Mardi
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{{for|the Central Coast suburb|Mardi, New South Wales}}
'''''Mardi, and a Voyage Thither''''' is the third book by [[United States|American]] author [[Herman Melville]], first published in 1849.
==Overview==
''Mardi'' is Melville's first pure fiction work (while featuring fictional narrators, his previous novels were heavily autobiographical). It details (much like ''[[Typee]]'' and ''[[Omoo]])'' the travelings of an American sailor who abandons his whaling vessel to explore the [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]]. Unlike the first two, however, Mardi is highly philosophical and said to be the first work to show Melville's true potential. The tale begins as a simple narrative, but quickly focuses upon discourse between the main characters and their interactions with the different symbolic countries they encounter. While not as cohesive or lengthy as ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', it shares a similar writing style as well as many of the same themes.
As a preface to Mardi, Melville wrote somewhat ironically that his first two books were nonfiction but disbelieved; by the same pattern he hoped the fiction book would be accepted as fact.
==Critical response==
''Mardi'' was a critical failure. One reviewer said the book contained "ideas in so thick a haze that we are unable to perceive distinctly which is which".<ref name=Miller246>Miller, Perry. ''The Raven and the Whale: The War of Words and Wits in the Era of Poe and Melville''. New York: Harvest Book, 1956: 246.</ref> Nevertheless, [[Nathaniel Parker Willis]] found the work "exquisite".<ref name=Miller246/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikisource}}
* [http://www.riapress.com/riapress/product.lasso?productid=107 Free typeset PDF ebook of Mardi and other Melville novels optimized for printing, plus extensive Melville reading list]
{{Herman Melville}}
[[Category:1849 novels]]
[[Category:American novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Herman Melville]]