Margaret Loewen Reimer, in one of the first critical studies based on the book, noted that Dillard's treatment of the metaphysical is similar to that of Herman Melville.
Margaret Loewen Reimer，在此书的首批批判性研究中指出迪拉德对待形而上学的方式如同赫尔曼·梅尔维尔一样。