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Two Guys Read Moby-Dick

Steve Chandler and Terrance N. Hill
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2006)
ISBN 9781931741637
Reviewed by Robin Witte for RebeccasReads (5/08)

The title “Two Guys Read Moby-Dick” exemplifies the content of this book by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill.  This is written by two men who obviously love to write and are very good at conveying ideas and humor in a laid-back medium, email.  The reader is briefly introduced to each writer and Terry states that “this didn't start out to be a book.”  These two men set out to read Moby-Dick and talk about it along a set time period.  The ensuing dialogue reveals that while they discuss what they have read, their impressions of Moby-Dick, and the life of Herman Melville, they managed to talk about a lot more.  Terry and Steve discuss their pasts, baseball, their friendship, and everything in between.  The reader, through the course of this work, gets to know and understand each man and their unique personalities.

This work is not a critical evaluation of Moby-Dick.  Steve and Terry clearly state that this electronic letter writing is an exercise for their enjoyment so that they can read a novel that they lied about reading in high school.  Their responses to Melville’s masterpiece are mixed throughout this book as ideas and opinions are revised by each writer over the course of months.  It is clear that Terry and Steve have been friends for a number of years and that long distances that separate them have not stifled a deep friendship and sharing between the two. They have private jokes that they share and the reader is included through the use of italicized comments to clarify what they are writing about.  Steve and Terry maintain a constant dialogue over the course of months and throughout travelling to other countries.

The final opinion is not clearly stated and it is a little ambiguous as to whether these men found it worthwhile to read Moby-Dick, but that conclusion is in keeping with the style of this book and does not detract from the reading experience.  I did find some of the conversations to be very male-oriented in regards to the subject matter; baseball and other sports were continually being brought up.  It did occur to me that I might get a lot more out of this book if I were a “guy,” but it did not detract too much from my reading experience.  There were many times that I could not stop myself from laughing out loud at Steve and Terry’s comments in “Two Guys Read Moby-Dick” and their wit was worth the wade through topics that bored me.  This fresh approach to writing as a form of conversation was a nice change from critical commentary that takes itself way too seriously.

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