Rating ***
Will it grip you? I would say intrigue you
This is not on my reading list, however this was the book I did today in my 19th Century Literature seminar. I think this is worth a mention, because before I had to read this, I had never heard of it. Herman Melville is of course most famous for writing 'Moby Dick'.
This is very very short, less than 100 pages, probably around the 50 page mark. So it's really a short story, which could probably be found on the Internet somewhere.
'Bartleby' is about a man who copies out legal documents all day, deciding one day to say 'I'd prefer not to' to his employer when asked to do anything. The result is his boss, the lawyer, getting extremely irate and not quite knowing how to react to this 'deranged' man. The situation escalates, and it is revealed that Bartleby actually sleeps under his desk. When asked to go home he replies, 'I would prefer not to'.
This extremely comic story soon turns to sadness, when the audience realises that Bartleby seems to have given up on life and that he has nothing to live for anymore, so why do anything at all?
I read this on a train going back home, and I was thinking about it for the rest of the weekend. It has a very sad ending, and my lecturer nearly cried when reading the ending out to us. I think if you read this, it would take you by surprise, as it really does turn out to be an intriguing little read.
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