Herman Melville is now seen as one of the great figures in American literature, a man who expanded the role of the novel and gave new and complex depths to the meaning of a story. His best work uses the form of the novel or the story as a means of carrying and discussing concerns about the nature of humanity, the role of God, and a sometimes satiric, sometimes bitter, examination of colonialism and capitalism. All of these are evident in the three stories included here, but his decision to write shorter fiction was to some extent forced on him.
Bartleby the Scrivener, The Lightning-Rod Man, and The Bell-Tower were all originally published in Putnam's Monthly Magazine and collected together with three other stories in The Piazza Tales of 1856 (the title came from the only piece written especially for the collection, an introductory sketch called The Piazza). Despite the circumstances that made him turn to the shorter form, Melville enjoyed the technical challenges it posed, and he regarded many of his short stories more highly than some of his successful longer works. But they were just as loaded with allegory, symbolism, and unease at man's condition.
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"a wonderful classic, i criedthen i cried again in the movi3 version " — Gen50 (5 out of 5 stars)
"a wonderful classic, i criedthen i cried again in the movi3 version "
" These stories had a common theme: they had no point. "
" Lightning-Rod Man is a tongue in cheek tale of an intelligent man not to be swayed by a peddler. As in Bartleby The Scrivener, Melville reveals his unique style of humor in this narrative, which is quite humorous. "
" Well, it certainly does SUCK. "
" Emily was right. Booooo Billy Budd booooo "
" WTF did I just read. No clue what happened. Thank god the last chapter had a quick sum up of events. "
" Wish I could've given it a 3.5 "
" Interesting Insites into navel history. library book sale. "
" Reading Project Gutenberg, and too lazy to create a new book to prove it. "
" This book was left uncompleted at the time of Melville's death. It is not in the same league as Moby Dick. Melville was not particularly successful as a writer, and this book tends to show that. Perhaps he only had one truly great book in him. "
" I laughed when there was a heated discussion in one episode of The Sopranos about this book. Not one of my favorites, but not terrible, either. "
" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "
" if i could give it a lower score i would "
" Much more digestible than Moby Dick. "
Herman Melville (1819–1891) was born in New York City. Family hardships forced him to leave school for various occupations, including shipping as a cabin boy to Liverpool in 1839—a voyage that sparked his love for the sea. A shrewd social critic and philosopher in his fiction, he is considered an outstanding writer of the sea and a great stylist who mastered both realistic narrative and a rich, rhythmical prose. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumously published novella Billy Budd.
William Roberts’ theater appearances include Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. Among his films are Cold Mountain and Death Wish III, while he has been seen on television in Martin Chuzzlewit and The Old Devils. An accomplished voice artist, he is a frequent narrator of audiobooks and has received an AudioFile Earphones Award.
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