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)

Hard Read

This is a classic and so I'd recommend it but if an author tried to write something like this today, they wouldn't be very popular. The voice actor does an amazing job, by the way.
This isn't really an adventure story. It's more of an autobiography accompanied by a documentary of how the author researched a wrote the story. It has some adventure story spread across all of it. The main character is sometimes Ishmael and sometimes the author, Herman Melville. If you took out all the parts that really have nothing to do with the story, you would have an audio book about 5 hours long. I'm struggling to get through this book. The writing is good and beautiful, it's just dry as the desert. I still recommend it.

Its Moby Dick!

I hoped for more, being that it is suppost to be so great. Im glad I heard it though and at least I know now for myself.

A classic,sure, but a difficult listen

A little hard to stay on track. A better read than a listen. The narration is too fast for the complexity of the language used.

Real hard to get through but worth the tale

Would you try another book from Herman Melville and/or Frank Muller?

I enjoyed the narrators style and cadence. Really helped me make it to the end.

Would you recommend Moby-Dick to your friends? Why or why not?

Ugh. Yes and no. Its a classic tale bit man is it a chore to get through. You've really got to like the genre and be committed.

Any additional comments?

Its just so dang wordy. I mean every single sentence is a long, complex, verbose paragraph. The speech patterns were different back in the time this was written and thank goodness we have become far more efficient in our communication syntax. I consider myself fairly well read and educated and I tuned out to a lot of the rambling, esoteric junk. And the terms he used. They could have been sailing on a space ship for all I understood.

I feel like 85% of it could have been cut out and it would be a smash hit classic. There were like 5 chapters covering the types of whales in the ocean. Like in depth, scientific, economical details on whales.... and some chapters went randomly off topic for long periods of time. And then we get a few about the various whaling regions and whaling men and how they difference in size, attitude, skill, language... then we get the history and evolution of the crows nest. Good grief, shut up Melville and tell the damn story.

The main story is great... just tell me that. That's what I want to hear. Maybe get an abridged version.

Mobey Sails By

What did you like best about Moby-Dick? What did you like least?

I was Surprised by all the Nautical knowledge they shared.. Did not enjoy the Book, too long a narrative to begin with, for me, I have no interest there.. By the time story started, I was tired of the voice... did not really get interested....

What was most disappointing about Herman Melville’s story?

All the Nautical information, in the beginning.. Could maybe move to the rear..

Any additional comments?

My Rating was based on my dissatisfaction with Mobey Dick.... You know what you Like, not me.. thanks Kat R.

Moby Dick

What made the experience of listening to Moby-Dick the most enjoyable?

Being able to listen on my Kindle while following along with the text on my iPad.

What did you like best about this story?

Narrator used different voices for all characters. Book was very well read and made this classic fun to listen to.

Have you listened to any of Frank Muller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

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

No. It was 21 hours

Any additional comments?

Thank you for making these classics available on audio.

Excellent story, impressive narrator

I was really, really impressed with Frank Muller. Can’t say that enough.

This was my first introduction to Moby Dick. I’ve listened to the entirety three times now, and have never listened to another audio book more than once.

The Best

Nothing more to say -- Melville is simply the best. Worth the investment in your time.

Every Bit the Classic

I was leery at first to dive into this book. I had often heard that it was 'the book everyone wants to have read, but no one wants to read.' I finally decided to take the plunge, and after only a few chapters got wholly sucked in. The thoughts and reasonings of the main character Ishmael were very conversational, and he never disappointed in drawing some meaningful comparison to real life and human nature from every aspect of the art of whaling as he described it. I loved the analogies and metaphors the sailors consistently used in their daily language; I think that is a lost skill in our own culture.

Admittedly, the long and detailed descriptions of whale and ship anatomy did get lengthy and somewhat tedious. One must keep in mind, however, that in the day Mr. Melville wrote this book, there was no such thing as Wikipedia or Google Images where one could type in 'sperm whale' and instantly get a clear mental picture. The reader had to rely on the author for details in those days, and this book certainly provided them.

Like a Whaling voyage, a long journey but worth it

So much detail in this book, never did I expect to learn so much about the life of a whaler. So much about the writing makes this story very timeless. Amazing that I only just read it in my mid 30's. The performance is great and I highly recommend giving it a listen.