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)

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.

just don't

Everything enjoyable in the movie isn't in the book. Maybe the abridged version is tolerable but right now I want to throat punch Ishmael for boring me with every possible minutiae pertaining to whales. Don't get this.

A classic that wasn't for me

The story was well written with a ton of information about whaling and whales in general. For myself, I was uninterested in lot of this knowledge and at times felt I needed to stop and start to get myself through some sections. A good book, just not my cup of tea.

Melville is funny & this is the best way to read it!

I've always wanted to read Moby Dick & I scoffed at reviews that the thick epic was funny. But there are some hilarious little asides that you have to really pay attention to in order to laugh. It's stone-faced British humor, to be sure.

For example: “He too lives like a Czar in an ice palace of frozen sighs, and being a president of a temperance society, he only drinks the tepid tears of orphans.”

Anyway, if you always wanted to read it, this is a great way to power through it. I plan to read it again next year at this time to catch all the stuff I missed.

Spoiler Alert:

P.S. This ain't Jaws. The whale doesn't show up until the last hour.

This book is fun and the narrator the best

Moby Dick is a favorite book for several professional teachers. The book is everything that is wonderful about 19th century literature and more. Personally I think this book attempts to add itself to the dictionaries of American literature. Louis Menand indicated in the Metaphysical Club that America had 3 dictionaries at the time of the Civil War. The Bible, Homer, and Shakespeare inform a reader and the combination finds a mutual requirement for understanding and an idea of competence. Moby Dick moves within these dictionaries to add the new voice of Natural History. All these recognitions do not take away from a fun book and wonderful language. The narrator is celebrated and mourned for his achievements in voice. We are so lucky he tackled this book in the years he could work. The story has drama and has been filmed several times. Film only provides the basis of the surprise. This book is fun to read or in this case enjoy being read to by a great artist of voice.

A classic then, a classic now

I didn't imagine how entranced into this book I would become. A fantastic and unexpected listen.

Great book to listen to.

Difficult read made easy by the excellent narration. I was really impressed with the variety of character voices that I felt put me right in the scene.

Laughed Out Loud for the First Half of the Book

I had no idea this book was so funny. I couldn't stop laughing for about the first half of the book. Then it got fairly serious and I enjoyed the latter part but not as much as the start. Overall, an extremely good read.