The real crime of this book is that, despite the fact that I didn't like the Hawthorne books I read in high school (although I remember very little of them now) and have enjoyed the snippets of Moby-Dick I've encountered throughout my life, Melville's characterization was so frustrating that I spent the whole book going "Hawthorne, you could do so much better!" (and in fact already have done, his wife seems perfectly lovely.) I am all in favor of the writing of alternate Melville slash pairings just so someone can give me a fictional Melville that I actually support! READY FOR THE SHIP WAR.