Zen and the White Whale A Buddhist Rendering of Moby-Dick [Hardcover]

[Moby Dick is] a text that cannot be contained by any geographic, disciplinary, or ideological boundaries. Yet, Daniel Herman has caught it . . . in simply one of the most imaginative, creative, and fascinating academic works I have read in years. . . . Hermans fresh, invigorating arguments enlarge rather than restrict other possible readings. . . .It is a testament to Herman that his insights and creativity can expand an already seemingly saturated novel.Daniel Herman, a professor of American literature and a longtime practitioner of Soto Zen, offers yet another perspective in Zen and the White Whale. Noting that there has so far been no thorough investigation of the parallels with Zen philosophy that exist in Moby-Dick, Herman endeavors to fill that gap by examining the principal characters, scenes, and themes of Moby-Dick through the lens of Zen teachings. Focusing first on the biographical and historical contexts of the novel and subsequently on the text itself, Herman calls attention to thematic elements that resonate with Zen teachings. . . .Along the way, Herman also provides concise explanations of central Buddhist themes such as impermanence, interdependence, and dependent co-origination, integrating these themes concretely with scenes and situations from the novel. . . .Hermans pioneering, discerning, and engrossing study of Moby-Dick might well be a model for future studies of Western fiction from the perspective of Zen teachings. Moby-Dick is as vast and wonderful as the whale itself, and like the animal, it admits of many interpretations. I was not at all surprised when I read Daniel Herman's extraordinary investigation into the spiritual life of this eternally intriguing and ineffable book. His 'hyper-thesis' is almost as endlessly interesting; looking at the numinous and the ethical quandaries of Melville's work through a Buddhist lens, he provides us with a vital new view of at the novel, aptly and empathetically reappraised, for the twenty-firsló'