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It takes courage to reimagine a classic. 

Xiaolu Guo was drawn to Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” from the first time she read it in her native Chinese. The writing was lyrical — hard to translate — and the descriptions of sailing were dense. But the symbolism of the great white whale and the sea-faring captain obsessed with revenge captivated her. 

Her new novel is a retelling of this classic with a young girl at its center. Protagonist Ishmaelle goes to sea, disguised as a boy, in a desperate grasp for freedom. She wants to leave poverty, gender norms and religious traditions behind. When she ends up on a whaling ship, captained by a free Black man named Seneca, she meets a swash-buckling crew of people who broaden her world — and ours. 

Guo joins host Kerri Miller this week to talk about her reimagined “Moby-Dick” which probes gender, race, humanity’s connection to animals and the nature of belonging.

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In her new novel, “Call Me Ishmaelle,” author Xiaolu Guo refashions “Moby-Dick” with a modern, feminist sensibility. 

'Moby-Dick' is recast with a woman at its center in 'Call Me Ishmaelle'

A book cover and author photo of "Call Me Ishmaelle" by Xiaolu Guo

'Moby-Dick' is recast with a woman at its center in 'Call Me Ishmaelle'

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