hunt down the famous white whale, Moby Dick, and will stop at nothing on his quest to annihilate his nemesis.

Wellington Redburn is a fifteen-year-old from the state of New York, with only one dream - to run away to sea. However, when he does fulfil this long-held fantasy, he quickly finds that reality as a cabin boy is far harsher than he ever imagined. Mocked by the crew on board the Highlander for his weakness and bullied by the vicious and merciless sailor Jackson, Wellington must struggle to endure the long journey from New York to Liverpool. But when he does reach England, he is equally horrified by what he finds there: poverty, desperation and moral corruption. Inspired by Melville's own youthful experiences on board a cargo boat, this is a compelling tale of innocence transformed, through bitter experience, into disillusionment. A fascinating sea journal and coming-of-age tale, Redburn provides a unique insight into the mind of one of America's greatest novelists.

Typee is a fast-moving adventure tale, an autobiographical account of the author's Polynesian stay, an examination of the nature of good and evil, and a frank exploration of sensuality and exotic ritual.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Onboard the Fidèle, a steamboat floating down the Mississippi to New Orleans, a confidence man sets out to defraud his fellow passengers. In quick succession he assumes numerous guises - from a legless beggar and a worldly businessman to a collector for charitable causes and a 'cosmopolitan' gentleman, who simply swindles a barber out of the price of a shave. Making very little from his hoaxes, the pleasure of trickery seems an end in itself for this slippery conman. Is he the Devil? Is his chicanery merely intended to expose the mercenary concerns of those around him? Set on April Fool's Day, The Confidence-Man (1857) is an engaging comedy of masquerades, digressions and shifting identity, and a devastating satire on the American dream.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville'The frail gunwales bent in, collapsed, and snapped, as both jaws, like an enormous shears, sliding further aft, bit the craft completely in twain...'Moby-Dick is one of the most expansive feats of imagination in the whole of literature: the mad, raging, Shakespearean tale of Captain Ahab's insane quest to kill a giant white whale that has taken his leg, and upon which he has sworn vengeance, at any cost. A creation unlike any other, this is an epic story of fatal monomania and the deepest dreams and obsessions of mankind.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Melville is primarily known as a novelist, though critics regard him as one of the most important American poets of the nineteenth century, in the tier just beneath Whitman and Dickinson. This volume is edited by Robert Faggen.

Following the commercial and critical success of "Typee", Herman Melville continued his series of South Sea adventure-romances with Omoo. Named after the Polynesian term for a rover, or someone who roams from island to island, "Omoo" chronicles the tumultuous events aboard a South Sea whaling vessel and is based on Melville's personal experiences as a crew member on a ship sailing the Pacific. From recruiting among the natives for sailors to handling deserters and even mutiny, Melville gives a first-person account of life as a sailor during the nineteenth century filled with colourful characters and vivid descriptions of the far-flung locales of Polynesia.

Melville's eighth book was begun as a simple rewrite of an obscure little narrative entitled "Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter", in which Israel tells the story of his sad fall from Revolutionary hero to London peddler. Following its opening chapter Melville's novel retells that tale, with close adherence to the language and events of the Life, and then, shaking free of the original narrative, alternately moves between invented episodes and historical sources unrelated to the Life. "Israel Potter" is unique among Melville's books. It is the only one to be offered in the guise of literal biography, the tale presuming to offer an accurate life history of the man Israel Potter who did in fact fight at Bunker Hill. It is also Melville's only historical novel: it presents famous men of the American Revolution - Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, Ethan Allen, and others - in situations that are a matter of historical record.

In part, Moby-Dick is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby-Dick is also a profound enquiry into character, faith and the nature of perception.