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La obra de Herman Melville (1819-1891) –una de las más complejas, originales y profundas de la literatura moderna– ha conocido uno de los destinos más extraños que concebirse pueda; apenas valorada en el momento de su publicación, olvidada prácticamente después de su muerte, su redescubrimiento a lo largo de la década de 1930 la situó definitivamente en un lugar de honor dentro de la narrativa moderna. El presente volumen contiene dos novelas breves escritas en distintas fechas y con diferentes propósitos y estilo, pero a las que une la nota común de su ambientación marinera. Benito Cereno (1854) es una historia basada en hechos reales, documentalmente probados ante los tribunales en un juicio que se hizo célebre. Es una de las narraciones más explícitas y sencillas del autor, pero en él los característicos elementos del relato marinero clásico se desarrollan de tal manera que por momentos linda con el de terror. Billy Budd, marinero es una novela póstuma, escrita en 1889 y publicada 1924, que narra la historia de un muchacho ingenuo y lleno de buenos propósitos que se enfrenta con el clima opresivo y agobiante de una tripulación hostil, alegoría tal vez del carácter cerrado, enigmático e inhumano que el mundo tuvo para Melville.

This is an ambiguous tale in which so much is not what it seems, and one that leaves the reader with some ambiguity as to what the author is intending to say. It is an uncomfortable read, in that one wishes to be on the side of Benito Cereno and his crew, who are being held in peril of their lives, and not the mutineers, who appear to have murdered indiscriminately, yet one cannot quite forget that the mutineers are slaves being transported for sale, who are thus justified in their hatred and cruelty.

The rescuing Captain Delano, an American, seems hopelessly naive and unable to follow the obvious clues as to the peril of the situation. Published in 1855, when the question of slavery and abolition is paramount in the States, it is fairly easy to see Delano's refusal to see the facts as a condemnation of those who refuse to face the moral issues of slavery and whitewash over the realities of the institution and the damage it does, indeed the peril it poses, to all involved. Delano is a kind man, but it would seem more than kindness is needed.

That Melville is grappling with perhaps the largest issue of his time is obvious. The end of the story, and the fate of the ship's "cargo" highlights how little chance these people have of escape and how desperate their situation truly is--but Cerano's fate tells us something as well, that the moral turpitude leaves no one unscathed. ( )

813.3 MEL

I've always felt this was actually Melville's best work. ( )