Moby Dick review

I was hesitant whether to rate it or not, since it’s such a tough read, 19th century English, which is not my mother-tongue to begin with. But that’s not a flaw of the book, but only a hallmark of the time in which it’s written.

But Moby Dick is a gruelling, complex, metaphorical and symbolical read, but in some ways that’s the same as the journey of the Pequod. The book is unique, and it’s so strong it draws you into this one subject this much, and I feel it tells all there is to tell about whaling. I’m drawn into this forlorn era, this forlorn world, its forlorn people and forlorn objects, and having lived in it so vividly, I can sense why Moby Dick is such a timeless classic.

Latest

Arriving at an emotion

Arriving at an emotion

Before moving to China, I wondered what it’d be like to live in an entirely different environment — and it was the same for holidays like Cambodia or Vietnam, or when Hasse was born. You try to imagine these things and how they’d make you feel, how you’d react, or what they’re like. But everytime […]
April 10, 2026
People of Nantong

People of Nantong

I’m carrying Hasse around in Nantong (南通), in the historical block surrounded by the Haohe River (濠河) — while Eva in the hospital visits a sick relative. Hasse, being a seven month old baby, is a true 显眼包 (eye-catcher), so dozens of bypassers turn their head or want to touch her (which I quickly have […]
April 4, 2026
Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

Cozy market alleys and pot stickers

We’re in  Zhuqiao Village (祝桥镇), again. I love these old streets, filled with market stands or scooters and trikes parked everywhere. These alleys are so full of life, devoid of big brands with their uniform protocols and brand guidelines. And because the whole scale of it is smaller than modern shopping malls, everything feels so […]
March 31, 2026
Forgotten patch of land

Forgotten patch of land

The hardest thing to get in Shanghai is silence and solitude, yet there’s this strip nearby our apartment that does provide these things — a patch of land that city developers had no use for. The first time I came here and entered, suddenly something felt weird until I realized it was the absence of […]
March 27, 2026