Because it was too windy to deer hunt, I dove into 2023’s reading regimen a few days early.

This biography of Melville, focusing on how and why he came to pen Moby Dick, is not disappointing.

Grateful for Melville’s persistence, even given his dark vision, and for the massive themes and prognostications of Moby Dick.

Grateful, too, for Delbanco’s thoughtful bio of the literary leviathan.