Ahab's Wife or, The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund

via goodreads

I stumbled upon this book at a thrift store. I don't general buy books I've never read before, but this one caught my eye. When I found out it was inspired by a passage in Moby Dick, I had to have it.

I read some reviews online before I started it and it seemed that people either loved the book or hated it.

I loved it.

I've never actually read Moby Dick, but a love the movie (Patrick Stewart and Gregory Peck are both great) and what it teaches. After reading this book I really want to give Moby Dick a try (in an abridged form, though- I've heard there is a lot of whaling information that is hard to get through).

First of all this is a long book, 157 chapters and 666 pages. It reads like an autobiography (written by the main character, Una). It has a little bit of everything in it including; romance, adventure, and history.

I enjoyed it because it's about a young girl (and then a woman) struggling through life. Her trials are much larger than could even be imagined by me, but they shape her and work very well in the story.

I can't really guarantee that you will like this novel and I probably wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I'm so glad I found it!

PS - This book is a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; was named in Time as One of the Year's Five Best Novels; and Naslund has received the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writer.