The Passages of H.M.
Author | : Jay Parini |
Publisher | : Anchor |
Total Pages | : 466 |
Release | : 2011-11-01 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780307386199 |
ISBN-13 | : 0307386198 |
Rating | : 4/5 (198 Downloads) |
Download or read book The Passages of H.M. written by Jay Parini and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.