Moby Dick

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The outcast youth Ishmael, succumbing to wanderlust during a dreary New England autumn, signs up for passage aboard a whaling ship. The Pequod sails under the command of the one-legged Captain Ahab, who has set himself on a monomaniacal quest to capture the cunning white whale that robbed him of his leg: Moby-Dick. Capturing life on the sea with robust realism, Melville details the adventures of the colorful crew aboard the ship as Ahab pursues his crusade of revenge, heedless of all cost.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The greatest of American novels." ( Atlantic Monthly)
"[A]n intense, superbly authentic narrative. Its theme and central figure are reminiscent of Job in his search for justice and of Oedipus in his search for truth."( Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature)

Anthony Heald is an exceptional reader.

I have intended to read Moby Dick for years and finally landed in this audiobook. Heald brings to life the complex and masterful writing of Melville.

Greatest Novel, Excellent Reader

This is my favorite novel of all time, and the reader of this unabridged version does it justice! Having read Moby Dick many times, it's nice to enjoy the audio version that gives it a new dimension, to be sure.

A Classic, Read Splendidly

The book needs no introduction. Part melodrama, part encyclopedia (one comes away with a fairly intimate sense of the 1850s-era whaling industry and the whaling life), part philosophy, all driving forward like a ship under full sail. The last third of the book is as fine writing as we have.

The narration does all this justice. Heald has fashioned a voice and cadence which seem the man Ishmael himself, and bring his world to life -- perhaps more vividly to life than scanning the words on a printed page would match. One should not be without this experience.

Great performance. Solid, not great, book.

I tried to pick up Moby Dick in high school and didn't like it, so I thought I would listen to it as an adult. It really could use a good abridgment...it is really only exciting in the last few chapters and some of the exposition droned on and on before that, even with a great performance by Mr. Heald. Still, I know that is part of the style and I understand now why it is considered a classic of American literature. It would be interesting to read or listen to a scholarly commentary on a number of themes in the book, its legacy, and the legacy of 19th century whaling. I like the abrupt ending...it's all climax and then postscript.

Good Audiobook

Good narration of a classic whale of a tale. Would listen to again.
A long listen but a worthy one.

Fabulous!

I never realized, until I listened to this Blackstone audio version, how much Melville was influenced by Shakespeare! This audio version will make EVERYONE a Moby Dick fan. Can’t say enough about this marvelous audiobook!

It's a sinking ship. Don't say I didn't warn you

Wow! I guess I have never read this, or I chose to block it out of my memory if I did. It had such a great start, but it was all downhill from there. Or perhaps, in a more fitting, seafaring tone: A beautiful ship that began taking on water as soon as it left the shore?

Reading Moby Dick for the story is akin to having your entire car dismantled by an auto shop when all you asked for was an oil change. Melville should have written two books: the first being "Moby Dick" and a second entitled "Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Whaling."

The start of the book was fantastic buildup for the tale until the Pequod set sail, and then the story just died. The story is constantly interrupted by chapters explaining the history of whaling or the parts of the ship, or methods of doing this or that. Half the book was a guide for how to be a whaler. There was one chapter (a particularly long chapter) that even went into detail defining every type of known whale which was terribly inaccurate (although probably the only info available in the 1850's). It felt like the pace of the book went with maybe one or two chapters on the story or character interactions, and then three to five chapters covering "oh, I should mention how this part of the ship functions ..." or "let's discus the body parts of the whale so you understand what I'm talking about when I mention this in the next chapter..." or "here's some history on such and such." Some of the interruptions are informative and helpful, but others just drag on and on about some topic I didn't care about (two chapters discussing the significance of the color white for all things peaceful and pure in nature except for the the extremely deadly white animals). Describing the history of paintings and artwork depicting whales, etc.

When I was 33% of the way through the book, I posted the following update on GoodReads: "Melville goes off on so many metaphoric tangents, it's easy to get lost/bored. Reminds me of what a friend pointed out about a mewithoutYou song called 'The Dryness and the Rain.' The lyrics describe the destruction of a storm, and then reach the point that "You were not that strong wind or that mighty sound," and rather than continuing on with his point, he goes back to the metaphor and the aftermath of the storm." And if I was bored at 33%, just imagine how rough it was to get through the rest of the book.

So I understand why this is a classic. It truly is an amazing literary work, but I really just wanted to listen to the story of it. I didn't want (or expect) everything else that went with it. And then, after all that build-up, and finally making it to the end... ugh... It's like telling a child not to climb on something because they're going to fall, and then they climb on it and fall anyway and you're just left there shrugging saying "I told you so." Foreshadowing throughout the whole book said "Don't hunt the white whale, it'll be the death of you."
The one redeeming factor of this Audible version was the narration. Anthony Heald did an outstanding job! If not for his narration, I wouldn't have made it through the book. I honestly could have believed that he was Ishmael retelling the tale from his own journals. He created unique voices for all the characters, and really brought everything to life.
I just wish I had picked up an abridged version that cut out all the parts that didn't add anything to the story.

Entertaining and informative

Well done! Expertly written and the narration is superb. You will never tire of this book, it is a keeper!

Best narrator ever!

Anthony Heald really brings this story to life! By far the best narration I've ever listened to!

Glad to have it, not easy to listen to

I picked this up as a free download a while back, and all I can say is that I am glad I did not pay for it. The old style English is fun, but it's really hard to listen to and understand. I definitely don't recommend it for your commute. You have to put too much effort into paying attention to the words rather than the road.

The performance is good. The reader does a great job with the old style language.

The story is pretty meh. I'm about 50ish chapters in (about 1/3 done) and I can sum up in about 10 sentences everything that has physically occurred in the story line. Everything else is fluff. Decently interesting fluff, when you can focus long enough to understand, but fluff nonetheless.