Daren
Published in 1999, when Severin had almost reached 60 years old by which time he probably decided to put his long sea voyages in replica's of ancient ships to one side. This is a slightly different approach from him. He looks at a historic character still, but a literary one - Moby Dick. He looks at Moby Dick's author Herman Melville, and how his experiences fed into the great novel. Also where his experiences fell short and his information was gathered from other sources. But most of all, he looks at the whale - whether a white whale was pure invention, a historic cultural legend or really accurate.
Melville acknowledged that he read a book by the survivor of a ship wrecked by an aggressive bull whale (Owen Chase, of the whaleship Essex) on which he based parts of the general story. Severin wants more though validation - white whales - do they exist?
To find out his answers, Severin decides to visit the last remaining aboriginal hunters of whales - they have regular contact with whales, they have historic contact with whales, they have legends and beliefs associated with whales. And so the story takes him to Nuku Hiva (where Melville spent time, albeit less time than he purported), in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia; to Pamilacan near Bohol in the Philippines; to Tonga and to Lamalera, a remote coastal village on the southern coast of Lembata Island in Indonesia.
In each of these locations Severin spends time with the current whale hunters, as well as the elderly men of the villages, he goes out on boats and sees their traditional hunting methods, learns their many stories and experiences.
I don't want to spoil this excellent book for other readers, so I won't share what Severin finds, but I will say this is an engaging read. There are some nice colour photos of the places he visits, reproductions of lots of black and white paintings and the like as well as some original whale art by Trondur Patursson, a man who accompanied Severin on several of his expeditions, is from the Faroe Islands and therefore is well connected to Whales, and who also visits Severin in Lamalera to share some of the Whaling experiences.
I like all Severin's books, this is certainly no exception, despite it being different from his earlier fare - in that it is more travelogue than expedition and as much a literary investigation as a historical one.
Recommended for Severin fans, for Moby Dick fans, and I expect it will work for those who enjoy the recent literary genre of historical shipwreck non-fiction.
5 stars
Published in 1999, when Severin had almost reached 60 years old by which time he probably decided to put his long sea voyages in replica's of ancient ships to one side. This is a slightly different approach from him. He looks at a historic character still, but a literary one - Moby Dick. He looks at Moby Dick's author Herman Melville, and how his experiences fed into the great novel. Also where his experiences fell short and his information was gathered from other sources. But most of all, he looks at the whale - whether a white whale was pure invention, a historic cultural legend or really accurate.
Melville acknowledged that he read a book by the survivor of a ship wrecked by an aggressive bull whale (Owen Chase, of the whaleship Essex) on which he based parts of the general story. Severin wants more though validation - white whales - do they exist?
To find out his answers, Severin decides to visit the last remaining aboriginal hunters of whales - they have regular contact with whales, they have historic contact with whales, they have legends and beliefs associated with whales. And so the story takes him to Nuku Hiva (where Melville spent time, albeit less time than he purported), in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia; to Pamilacan near Bohol in the Philippines; to Tonga and to Lamalera, a remote coastal village on the southern coast of Lembata Island in Indonesia.
In each of these locations Severin spends time with the current whale hunters, as well as the elderly men of the villages, he goes out on boats and sees their traditional hunting methods, learns their many stories and experiences.
I don't want to spoil this excellent book for other readers, so I won't share what Severin finds, but I will say this is an engaging read. There are some nice colour photos of the places he visits, reproductions of lots of black and white paintings and the like as well as some original whale art by Trondur Patursson, a man who accompanied Severin on several of his expeditions, is from the Faroe Islands and therefore is well connected to Whales, and who also visits Severin in Lamalera to share some of the Whaling experiences.
I like all Severin's books, this is certainly no exception, despite it being different from his earlier fare - in that it is more travelogue than expedition and as much a literary investigation as a historical one.
Recommended for Severin fans, for Moby Dick fans, and I expect it will work for those who enjoy the recent literary genre of historical shipwreck non-fiction.
5 stars