I Would Prefer Not To: Essential Stories

by Herman Melville

A new selection of Melville's darkest and most enthralling stories in a beautiful Pushkin Collection edition

Includes "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno" and "The Lightning-Rod Man"

A lawyer hires a new copyist, only to be met with stubborn, confounding resistance. A nameless guide discovers hidden worlds of luxury and bleak exploitation. After boarding a beleaguered Spanish slave ship, an American trader's cheerful outlook is repeatedly shadowed by paralyzing unease.

In these stories of the surreal mundanity of office life and obscure tensions at sea, Melville's darkly modern sensibility plunges us into a world of irony and mystery, where nothing is as it first appears.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2021

About the author

There 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.

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are four stories in this book : Bartleby the Scrivener , where the title of the book comes from; The Lightning Rod Man; John Marr; and Benito Cereno, which is a novella, the longest part of the book. All four were interesting reads, slavery and racism being the main theme of Benito Cereno makes it a powerful story but Bartleby, the man who ‘would prefer not to’ is a picture of a man on the edge that definitely stays with the reader.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully bound collection of short stories is a worthy bookshelf-addition for Melville fans. I had previously read his most well-known works (Moby Dick, The Confidence-Man, Billy Budd, Sailor, and Bartleby the Scrivener) so this was a refreshing insight (re-reading Bartleby was an added bonus). There’s a common thread of morality in much of his writing as well as more than one seafaring adventure. Aside from Bartleby I particularly enjoyed Benito Cereno.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Deago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bartleby, what a remarkable character and for now I would prefer not to tell you why. Might reread this again someday.

Also, I would like to have a copy of this book simply because you got a bonus picture of Herman Melville!!!!!



Thanks to Netgalley

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until yesterday, I confess the only work of Melville's I had read was Moby Dick, and it is not a book I've ever been especially fond of. So, when I saw I Would Prefer Not To listed on NetGalley, I immediately requested a review copy, as I was keen to give Melville another try and see what some of his other writing was like. Overall, I would say that I prefer these shorter works of his to Moby Dick. "The Lightening-Rod Man" and "John Marr" I found so-so. However, "Benito Cereno" held my interest, as did "Bartleby, the Scrivener". The latter was my favourite piece in the collection, as Melville painted such a marvellous portrait of the enigmatic Bartleby that, as a reader, I could share in the narrator's confusion and consternation over his strange new employee. I would recommend this book to short story fans, readers of 19th-century fiction, and those who, like me, are intrigued to learn what kind of fiction Melville wrote other than Moby Dick.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kaij Lundgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bartleby was a real one.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read anything by Herman Melville – I know I should have read Moby Dick by now, but it has never sounded appealing to me – so when I spotted this new collection of Melville short stories from Pushkin Press it seemed a good opportunity to experience some of his work without having to commit to a 600+ page novel.

I Would Prefer Not To contains four stories, although the final one takes up more than half the book and is probably better described as a novella. My favourite was the first story, Bartleby the Scrivener, which was first published in Putnam’s Magazine in 1853. The narrator is an elderly Wall Street lawyer who employs two clerks, or ‘scriveners’ – Turkey and Nippers – whose job is to make copies of legal documents, and one office boy, Ginger Nut. An increase in work leads the lawyer to look for a third scrivener and, as he has been having difficulties with the temperamental natures of the other two, he decides to hire Bartleby, a quiet man whom he hopes will be a good influence on the others.

At first Bartleby works hard at his copying, but when the lawyer asks him to proofread a copied document, he replies with, “I would prefer not to”. Over the following days, he refuses to do more and more of the tasks that are requested of him – never giving an angry or rude response; always just those same five words: “I would prefer not to”. As the lawyer decides how to deal with this unexpected problem, the reader wonders what is wrong with Bartleby and what has caused his unusual behaviour. I enjoyed the story, but it left me very confused and I didn’t really understand what Melville was trying to say. However, after turning to Google for help, it seems that the meaning of the story was deliberately ambiguous and it can be interpreted in many ways, which made me feel a lot better about not understanding it!

Next is The Lightning-Rod Man, a short and intriguing tale of a salesman who arrives at the narrator’s house in Albania during a thunderstorm and tries to sell him a lightning-rod. The narrator is sceptical and says he will trust God to keep him safe, but the salesman won’t take no for an answer. Again, the meaning is not immediately obvious, but it’s an entertaining story and reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe. The third story, John Marr, is the weakest in the book, in my opinion. The title character is a retired sailor trying to adjust to a life on land, in a remote community on the American prairies. Feeling isolated and out of place, he remembers his seafaring days through songs and poems. The piece included in this collection is taken from John Marr and Other Sailors, a volume of poetry published in 1888, so maybe it would have worked better if read in the context of the original book.

Finally, we have the novella Benito Cereno, in which an American sea captain sailing off the coast of Chile encounters a Spanish slave ship in distress. Boarding the ship to see if he can help, he meets the Spanish captain, Benito Cereno, who tells him how the ship came to be in trouble. As he observes the behaviour of Benito Cereno and his slaves, he begins to wonder whether there is more to this than meets the eye. This was another interesting story, but I felt that it was much too long and too easy to guess the twist; we see things only through the eyes of the narrator, who is frustratingly oblivious to what is really happening on the Spanish ship. It was also another difficult one to interpret: was it a racist, pro-slavery story or an anti-racist, anti-slavery story? It could be either and it can’t be assumed that the views of the narrator reflect the views of the author.

So, now that I’ve had my introduction to Herman Melville, will I be reading Moby Dick? At the moment I think I would prefer not to, but maybe I’ll be ready to tackle it one day in the future!

[Marco Bermudez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would write a review, but I would prefer not to

[Anders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful writing! I've admired Bartleby for a while now, but rereading it this time around really changed and deepened my appreciation of it. Formerly, I was focused on the likeness to Kafka and the absurdism in the story. Absurdity to me has always been something that satirizes the ills of society not with reason but by a kind of metaphor. This time around, I actually saw the story as less absurd and I was struck by how strong the narrator works as a guide upon the reader. Rather than myself as Bartleby, stuck in an absurd dream, I felt myself as the narrator reasoning with Bartleby as the other, attempting to draw him out of his absurd circumstances. It's strange to me that I didn't see things this way before, but I'm glad to have read it again. Moreover, I enjoyed more of the themes this time around, including the narrator's vaguely Christian, moralizing attitude toward his fellow man (this really provides a compelling structure to the story beyond the average narration), the side characters acting as foils to Bartleby (hilarious), and the symbol of Bartleby as a dead letter (having worked at the dead letter office previous to being employed by the narrator).

Where formerly "I would prefer not to" was my favorite quote, this time around I also picked out a new favorite passage that comes fairly early in the story, maybe halfway, before Bartleby's complete rejection of labor. The narrator is reflecting on Bartleby's denial unto despondency and he says "just in proportion as the forlornness of Bartleby grew and grew to my imagination, did that same melancholy merge into fear, that pity into repulsion." This spoke to me as sublimely true about beholding the suffering of others, and Melville follows up saying that pity extends to a point, but it reaches a threshold and can't be sustained. However, the matter doesn't conclude with merely this cynical answer. He goes on to reflect that "they err who would assert...this is owing to...selfishness...it rather proceeds from a certain hopelessness of remedying excessive and organic ill...I might give alms to his body; but his body did his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach."

I think there are so many different interpretations that could come out of the enigmatic figure of Bartleby. Many lean toward his mental illness and depression and at one point toward the end, our narrator explains to the jailer that he is a bit deranged. But the manner in which Bartleby struggles in his soul is never confided to the reader. And I think that is the genius of the story, that the reader must supply that reason from their own understanding (or dare I say, soul; if the reasoning of the soul should operate differently than the reasoning of the mind). This passage though makes me think of Camus and existentialism, who has said he was inspired by the short story. And for me well it is an intriguing presentation of existential strife, but also there's something that I appreciate about his desire not to express himself. I've always valued the right to dissent. Where many grow frustrated with those who critique without providing an alternative, I find there is still some use in well-explained dissent and less use in dismissing it outright. I see Bartleby's “silence” as representative of a type of dissent. Or if not that, at the very least, it is the earnest urge not to express oneself, which amounts to the same thing. In proper society, I think it's very difficult to politely not express oneself, but I often find myself desirous of that very thing, despite having been taught-and perhaps in contradiction, having a second desire for expression-to cogently express myself. Of course, these are just general notions and context is often key when it comes to the intricacies of social graces, deranged or no. I don't think I have much difficulty in day to day interactions, or even anxiety, but Bartleby makes me think about the significance of non-expression. At any rate, Bartleby is a truly thought-provoking character and I will continue to contemplate preferring not to.

Oh and I should mention to that on briefly looking up the book I saw that it was inspired by philosophical tracts of the day that argued for a person's ability to act outside of their own determinism and, in the legal world, the extremely prominent “reasonable man” standard, having been established 3 years prior to the publishing of the story. The fact that it's set in a lawyer's office is no coincidence.

As for the other 3 stories in this collection, I was a little disappointed that there weren't more but I guess this is a smaller collection. I've seen others that include Billy Budd, which is more a novella, and several others but I'll just have to pick them up somewhere else. The Lightning Rod salesman was funny and I enjoyed the ironic responses of the main character. John Marr was okay, short and mostly somber thoughts of a sailor who's retired inland. Benito Cereno is twice as long as Bartleby and probably deserves as much commentary but I don't have a whole lot to say about it. I did enjoy it, the mystery of it, and the similarly strong narrative positioning of the main character. He, similar to the one in Bartleby, takes a very fine comb and generous mien to explaining the evidence of the mystery of the Spanish ship. It seemed to me to be mostly about our narrator's perspective, the racial preconceptions and assumptions of the period, and the way a given circumstance or behavior can be explained in different ways.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent volume from the wonderful Pushkin Press. Four of Melville’s stories are included here, including his perhaps most famous and memorable one, Bartleby the Scrivener, which must be considered a small masterpiece by anyone’s standards. The other three are
The Lightening Rod Man
John Marr
Benito Cereno
I admit to not being a Melville fan, and I especially don’t like Moby Dick, but this collection went some way to redeem him in my eyes, and certainly the book would be a great introduction for newcomers to his writing. And for those Melville aficionados, well, any Pushkin Press book is a joy to have and to hold.

[Andrea Wilcks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stjernerne går til den første historie om skriveren Bartleby. De næste to små historier kom jeg igennem, men måtte give op på den sidste. Ligesom jeg aldrig er kommet igennem Moby Dick 😄

[Jon Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I specifically read the short story Benito Cereno. It was the most difficult five-star review I've had to give, considering on its surface, it is painfully racist. But upon further reflection, Melville quite cleverly shows the misguided ego of the white slave traders and the genius of those who had been enslaved. The writing is certainly not breezy given that it's 150 years old, but Melville successfully builds tension until the release about 3/4 of the way through the novella. This may be the first five-star review I've ever given where I'm not recommending the book to anyone. Just trust me that it's good :-)

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Bartleby, the Scrivener’ and ‘The Lightening-Rod Man’ were both 4 star-worthy, being surprisingly funny. ‘John Marr’ was fine (2.5 - 3 stars) since it was so short, and gave an interesting historical image of an American sailor gone inland (guessing Ohio).

‘Benito Cereno’ is a lot harder to grapple with. It’s a well-made story with action, subterfuge, and the oceanic setting that H.M. excels at. It does drag on a while Cap’n Delano is aboard the San Dominick, but overall it moves along interestingly. All that being said, there are very racist elements to it.

Attempting to circumvent this problem with artistic explanations is not actually possible, however, when there is language not from any character, but from the narrator alluding to racially-inherent dispositions in the ‘nature’ of black people. Babo appears to buck these stereotypes, but he is so sinisterly drawn - and there is no allusion to sympathy for the slaves’ absolutely natural desire to return home, and regain their freedom.

Babo’s willingness to kill and plot for the liberation of the slaves is in no way portrayed as justifiable, and so any allusion to grander, liberal ideology on the behalf of H.M. is junk.

[Steve Essick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve heard said that Herman Melville’s classic story Bartleby The Scrivener is the first true example of existentialism in American Literature. I leave it up to English Scholars to debate the issue, but for me first reading the story in college circa. around 1968 I viewed it as an episode of The Twilight Zone I was not familiar with. With the new release of four classic Melville stories, #IWouldPreferNotTo, which includes Bartleby The Scrivener, I had a golden opportunity to check my hypothesis. Bartleby, the 19th century law office scrivener whose only reply when asked to do anything is, I Would Prefer Not To, is perhaps one of the most alienated characters in American Fiction. But it is the possible explanation appearing at the end of the work which is why in my twisted mentality the story becomes Twilight Zoneish . Then add to that a last line that is as timely today as it was when it was written, a line I’ve taken to using more and more the older I get. On top of Bartleby, #I Would PreferNotTo contains the classic stories TheLightening-Rod Man, John Marr, and the novella Benito Cereno,which makes this a must have for your literature libraries. Don’t leave home without it !

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

to be honest i only really enjoyed one of the stories (bartleby), but the book offers great insight into melville’s skill and dexterity as a writer.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, OK. All of the "essential" stories of Herman Melville boil down to just four titles. There was me worried it might be four shelves full, so that saves time. We begin with one I'd even heard of, "Bartleby, the Scrivener", where a lawyer-type regales us most archly with both the (lack of) view from his office windows and the ridiculous clerics he has working for him, including the most non-conforming cuckoo of a title character. "At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable", indeed. The disdain he gets part of the time is full-on in the next, shorter effort, with an electrical-minded snake-oil salesman and his lightning rods – energetic, and readable, if peppered with high-falutin' vocab and classical reference.

The other short piece here did not give off the 'essential' vibe – a sailor stuck inland on the great American plains sings homage to the other souls in his industry, in a mix of prose and poem. And so we end with "Benito Cereno", a short novel that takes up about 60% of these pages. Here the title character is a Spanish sailor, seemingly stuck in the mental doldrums (or perhaps insolence) with reports of a nightmare voyage that put paid to his masts, officers, water reserves, and a good friend. Our way into finding the truth of the matter is an American captain who may be able to rescue the man, and his slave crew, or may fall victim to some event yet unknown. I liked these pages – they gave me the link I'd not really expected I'd find, in my ignorance, back from the nautical adventures of Conrad. Others will decide to dislike them for the forthright manner about race (and insults to Jews) that mark this a historical piece. The bigger sin to me by far, though, was the prolonging of the is-he-isn't-he questions about Don Benito, which go on for too many pages.

So what did I learn from these four examples? Well, that the man could write. He could also over-write, as was probably typical of his time. I certainly didn't want the works here to ever be a word longer. He can also drop in a Scrabble-beating word here and there, and again a reference to something or someone that will befuddle. Probably an annotated guide to the works would suit the general reader more than this vanilla edition. But I think of this book as a postcard from literature past, and not the full travelogue. This is just a breeze through a window, and you can get the full-on gale if you so wish at a later date. These generally are airy, pleasant breezes, and I'm glad I was able to tick this author off, not that he had ever been on any wish-list of mine. I'll certainly not wade through the whole you-know-what, however satisfying this sampler may have been.

[Milo Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection by Herman Melville inspired me to finally put Moby Dick 🐋 on my TBR. Melville’s humour and storytelling technique are mesmerizing.

This Pushkin Press Collection by Melville features the following 4 stories:

➖ Bartleby, the Scrivener: Bartleby is a typist who’s just started at a law firm, he refuses to do any extra task his employer asks him, simply stating: ‘I would prefer not to’. This is probably one of my all time favorite short stories (along with Gogol’s The Overcoat 🧥and Dostoyevsky’s The Crocodile 🐊 ). Funny and fast-paced, it’s surprisingly easy to read compared to Melville’s other writing.

➖ The Lightning-rod Man: another fairly funny short story about a traveling lightning-rod salesman. I’m not going to lie, I could only see Dwight Shrute while reading this 🤣. Again, very easy to read with witty dialogue (reminds you of The Office slightly).

➖ John Marr: meh-ish story, not very memorable to me, so I was thankful it was quite short.

➖ Benito Cereno: an American captain boards a damaged Spanish slave-trading ship to help out, only to observe peculiar behaviors from both the captain and his crew. This creepy maritime gothic is a slightly challenging read. I imagine the prose is probably more similar to Moby Dick than the other stories. I was a bit bored at the prolonged descriptions of the ship and menial ship maintenance tasks. However, the plot does pay off, moving quite fast with great story developments.

I always thought Melville would be impossible to read, but I finally will be putting him on my TBR based on my experience reading this.

A rare 5 ⭐️ read from Milo 😝

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure joy! Oh, how I love Herman Melville's prose and insight into human nature...truly special. He had such a way with words, intelligence, wit and irony. Though his Moby Dick isn't a favourite book of mine, it would have been a shame to miss this new collection of four short stories. "Bartleby, the Scrivener" is superb, my idea of utter perfection, and my favourite in the book. It practically had me gnaw my tongue in frustration with the clerk and anticipation for the ending but also caused me to chuckle with enjoyment. "Benito Cereno" is also arresting. If the book title alone doesn't entice you, none will.

Anyone seeking unique and brilliant writing ought to read this. I had forgotten how mindblowingly pristine Melville's writing is. The late 19th century is one of my favourite writing eras resplendent with masterful authors.

My sincere thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this extraordinary book, a real treat.

[Aaron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melville is a master. Moby-Dick is obviously one of the greatest novels ever written but Melville can definitely write a great short story. Most of these stories are fantastic and well worth reading for any Melville fan or fans of classic literature in general.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read much Melville, but was happy to see that this is available and to get a change to read it. I had fairly high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. I like classic literature, and enjoyed this collection. I bet this will sell well.

I really appreciate the free review copy!!

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well designed small collection of Melville's shorter works including the classic Bartleby the Scrivener and his novella Benito Cereno. This is well designed as the interior is easy to read with the font size and style and the exterior is very nicely handheld. A very attractive book.

[Brian Defoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Bartleby the Scrivener (reason I bought the book). Also enjoyed The Lightning Rod Man. The rest of the short stories I didn't find as engaging. Moby Dick is my favorite book - so I'd hoped to like these a bit more than I did.

[Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful design was the main reason why I bought this book. I love how the book feels in my hands. Really liked the first two stories but couldn't really connect to Benito Cereno.

[Emmaline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy

[Marina Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely do not know why we force high schoolers to read moby dick (to be clear, I love MD and think it should be read at some point in everyone’s life) when we could let them read “bartleby”