| The Passages of H.M.: A Novel of Herman Melville Contributor(s): Parini, Jay (Author) |
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ISBN: 0307386198 ISBN-13: 9780307386199 Publisher: Anchor Books OUR PRICE: $15.26 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Historical - General |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2010006291 |
| Physical Information: 1.15" H x 5.17" W x 7.98" (0.78 lbs) 464 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: With the same masterly touch that made The Last Station so powerful, Jay Parini penetrates the mind and soul of another literary titan. Through the eyes of his long-suffering wife, Lizzie, we are introduced to an aging, angry, and drunken Herman Melville. He is decades past his flourishing career as a writer of bestselling tales of seagoing adventures. His epic but ungainly Moby-Dick was meant to make him immortal, but critics scoffed and readers fled. He spends his days trudging the docks of New York as a customs inspector and contemplating his malign literary fate. But within him is stirring, perhaps, one great work yet. . . . In a narrative that shifts seamlessly between Lizzie's personal account and evocative snapshots of Melville's crowded life, Parini manages to humanize a giant of letters, while illuminating the source of his matchless creativity. |