The Piazza Tales

The Piazza Tales is more approachable and just as compelling as any of Melville's longer works. In its six short stories, we find, among other fascinating characters, an office worker who refuses to work, a shipload of rebellious slaves, at least one charlatan, several unhinged sailors, some outright madmen, a marooned woman, and a secretive, self-destructive inventor. In addition, as pretentious as it might sound, there are life lessons to be learned, and solace to be had, in the two undoubted masterpieces of the book: "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno." The first will be relevant as long as paperwork endures, while the second is a commentary on race relations that is as vital today as it was when it was written in the mid-1850s.