The Whiteness of the Whale! One of the biggest symbols in Moby Dick is represented in this modern retelling in more ways than you can shake a harpoon at. We get white houses, white snow, white ice, and most of all, white people.
Our protagonist is John Jacobs, (white guy) who discovers through a DNA test that he is part Inuit. He leads a less than satisfying life with a pretty sucky job and a wife who doesn't get him or even attempt to do so. It's a bit of a damp, drizzly November in his soul. So in an effort to balance his existence, Jacobs sets off for Alaska to join in a whale hunt with his distant cousins. We get some glimpses of Jessica's shallow life at home while Jacobs is off reclaiming his heritage, but for the most part we follow Jacobs, Q, and Akmaaq as they prepare for the upcoming whale hunt.
Q is a black teenager Jacobs picks up along the way who plans to film a documentary in the frozen North and thereby win a bunch of awards. Akmaaq is the cranky and sometimes mysterious Inupiat who leads the motley crew of hunters. As their names imply, Q is a stand in for Queequeg and towards the end, Pip; Akmaaq is a less crazed and dangerous version of Ahab.
I jumped all over the chance to read this book because I loves me some Melville, but the similarities with Moby Dick are so infrequent and so tenuous that they really don't have much in common.
The writing is insightful and the story is pretty interesting, so whether or not you have read the greatest American novel, you may enjoy Minichillo's take on it.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.
Rating out of 5 stars: 3 1/2
