Sheddingnewlightonbothclassicandlesser-knownworksintheMelvillecanonwithparticularattentiontotheauthor’sliteraryuseoftheBible,NeitherBelieverNorInfidelexaminesthedebatebetweenreligiousskepticismandChristianfaiththatinfusedHermanMelville’swritingsfollowingMoby-Dick.JonathanA.Cook’sstudyisthefirsttofocusonthedecisiveroleoffaithanddoubtinMelville’swritingsfollowinghismid-careerturntoshorterfiction,andstilllatertopoetry,asaresultofthecommercialfailuresofMoby-DickandPierre.NathanielHawthorneclaimedthatMelville“canneitherbelievenorbecomfortableinhisunbelief,“aremarkthatencapsulatesanessentialtruthaboutMelville’sattitudetoChristianity.LikemanyofhisVictoriancontemporaries,MelvillespenthisliterarycareerpoisedbetweenanintellectualrejectionofChristiandogmaandanemotionalattachmenttotheconsolationsofnon-dogmaticChristianfaith.AccompanyingthisambivalencewasalifelongdevotiontothetextoftheKingJamesBibleasbothmoralsourcebookandliterarytemplate.FollowingabiographicaloverviewofskepticalinfluencesandmanifestationsinMelville’searlylifeandcareer,Cookexaminestheevidenceofreligiousdoubtandbeliefin“Bartleby,theScrivener,““Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!,““TheEncantadas,“IsraelPotter,Battle-Pieces,Timoleon,andBillyBudd.Accessibleforboththegeneralreaderandthescholar,NeitherBelieverNorInfidelclarifiestheambiguitiesofMelville’spervasiveuseofreligioninhisfictionandpoetry.InanalyzingMelville’spersistentoscillationbetweenmetaphysicalrebellionandattenuatedbelief,Cookelucidatesbothwell-knownandunder-appreciatedworks.
