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5.0 von 5 Sternen
Bad, Bizarre and Brilliant, 17. Februar 2000
Von Ein Kunde
Pierre is perhaps the strangest novel of all time: bizarre, to say the least, but brilliant in its extravagence. At a minimum, it is one of Melville's central novels that deconstructs the entire myth of pre-war American society in its explorations of incest, patricide and psychosis. It is almost inconceivable that Melivlle really believed that it would be popular (which he did), for it shows the impossibility of writing as an American author, the impossibility of originality, and the impossibility of self-reliance. Beware: it is not for the faint of heart. It is demanding, relentlessly challenging, and very rewarding.
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5.0 von 5 Sternen
Memorable and Disturbing, 5. April 2000
It's been since grad school, in the early 80s, that I last read Melville's "Pierre", yet it's stuck to my ribs ever since. I recall a quote from Freud, that he ventured nowhere that a poet hadn't preceeded him, and I have to wonder if he had this unfortunately obscure masterpiece in mind. For Melville examines themes of psychology and sexuality as no other writer before him...excepting perhaps the Pagan mystics of old Europe. "Pierre" brilliantly illuminates the darknesses of the human psyche, those tunnels and strange rooms few of us ever explore, lest we be artists and therefore honest and courageous enough to sacrifice our egos. Melville considered "Pierre" his most important work, a suitable novel to follow "Moby Dick" (justifiably considered by many THE great American novel). Yet I find "Pierre" more moving, because more tragic, than "Moby Dick"--Ahab is obsessed and while his obsessions mixed with his intelligence make him complex, he is clearly one-dimensional in his drive. Pierre, however, is drawn by instincts which defy his conscious realization, by desires which emanate from the dark belly of humanity and therefore can't be seen. Ahab wants revenge; Pierre wants fulfillment. For a landlocked person such as myself, "Pierre" is also an easier read: no boggling display of nautical terminology to refer to on every page. Yeah, Freud was right: he owed a great deal to the poets...and while, technically, Melville was more storyteller or novelist than poet, here is a poetry there that's unmistakeable. Embrace this book, and embrace the spirit of the great man who possessed the courage to write it.
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Why this cursed affliction?, 4. Mai 1999
Von Ein Kunde
This, Melville's follow-up to Moby Dick, is by far the worst of his nine novels. His usual influences (Shakespeare, Virgil, Homer, the Bible) which are used in a subtle way to enhance his classic works such as Moby Dick and the Confidence Man, completely dominate this work, which is about form and style more than content. It is utterly dreary and depressing, with an oft used story line, and no redeeming value whatsoever. Perhaps Melville excised some personal ghosts in the penning of this book; if so, he should have destroyed the manuscript upon completion so as not to inflict it upon an undeserving public. Do not read this under any circumstances. Don't believe any scholar who tries to defend it's mere existence, or justify it's place "within the canon of Melville's work". If a teacher, at any level, requires that you read this, in whole or in part, contact a qualified medical authority immediately, because your teacher needs help. You will be better served reading any of his other 8 novels, even the fluff of Redburn or Israel Potter, or re-reading Moby Dick for the twentieth time, than reading one word of this.
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von Herman Melville
