海角大神

Despite its initially disappointing reception in 1851, Herman Melville鈥檚 鈥淢oby-Dick鈥� eventually earned a place in the American literary canon, leading to a tidal wave of biographies, doctoral theses, and spinoffs. The latest is Tara Karr Roberts鈥� beautifully conceived debut novel, 鈥淲ild and Distant Seas,鈥� which deserves a prime spot on the shelf of Melvilleana.

Neither prequel nor sequel, 鈥淲ild and Distant Seas鈥� 鈥� like Sena Jeter Naslund鈥檚 1999 novel 鈥淎hab鈥檚 Wife鈥� 鈥� is an inventive, atmospheric, female-centric story spun from a minor character in 鈥淢oby-Dick.鈥澛�

It鈥檚 unlikely that readers will remember Mrs. Hosea Hussey, who, in her husband鈥檚 absence, serves Melville鈥檚 narrator, Ishmael, and his sidekick, Queequeg, some of her 鈥渟urpassingly excellent鈥� chowder before putting them up at the Try Pots Inn in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the 鈥渇ishiest of all fishy places,鈥� as Melville describes it.聽

鈥淲ild and Distant Seas鈥� begins in Nantucket in 1849, two years before the publication of Melville鈥檚 masterpiece. As in 鈥淢oby-Dick,鈥� Ishmael and Queequeg are preparing to set sail with Captain Ahab on the Pequod for his maniacal pursuit of the great white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship鈥檚 previous voyage. They don鈥檛 hang around long in Roberts鈥� novel, but Ishmael鈥檚 sojourn at the inn changes the course of the widowed proprietress鈥� life 鈥� and is crucial to Roberts鈥� ingeniously constructed story. 聽

The novel鈥檚 central conceit is that Ishmael was not just the sole survivor of the Pequod鈥檚 ill-fated voyage but also the man who actually wrote 鈥淢oby-Dick.鈥�

The first of the novel鈥檚 four narrators, Evangeline Hussey, introduces him with the line: 鈥淗e said I should call him Ishmael,鈥� a locution that echoes one of the most famous opening lines in all literature, but also suggests that the name Ishmael itself might be a pseudonym.聽

It鈥檚 an understatement to say that Roberts fleshes out Mrs. Hussey鈥檚 character: She invents not just a first name for her, but also a backstory and a future. Evangeline鈥檚 legacy comes to include a daughter, a granddaughter, and a great-granddaughter 鈥� all of whom, for reasons I鈥檒l leave to the reader to discover, become as obsessed with finding Ishmael as Ahab was with tracking down Moby-Dick.聽 聽

鈥淲ild and Distant Seas鈥� takes its title from Melville鈥檚 description of Moby-Dick鈥檚 habitat. Like whales, Roberts鈥� novel traverses great distances, following its four generations of resolute women as they strive to take the helm of their lives. All four are helped in their navigations by an unusual, supernatural ability to see beneath the surface of others鈥� thoughts and movements. 聽

The women鈥檚 successive quests send this stirring epic around the globe. Roberts鈥� characters land in the offices of a literary magazine in Boston that serializes Ishmael鈥檚 sea tales; a convent school for orphaned girls in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil; and an apartment in Florence, Italy. Before circling back to Nantucket in 1905, the story takes us to Moscow, Idaho, Roberts鈥� hometown.聽

A pertinent question regarding historical fiction is its contemporary relevance. Why did the author choose to write this story now? The answer 鈥� in novels that include not just 鈥淲ild and Distant Seas鈥� but also Alice McDermott鈥檚 鈥淎bsolution,鈥� Zadie Smith鈥檚 鈥淭he Fraud,鈥� and Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray鈥檚 鈥淭he Personal Librarian鈥� 鈥� is to move marginalized female characters into the light to provide new perspective on the past.

Roberts鈥� novel features a diverse cast of self-sufficient women who offer advice to daughters and friends about how to handle men who patronize or belittle them. Evangeline鈥檚 daughter Rachel writes, 鈥淢y mother had taught me to look a man in the eyes when I needed something from him. She said it frightened them.鈥澛�

A neighbor in Idaho counsels Evangeline鈥檚 teenage great-granddaughter: 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to tell you, Miss Sweet, is that if a woman wants a thing of her own in this world, she鈥檚 got to work for it. ... But she鈥檇 better be sure it鈥檚 worth the work.鈥�

There are also plenty of supportive, thoughtful men in the novel. Young Ishmael is described as tender, restless, and sweet, while Rachel鈥檚 kind husband is actually named Sweet. There鈥檚 a nasty bishop, but there鈥檚 also a lovely old priest who respects his local mother superior as an equal.聽

The seas aren鈥檛 all that鈥檚 stormy, wild, and distant. Daughters chafe at their mothers鈥� overprotectiveness and, driven to forge their own paths, provoke pain as they break away. Many characters hold secrets that invariably cause troubles. If they鈥檙e attentive, they learn that 鈥渢ruth is, indeed, a slippery fish,鈥� and that 鈥渟eeing does not always mean knowing ... [or] understanding.鈥� For that, they must ask questions, listen, and wait.聽

In describing Ishmael鈥檚 magazine stories, which we recognize as parts of 鈥淢oby-Dick,鈥� Rachel says that 鈥渢he prose was simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting.鈥澛�

There鈥檚 nothing exhausting about 鈥淲ild and Distant Seas.鈥�