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Apburtās salas
"Apburtās salas" ir aizraujošs darbs, kas tapis pēc autora ceļojuma pa Galapagu salām. Čārlzs Darvins, kurš tās apmeklēja četrus gadus agrāk, balstījās uz tur novēroto, kad radīja savu evolūcijas teoriju. Arī Melvils izteicies, ka tur piedzīvotais mainījis viņa uzskatus par civilizāciju.
"Billijs Bads" ir mazs prozas meistardarbs, kuru gadījuma dēļ atrada maizes kastē un publicēja tikai tad, kad pēc autora nāves bija aizritējuši divdesmit astoņi gadi. Pēc šī darba tapusi Bendžamina Britena opera.
"Billijs Bads" ir mazs prozas meistardarbs, kuru gadījuma dēļ atrada maizes kastē un publicēja tikai tad, kad pēc autora nāves bija aizritējuši divdesmit astoņi gadi. Pēc šī darba tapusi Bendžamina Britena opera.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
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About the author
Herman Melville
2,393 books4,518 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 13, 2017
Catching up with the classics #25
I️ actually enjoyed this much more than I️ thought I would. I’m still not ready for moby dick, but these tales are definitely the beginning of my Melville education.
I️ actually enjoyed this much more than I️ thought I would. I’m still not ready for moby dick, but these tales are definitely the beginning of my Melville education.
May 23, 2025
Call me biased but I loved this, same as I love one of my all time favourites Moby Dick. These two short books present a unique peek into a past world which is hard to relate to, and yet so captivating.
Is Billy Budd about homosexualism at a time when that was a total and unforgivable taboo? In my opinion it's hard to distinguish jealousy and envy from attraction. The descriptions of the protagonists are short and at the same time totally rich and immersive. There were times when people put honour before everything else.
The Encantadas gives us a unique old-time sailor perspective on the then-wild and uninhabited Galapagos islands. Who knew they were a popular stop for whaling ships? The descriptions of the nature and the perspective of a visiting sailor who's there to hunt turtles because of their precious turtle oil - before nature protection was a thing - are disturbing but also fascinating. The author uses colonialist names for most of the islands which today are no longer used, the islands having since reclaimed their original culture including their names. It's a funny idea isn't it: a ship of cocky Americans and Europeans passes by a mass of land, and they have the audacity to give it a name and to assume that before they set their eyes on it the place had no name and no history. The cheek :)
Is Billy Budd about homosexualism at a time when that was a total and unforgivable taboo? In my opinion it's hard to distinguish jealousy and envy from attraction. The descriptions of the protagonists are short and at the same time totally rich and immersive. There were times when people put honour before everything else.
The Encantadas gives us a unique old-time sailor perspective on the then-wild and uninhabited Galapagos islands. Who knew they were a popular stop for whaling ships? The descriptions of the nature and the perspective of a visiting sailor who's there to hunt turtles because of their precious turtle oil - before nature protection was a thing - are disturbing but also fascinating. The author uses colonialist names for most of the islands which today are no longer used, the islands having since reclaimed their original culture including their names. It's a funny idea isn't it: a ship of cocky Americans and Europeans passes by a mass of land, and they have the audacity to give it a name and to assume that before they set their eyes on it the place had no name and no history. The cheek :)
April 17, 2021
what can i say, the man loves boats
November 25, 2023
Envy, jealousy and innocence make a story hard to accept to this reader.
April 22, 2013
There's not much better than Billy Budd. I hear they're making a movie or something, can't possibly deliver all the power of the language of that book, or the subtext of the recent fleet mutiny and nearing colonial revolt over impressment.
August 3, 2011
A dense stylistic read of 1890's sailing life. Interesting stories with lots of description. Not the greatest story by this author.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews