Moby-Dick

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Its famous opening line, "Call me Ishmael", dramatic in its stark simplicity, begins an epic that is widely regarded as the greatest novel ever written by an American. Labeled variously a realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure and eccentric characters, a symbolic allegory, and a drama of heroic conflict, Moby Dick is first and foremost a great story. It has both the humor and poignancy of a simple sea ballad, as well as the depth and universality of a grand odyssey.

When Melville's father died in 1832, the young man's financial security went too. For a while he turned to school-mastering and clerking, but failed to make a sustainable income. In 1840 he signed up on the whaler, Acushnet, out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was just 21. A whaler's life turned out to be both arduous and dangerous, and in 1842, Melville deserted ship. Out of this experience and a wealth of printed sources, Melville crafted his masterpiece.

Public Domain (P)1987 Recorded Books, LLC.

Critic reviews

"Master narrator Frank Muller makes the most of his astonishing theatrical talents and vast experience to perform this tale of extraordinary drama. Muller uses emphasis and pauses to bring clarity to the visual depictions of life on the high seas, as seen by the doe-eyed Ishmael as he is led by the maniacal Captain Ahab. Listeners will hear the depth of emotions in Muller's voice as he paints the stark and shattering visuals of this classic story of revenge and, ultimately, survival." (AudioFile magazine)

It's about a big fish

The book is wordy in places, but two of the things Melville does extremely well are his use of alliteration and his ability to convey action through dialogue.

Yes, it's about a whale hunt and how dangerous they are, and maybe it's all the chapters he diverts from the main story to talk about whales, but somewhere along the way I began to root for the whale. That's the true genius of the story, he gives us likeable protagonists and, by the end of the book, still has you actively hoping they'll lose.

Spectacular

Worth every penny. I enjoy listening to this book regularly. Great performance by the narrator Frank Muller and Melville’s writing is amazingly insightful and intelligent. It’s fascinating to me how much knowledge one person could have so long ago. Enjoy

Basically perfect

I rolled my eyes when I heard a friend was reading this. I was so wrong.

The book is stupid good. Funny, insightful, creative, touching and suspenseful. There’s a lot of description, but all of it serves a purpose in explaining the story.

It reminded me there is true talent and things to admire in the world, despite all the ugliness and idiocy of our times.

Too much filler!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It started with about 3 hours of first person narrative, then 16 hours of needless lecturing by a third person omniscient but ending with 3 hours of a decent story. Those 16 hours could be skipped and the reader would almost certainly view the ending the same as after reading the entire novel.

Would you ever listen to anything by Herman Melville again?

His writing does have a pleasant poetic feel to it, so I would if it was half as long

Classic. Must read!

Do you know the fate of Ishmael , capt ahab and his crew and the book warns of flcinfronting foes whom would rather swim away till they are pushed to their limit.

Avast, mateys!

Any additional comments?

Paints a vivid picture of the early whaling days in New England. The prose is almost lyrical. Somehow I didn't read this growing up. (Probably it's too long to assign in school.) Glad to have it on audible.

The novel the has it all!! Incredible!

If you could sum up Moby-Dick in three words, what would they be?

Man vs God

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ahab.Although he didn't say a whole lot for 2/3 of the book, his mono-meglomanical rants rained down from the heavens.

Which scene was your favorite?

I wish the chase would've gone on for three more days! Three days were just too short. Griping and effective, but too short.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The "coincidences" that happened to Ahab personally while chasing the whale that caused him to examine the very nature of his battle, rattled me. I tried to imagine being put in the same position myself and wondered how I would've arrived at a rational explanation at those times.

I was in college when First read this classic

Where does Moby-Dick rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Excellent all around -great spoken word

What other book might you compare Moby-Dick to and why?

There is no comparison-the book operates on so many levels

Which character – as performed by Frank Muller – was your favorite?

ahab had a brooding evil quality

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but it is long

Any additional comments?

Timeless and thought provoking

Fantastic reader

This is a giant slow book read with great drama, clarity, and emotion. The reader performed miracles with this text.

Too Many Words

Something about the 19th Century imbues most writers of that era with the notion that more words makes for a better novel, and Melville is no exception. Hard to listen to.