This is a collection of short stories and novellas. The two stand out pieces are the Benito Cereno and Bartleby the Scrivener. It is all pretty interesting and worth reading though. I find Melville just about the most difficult writer that there is and I don't really think that I understand him at all. But his words are beautiful and there is a lot going on. The Entecadas a collection of sketches of the Galapagos is also compelling, but who knows what it means.