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Moby Dick

By: Herman Melville
Narrated by: William Hootkins
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Publisher's summary

"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
Public Domain (P)2005 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

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What listeners say about Moby Dick

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

One of the best narrators I've ever heard!

The story can be very dry at times. About half of the book is a thrilling adventure turned tragedy and the other half is descriptions of whale organs in romantic language. The narrator does this story so much justice though! The way he does Ahab's monologs are chilling at times.

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  • Overall
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William Hootkins deserves an Oscar for Narration!!

We all know this is a classic for good reason. im just sorry it took me so long to finally commit to finish it.

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  • Overall
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Perfect

William Hootkims is a genius. I'm a dedicated fan now. He brought this to life, and that's NO mean feat considering the inexorable history and weight of the story and it's author. Bravo sir, and thank yoj.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Best narrator working in this field

This classic story was made more incredible by the best narrator I’ve heard (out of dozens and dozens on Audible). His acting, enthusiasm, and nuances in reading kept me fascinated and thrilled. Of course the writing is stellar and incomparable to most anything written since.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Whale of a Tale.

Long but never dull. Verbose but full of meaning. This novel is THE American novel.

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amazing book!

I'm appalled that Amazon doesn't give this (or any classical work) for free as these pieces are ROYALTY FREE. These classical works are free everywhere else as money doesn't go to the author anymore. Amazon takes 100% profit while other apps like AudioAZ has all classical works for free to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Narrator rocks.

I’ve always enjoyed the classics. Well most of them. And I know sometimes they can get a bit tedious in some parts. But this narrator makes this book. Every part of it is wonderful even the more laborious parts. His energy and tone are perfect for the character Ishmael. His inflection and humor keep you going. Loved it. Highly recommend it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fantastic performance and a great novel, but…

This novel definitely earns its status as a great American novel, but I don’t know that I would have made it all the way through it reading it myself. The story is amazing, but the story is only about 1/4 of the novel, leaving the remaining 3/4 as long digressions about whaling, whale anatomy, and other miscellaneous diatribes. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has read other reviews, but I didn’t find it to be as horrendous as others have described. My only problem is that I can get kinda lost in the other portions of the book and not realize it’s slipped back into the narrative. The story itself, though, is fantastic.

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  • Overall
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Outstanding Listening Experience

Bravo William Hootkins!! So good! Herman Melville’s Moby Dick has to be one of the greatest book ever written. And this audible was so well done. Loved it! Sad to hear it end.
Tom Mc

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Thar she blows!

Fabulous story. But it’s Moby Dick. Honestly is one hell of a performance by the narrator. Truly worthy of the story.

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