Books

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Respectable Dr Jekyll loses the battle against his dark alter ego Mr Hyde. 

If you’re into gothic horror, which is to say horror where nothing actually scary or horrifying happens, then you should read this. It’ll only take you a couple hours. 

Otherwise, you can probably just remain content with your familiarity with the Jekyll/Hyde dichotomy. 

Do not, like me, make the mistake of reading this book with the expectation of finding something more nuanced or interesting than that. There’s no fun adventure and the twist, such as it is, has no extra punch in the context of the full work. 

Eminently skippable.

Billy Budd

Lovable sailor gets bullied by an officer, accidentally kills him with a punch, and gets put to death for it. 

This is much more a story of hierarchies and humans than of the sea. It’s almost entirely sustained by its person vs person conflicts, and you could set it in an army or even an office with little loss of effect. 

That is, a writer as good as Melville could. 

And that’s really the only call for reading this book. If you, like me, have read Moby Dick a few times and still crave a bit more time with Melville, then this is a solid pick. 

Otherwise, it’s the kind of book you can slot in at the very bottom of your list, well below Moby Dick and many other worthier titles, and read late in life or never. 

It’s worth reading, but not worth prioritizing.