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)

I never would have been able to read it on my own

Im glad i got this audio book, its one of those novels.... one of those CLASSICS I've heard about but never got around to reading in school, and definitely didn't have the topical interest to pick it up now.

....but by the power of habbit, listening to audio books on trips and workouts, I can happily say "I've listened to Moby-Dick.

The story had key parts that interested me... actually the story parts were great! my mind would start to wander once we got off track on whaling terminalogo, or whale zoology... But my attention always, ALWAYS came back whenever Captain Ahab was in a chapter.

Classic that everyone should experience.

Captivating characters in a exciting tale of adventure. I found myself laughing out loud while listening to several of the passages. I have listened twice now and found several new insights. Worth revisiting.

Language

A little hard to follow some of the language due to the period it was written.

parts of the book skip and pause in the audio

parts of the book are Skippy and just not there
total silence like a broken record.

Impeccably written and read accordingly!

This is a captivating story that grips more tightly as the story continues. Although winding is the tale, in itself Melville is entertaining. The manner which Herman Melville puts you on the ocean in the Pequod with Ahab, but takes you along entertaining notions of jocularity with his apt descriptions is comical while at the turn of a phrase becomes maniacal shows his true genius. I have listened to this book repeatedly because of its entertaining value, but also its true picture of man’s depravity so outlined by Ahab’s desire to thwart God. Ahab is not only the Captain of his ship, but strives to be the Captain of his life in all outcomes, as he sees his own imminent failure.

great story, recording has some issues

the recording sounds like it was damaged at some point. deep bass after narrator stop talking and skipping happens several times

Great story low quality editing.

At multiple points in the story the audio cuts out or repeats sentences interrupting the flow and degrading the experience.

Tremendously Eloquent

I never would have imagined that the adventures of a group of whalers could be so eloquently relayed to a reader, but here's the book that does just that! Herman Melville's expression of even the simplest ideas are given with such incredible phrases that one has to sometimes rewind the narrative (I did, at least) in order to be sure they actually heard what their ears reported. His eloquent use of alliteration was of such spectacular skill that several scenes stood steadily in sight, stuff that easily brings a smile to to a serene listener's face.

We immediately are encountered by social dilemmas of racism and conflicting religious beliefs when Ishmael meets Queequeg for the first time. Fear is the first thing that Ishmael expresses, though he and Queequeg quickly become friends before they even head out on their voyage. On the ship, the existence of good and evil, even of a reigning deity, are examined as we hear of the history and beliefs of other shipmates. All in all, it's a diligent group of men who are either running from their lives on land or searching for something better than the lands from whence they came, even if it's something as simple as adventure.

Mr Frank Muller is an excellent narrator of the book and, though his accents for various characters are very subtle, they're still enough of a change to inform the listener that a new character is speaking, or that Ishmael's commentary has begun again. At times the narrative was so exciting and high-paced that I couldn't have understood what was being said without following along in my book, but, aside from that small glitch, the performance was fantastic. Mr Muller did a great job in delivering sometimes complicated phrases from an amazing author. Very well done, sir!

I loved the writing, but not my cup of tea

Did I enjoy the graphic discussions of the mass killing of whales, the stripping of their blubber from their bodies, the details of their entrails? No, no and nope. This book is from a different era. What a ghastly set of descriptions.

The prose was fabulous and the description and the turn of phrase is a close to poetry as narrative can get. There were a number of very memorable quotations in the book. Namely the chapter on "Fast Fish and Loose Fish." The narrator definitely did justice to this work. I especially liked the character development of Qui-Queg.

You have to listen to this book, but it doesn't mean you have to like the subject matter. It is a must listen on the bucket list.

A trial and a triumph

I must admit that I found Melville's leviathan of a masterpiece to be almost as much a trial as it is a triumph; the "documentary" material on whales and whaling is just vastly out of proportion to what is necessary to tell the story or add vividness and color. Frank Muller's narration, however, never flags in those qualities: vividness, color, urgency, and eloquence are its essence. I've never heard better narration of a classic.