Cluin, in Melville's lifetime, Moby Dick was a colossal failure. It wasn't until it was thrust upon unsuspecting high school kids in English class, that it became a Literary Classic.

I haven't finished it yet either, and some of the 19th century prose is ponderous (like a lot of other 19th century prose) but I think the first few interactions between Ishmael and Queequeg are hysterical.