Mardi 1000798 219851235 2008-06-17T03:55:23Z Fconaway 2327880 /* Critical response */ One {{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]]