Melville and Hawthorne

Robert McCrum's article, Herman Melville, the last great enigma of American literature : a new fictionalised account tries to unravel the dark secrets of the creator of Moby-Dick (published Jan. 30, 2011 at the Guardian's website) doesn't actually get around to mentioning Jay Parini's new novel, The Passages of Herman Melville, until the end. Until then, it's a witty, engaging introduction to this momentous encounter. His first mention of Melville is captivating:

...Herman Melville who, after a very successful debut (Typee), was struggling to complete an unwieldy coming-of-age tale about a South Seas whaler.

In no more than a couple of screens, McCrum presents many of the reasons why so many have been so interested in Melville for so long.

If you have never read biographical material on Melville, maybe even never read Moby Dick, and wonder what all the hoopla is about, take just a few minutes to read what Robert McCrum has to say on the topic.