Writing

Melville, in a curt and rather frank analogy, reminds me of aged cheese.  The kind that kids spit out, teens might pretend to like in an effort to seem grown up, but the only people who actually like it are those old enough to have acquired a taste for it, so to speak. This, in essence, is the novel, Pierre.  A vastly complex and sophisticated tome, it, like some good aged-Vermont-extra-sharp-cheddar, requires small doses to understand and appreciate.  While a kid could, technically consume it, it is unlikely.  While we might force highschoolers to read it, they are probably not garnering the full effect of the novel, but that is not to say, that repulsion is not an important step.  Exposure breeds familiarity and, in small doses and plenty of contemplation.  Pierre (both as a character and a book) reads best in small doses, and the novel is set up to influence the reader to consume it in this way, dividing the story into a plethora of subsets and fragments.

Aging cheese requires a very specific kind of environment, usually a special place one that is dark and is of a cold temperature.  This space is referred to as “the cheese cave” (New England Cheesemaking Supply Company).  Melville had his metaphorical cheese cave in his dark and rather troubled emotional state in writing this novel, and in a way, it shows.  We, as readers, can see the emotional strain, heartache, and the questioning of his previous way of life (the publishing industry).  While this might be off-putting to some readers, I would argue that this is exactly Melville’s prerogative as a writer.  Most people struggle with displacement when it comes to complicated emotions, the lucky ones process their struggles through art and Melville should be applauded for, not only processing his pain with art, but also managing to make money off of it (even if it was albeit, not much), but how many of us can say this about a breakup?  Sadly, all the Ben & Jerry’s I’ve consumed over the years was on my dime, not the unsuspecting bookworm.

Even once the consumer is seasoned enough to genuinely like the dairy relic posed to them, there is another threshold to cross with our metaphorical cheese, even once one can stomach the poignant flavor and smell, there is the reconciliation of the process.  Cheesemaking, is simply put, a bacterial process.  It involves encouraging certain types of bacteria (that would usually make us sick), to grow and flourish in this special form and space, that, somehow, makes it more acceptable.  Which is exactly what Melville is doing with this novel.  While he understands (after much encouragement), that there are less stalker-ish ways to go about his heartbreak, he can finally accept that using the very letter that caused him so much pain as a murderous weapon at Hawthorne’s expense would be frowned upon, nothing (not even the most staunch critical review), could stop him from “acceptably” carrying it out within the space of his tale.  It is worth noting, on this point, that mold is a very natural side effect of aging cheese.  While novice cheesemakers will balk at this, experienced connoisseurs will inform you that it is perfectly acceptable and easily handled via a cloth dampened in heavy salt water (New England Cheesemaking Supply Company).  This aspect, I would argue, is allegorical to the “heavy salt water” (tears), that Melville probably experienced during this cathartic process.

The process of the cheesemaker and the novelist, very much effects the consumer, though in ways the consumer might not fully be able to understand without some further research.  The potential for danger (bacterial or emotional), runs deep and there is no warning on the cover, or packaging, to warn the consumer to safety.  But the process is not the result.  While it is a grand part of it, the writer, as well as the cheesemaker, after producing their work, gives it to the world, where it grows (sometimes mold, sometimes poor reviews, depending on the case), adapts, and is interpretable.  The same cheese that the child spits out, the connoisseur adores and the same book that the bored teen puts down, the English major devours.

But, does this very idea prove the universality of Pierre?  While an unconventional method and flavor, aged cheese, is still cheese (and who is not a fan of that?).  While an unconventional writer with an unconventional style, it is still a vastly important book.  If taste buds change, roughly every seven years, how much more frequently do our brains and literary tastes?  Some books should be revisited as we grow, and Pierre is one such book.  Melville has given us the tale of a boy, trying to become a man in an incredibly vast, complicated, and cruel world, an occurrence as familiar, as having a slice of cheese.  It is something that must be returned to, frequently and often, sometimes by craving, sometimes by orders, sometimes by necessity.   The system might seem a bit ugly, the process scattered, the creator questioned on why they would not pursue an easier endeavor, and yet, no matter what else could be said, it cannot be argued that it is an endeavor of the heart.

 

Works Cited:

New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. Aging Cheese. New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, 2019. https://cheesemaking.com/blogs/learn/faq-aging-cheese

Pierre; or, The Ambiguities by Herman Melville has long been debated whether or not to consider it a literary masterpiece or dud. The ambiguity of the story and how it was written makes this a very tough call that many have drastically opposing views on. Personally, I believe there was great drama at varying points in the storyline, however, these points were scattered throughout a book full of longwinded tangents that often failed to add anything of importance to the plot of the story. Many times when reading I felt as if I needed to remind myself of the plot after just reading countless pages of nothing that were thrown in throughout. You could say this made my reading a frustrating experience at times and this was one of many issues I had with the ~wonderful~ story of Pierre.

I have never been a fan of old stories due to their use of old language and I feel as if Pierre falls under this category in a very unique way. When having to focus more on comprehending what the old language is trying to say rather than the actual story itself I have a very hard time enjoying myself. There is no denying that Melville uses a unique sort of language with beautifully descriptive words throughout that sometimes made very unimportant parts of the story feel relevant. With that, much of the language was still very ambiguous and unnecessarily drawn out. I would find myself more focussed on the eloquent vocabulary being used to describe a big rock than the actual meaning and importance of that portion of the story. Language style can often enhance a readers perception of an entire book but in my reading of Pierre it did the opposite.

Much of Pierre has moments that are intentionally left for the readers own interpretation. Some believe that this makes the story a philosophical masterpiece but when you struggle to comprehend the authors language in the first place, like myself, it makes it extremely challenging to develop these interpretations. In summary, the ambiguous nature of Pierre was a very frustrating experience and a meme cannot possibly fail to express my true opinion of Pierre in its entirety.

Pierre was an interesting read, but not necessarily one I would recommend to my peers. I found the combination of listening to the audiobook and reading the book to be the most effective. In fact, I don’t think I could have made it through the book unless I listened to it. I would have been lost in the details.

Pierre was one of those reads where you are completely frustrated most of the time. I was grasping at every small clue Melville gave us as to whether or not Isabelle was actually Pierre’s sister. In a way, the ambiguity of the story was the only thing that kept me reading it. The overall plot was full of holes and fairly unbelievable. Would anyone really take an emotional letter declaring that they had a new sister seriously? Would you stake your entire livelihood on the word of a complete stranger, who can only remember vague details about her past, which happen to line up with your vague remembrances of your past?

I’d give this book a 2 out of 5, only because I enjoyed having to decipher the passages. It was almost like a puzzle. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone looking for a bit of light reading, or really anyone who enjoys a sound conclusion. Pierre leaves off abruptly and unsatisfyingly. Did I enjoy reading through it once? Yes, if only to say that I’ve read a bit more of Melville.

 

Pierre; or, The Ambiguities Amazon Review

In a quick basic plot summary, Pierre; or, The Ambiguities is a novel by Herman Melville. Pierre is the main character of the story and goes on a journey throughout the novel. After his fathers passing Pierre must figure out If Isabelle is truly his sister and also figure out how to approach his life. Pierre ends up falling for his step sister Isabelle and then the story degenerates into a super weird three way relationship between Pierre, his wife Lucy, and his sister Isabelle. The novel ends with all of the characters dead after Pierre goes to jail for murdering his cousin.

Along with all of the other ambiguous events in the book, I find it ambiguous why anybody would ever want to read such a slow an taxing novel.  The novel drags on much further than necessary and makes it hard for the reader to continue reading. The slowness of the novel is made even worse by the fact that the language is very hard to read and understand. Uses of complex words and syntax make it very hard to stay focused on the plot. One more thing that slows down the story are weird sidetracks that Melville takes on the story that drag on for far to long such as Pierre’s stop at the Memnon rock. Another problem I had with this novel was that the usage of philosophy just weighs other important aspects of the plot down and makes the novel harder to read.  Another problem I had with this novel was that I felt certain parts of it were added based upon other famous works. Melville kills off everyone in the final scene such as Shakespeare did in Hamlet and he also builds an Oedipus complex between Pierre and Isabelle. Melville was trying to write his own unique work but he reverted back to basing parts of it off of the classics in my opinion.

Overall I thought this was a poorly written work that drags on for much to long in places. The language makes it to hard to read and parts of the novel make it feel as if the author was way overthinking. If the story was condensed and language was simpler it could help but I still do not think it would be very good. The plot was at least somewhat interesting, but if you want a similar juicy ending to this novel that is a relatively older work just go read Hamlet, it has a much better plot with the same ending. The answer of whether or not to read this novel is not very ambiguous, but just to clarify since Herman Melville never does, do not read this book!

Review: 1/5 Stars

To say that I enjoyed reading Pierre; Or the Ambiguities would be much too simplistic. In fact, it’s hard for me to describe how I felt when reading Melville’s arguably least popular work. Reading the first assigned section of Melville’s Pierre transported me back to a class period of honors 10^th grade English class when my teacher, Mrs. Fulford, informed us that we would be reading the first few chapters of “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens for homework. As I struggled through the first chapter, I wasn’t sure if I loved or hated reading what seemed to me (and many others) as too many pages of narrative thoughts without a developing plot. What I did realize was that no matter how long-winded Dickens may have been, I was intrigued and ready to read so I could attempt to find meaning and relevance in the internal conflict and thoughts that were so frequently presented in the novel.

I noticed a similar feeling creeping back to me after finishing the first part of Pierre. Questions I often had to stop to ask myself when reading both Pierre and Great Expectations were “What’s the relevance of this chapter? Couldn’t the novel have been just as good and maybe even better without it?” Asking myself these questions made me realize that Pierre provided much more than it seemed to on the surface. To me, it seemed to provide a meaningful, inside glimpse into the existential, conflict-plagued thoughts of Melville himself. Believing in this made Pierre easier for me to read because I found it to be much deeper, meaningful, and open to interpretation. On the other hand, knowing this also allowed for too much hypothetical contemplation and analysis which made reading the book a not-so-timely activity.

In Pierre, Melville’s stream of conscious writing style can often make it difficult for readers to interpret and enjoy reading the novel. When reading the novel, it’s important to consider that the grammatically flawed sentences were strategically crafted by Melville himself… But why? My thought would be to show that he has control over his own works or so readers are forced to come up with their own ideas about how to make sense of the what seems to be incoherent sentence structure. Without being able to consider ideas such as these, reading Pierre would’ve been a drag for me.

Although a bit too ambiguous and hard to follow at times, I respect Melville for being able to write such a unique novel. I can truly say I have never read anything quite like it, but I almost think this book should be taught in a philosophy class in order for readers to truly be able grasp and get the most out of a book that encompasses as much depth and creativity as this one. Additionally, I think it would be helpful to preface just how slow the plot develops throughout the novel so readers will give more thought to Pierre’s long-winded, frequent commentary. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy hypothesizing and diving into the psyche of others and can, of course, handle all of the ambiguity.

#questusreviewus

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Would/Would not recommend? Depends on the person asking

“There are some strange summer mornings in the country…” (Melville, 1)

Well, no duh Pierre. Every morning is a strange morning when you call your mother your sister and have an oddly close relationship with her that’s not characteristic of a mother-son or sister-brother dynamic in any way, shape, or form.

I wish I could say that I liked Pierre because it was written by such a renowned American author, but honestly, it was a struggle to get through it. The novel consists of page after page of insane ramblings sprinkled with philosophical questioning and debate. Pierre is a spoiled brat with incestuous tendencies that make it quite difficult for me to pity him, even when he’s disowned by his family, sent to the city penniless, and forced to live with a weird cult in the city.

The title of this book shouldn’t be “Pierre; or the Ambiguities”. It should be “Pierre; or the Village Idiot”. What kind of person thinks the solution to all of their problems is to marry their illegitimate sister? On the (only) upside, the language of the novel is beautiful. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to make me enjoy the novel. It’s like Melville thought “Hmm, this is a good sentence. Here’s another good sentence. Let me write for pages and pages about emotions that don’t really relate that much to the plot line because they sound really good”. You get a few good classic Melville sentences here and there, but you really have to look for them, and frankly, it’s not worth the effort. Melville’s use of free indirect discourse is quite sophisticated, dipping into the psyche of Pierre and revealing his inner thoughts and feelings. It’s a shame that this technique is wasted on the convoluted ponderings of Pierre’s mind. He finds depth in a tower of rocks in the wood, yet he fails to see the problematic moral dilemma of marrying his sister.

If you want to tumble deep down a rabbit hole of incest, fainting, gasping, sitting in trees, dreaming about rocks, and screaming at sewing circles: well, this is the book for you! Enjoy!

Beginning lines of the book taken from: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34970/34970-h/34970-h.htm#BOOK_I

Pierre is the first novel by Melville I have ever read and thus I was very much intimidated by the ornate language of Melville. When I was reading it, I had to constantly looking up adjectives used in the book to envision the scene Melville is trying to depict. It was a tough read to say the least, But i do not think it is so bad that I would not read it again.

This novel portrayed a rather morbid relationship between the novel’s main character Pierre Glendinning Jr. and his half-sister Isabel Banford, focusing on the psychological portrait of the mental struggle Pierre went through and the ever increasing tension between his family due to his decision of marrying Isabel. Reviewers universally condemned its morals and its style, criticizing its unorthodox topic and pedantic language. However, I found these two points rather understandable if the fact that Melville put a lot of personal experience into the creation process of the characters is taken into consideration. I believe what Melville was trying to accomplish here is to use Pierre as a means of self-expression. The recurrent psychological activities actually stems from Melville’s confusion and frustration towards his friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is probably the reason why a lot of the flashbacks seemed coming out of nowhere and hard to follow, it is because they are not from the natural progression of the character rather than the writer himself. Every time Melville think of something, he just add the snippet of thoughts into the story. And this is probably also an explanation to why Pierre’s character seems somewhat inconsistent, the sudden becoming of an author: Melville was trying to use him to speak out, but somewhere along the writing, the line between the character and the writer is blurred which made this novel all the more fascinating. There are certain things, you have to experience it in order to realize it. This is the reason why Pierre seemed very hard to be empathized with.

And I can understand why Melville chose the incestuous relationship between Pierre and Isabel as the topic of this novel, the focus of this novel is the psychological process Pierre went through. So you need a truly moral dilemma for the main character otherwise there won’t be any struggle necessary. I think this topic was perfect for the sake of plot development and the build up of tension between different characters. You need a compelling antagonist to create a truly realistic protagonist.

So, although it might not appeal to the general public’s taste, i found Pierre: or the ambiguity a very interesting book. It is one of those kind of book, i thought i would never read, but it turned out to be quite rewarding. Although, to be fair, the book could have easily be more accessible if Melville could just organize his thought a little bit more before he wrote the whole thing.

I cannot say that Pierre; or, The Ambiguities is among my favorite novels. As much as I wanted to like it, I found it challenging to read. I felt like when the story would start to become interesting Melville would insert an additional chapter that would bring the story’s action to a halt. For this reason, I felt like it took forever for things to happen and found myself losing interest quickly.

It is clear that Melville added over a hundred pages to the novel after finishing it because many parts seem unnecessary and forced. However, I did enjoy some aspects of Pierre such as the characters and themes.

I think it is important to know the backstory for why Melville wrote Pierre before reading it. Essentially, the novel signifies Melville’s break up with his long-time friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. Knowing this information, it is easy to identify reflections of Melville and Hawthorne’s relationship throughout the story. I believe that Pierre’s relationship with Glen Stanley serves as an example. Ultimately, Pierre (Melville) trusts Glen Stanley (Hawthorne) but later feels betrayed by him and ends his life. This may be considered Melville ending his relationship with Hawthorne.

I believe I would have enjoyed Pierre if it had been shorter and more focused. Most of the time the writing was all over the place and hard to follow.

Without a doubt, Pierre is a thought-provoking novel with complex themes and symbolism. One of the most prominent themes in the story is the ambiguous nature of good and evil. Although I appreciated the themes the novel attempts to explore, the writing is unnecessarily dense, and the plot moved too slow for my taste.  Unfortunately, I would not re-read this novel and give it 2/5 stars.