Call Me Ishmaelle -- Xiaolu Guo, Paperback
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick
"Well worth your time . . . By adding in new characters while adhering to the original story, the author creates something new, strange and thrilling."--Los Angeles Times
"An astonishingly ambitious undertaking . . . you're in the hands of a genuine storyteller."--New York Times Book Review
From the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author, a feminist reimagining of Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick through the eyes of one inimitable woman and a diverse, swashbuckling crew
I must work on a ship as a man . . . I must find freedom on the seas.
1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York.
Years later, as the American Civil War breaks out, Ishmaelle boards the Nimrod, a whaling ship led by the obsessive Captain Seneca, a Black free man of heroic stature who is haunted by a tragic past. Here, she finds protectors amidst the bloody male violence of whaling and discovers a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale who claimed Seneca's leg.
Built on the bones of Melville's classic, Call Me Ishmaelle is a dynamic new tale, imbued with an eclectic crew--from a Polynesian harpooner to a Taoist Monk--and a powerful exploration of human nature, gender, man's place among the animals, and the nature of home.
Author: Xiaolu Guo
Publisher: Grove Press, Black Cat
Published: 1/6/2026
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95 lbs
Size: 8" H x 5.05" L x 1.4" W
ISBN: 9780802166494
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