Moby Dick

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Alan Munro

Length: 26 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Moby-Dick is widely considered to be the Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story details the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. And Ahab intends to take revenge.

Public Domain (P)2013 Trout Lake Media

Heed the advice

How could the performance have been better?

I didn't understand what the other reviewers were talking about when I listened to the available sample for this reading, so I purchased it... but a few pages in, it struck home that the book is read with a complete lack of attention to the actual content of the text.

There's plenty of inflection-- but it's the same inflection, over and over, regardless of punctuation; it turns Herman Melville's long, full, beautiful sentences into endless abrupt, normal-length sentences that are unrelated to each other. The narrator's reading makes it nearly impossible to synthesize what is actually being said. For that reason, this audiobook is absolutely not for someone "reading" the book for the first time.

Worst narrator

What would have made Moby Dick better?

I don't think the narrator understood what he was reading. It was awful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr dick

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I don't think the narrator understood what he was reading. It was awful.

Boring!!!! OMG!

Any additional comments?

I don't typically write reviews. I don't find myself to be very eloquent, however, I must comment on the narration of this audiobook. The reader, to put it in modern terms...sucks! He is very boring and mispronounces a lot of words, especially naval terms. The reader sounds like a human computer. He puts emphasis on the wrong syllables and pauses in the wrong places. I think Siri could have read the book much better! I could not listen to him for more than a couple of hours, so I cannot comment on whether the story is actually any good or not. I am going to download this book from a different reader like Frank Muller in hopes that it will be a more enjoyable listen.

Awful version. . .

What would have made Moby Dick better?

Moby Dick is a classic - indisputable - this audio version is awful though. Its painful to listen too, the voice actor sounds like he went to Shatner's School of voice acting. The audio pulled me out of the story every time I tried to listen to it.

Any additional comments?

Do not get this audio version, try another one.

Yes, bad narration

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Ha! Well, I'd tighten up the writing some, maybe add a boy wizard... That captain is really a downer.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator has a lovely resonant voice, but he seems to be coming upon the words for the first time as he reads them. He mispronounces some fairly common words as if he doesn't quite know where the story is going from one phrase to the next.

I CANNOT LISTEN TO THIS NARRATOR!

WORST NARRATOR EVER! BEWARE BEWARE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! BEWARE ANYTHING READ BY THIS INCOMPETENT MAN!

Lackluster Narration

Munro has a pleasant voice, but is completely lackluster and boring in his reading. It sounds like an AI on reds. No inflection or emotion. This is only useful for insomniacs needing something to put them to sleep. Whoever thought it was a good idea to have this guy narrate this should be fired. It will turn off so many people to a great American classic novel.

The best narration of this book is done by Frank Muller. Check that one out and you won't be sorry. Now if only Dick Hill would do it as Reacher... that would be something, "that's for damn sure".

Terrible narration. Not even worth the $0.69 I paid for it.

I couldn't make it more than a few minutes in, the guy pauses between words for absolutely no reason.

Do not buy this version, do yourself a favor.

It's not even worth 69 cents.

Bad Narrator

I bought this edition without reading reviews. I only listened for about 30 minutes, then bought a different version. Don't take my word for it, look at the other reviews. Great book, just try another.

Unpopular opinion: I hate Moby Dick

I've tried so many times and different formats with Moby Dick. It's just not for me. I love most classic lit but I can't with this one 😑

Maybe if it were abridged and read by my favorite actors in the whole world. Too much side information from other works at the time. A little too even keeled of a reading but that could just be the text.

AVOID!

Would you try another book written by Herman Melville or narrated by Alan Munro?

Alan Munro comes very close to managing to spoil this exceptional novel. I actually came on to double check the narrator was a real person and not a computer program. Clearly he is reading the book for the first time as he narrates but even so his failure to use intonation correctly is spectacular! He repeatedly places emphasis on the wrong part of the sentence which mangles meaning and utterly spoils the experience by jarring with the listener. Like all audible narrators he also feels obliged to employ a series of terrible accents for characters. Do read this wonderful book but don't let Alan Munro read it to you.

What didn’t you like about Alan Munro’s performance?

All of it. He places intonation in the wrong place consistently and as such distorts the authors intent. Truly the worst narrator I have ever heard.

Did Moby Dick inspire you to do anything?

Yes I went whaling afterwards, what do you think?

Poor

I spent the first chapter trying to work out if the book was being read by a human or a computer, the speech marked with a lack of intonation and misplaced pauses. Then I turned it off in disgust.

A great book, utterly ruined. The first book on Audible that I've been truly disappointed with.

Unlistenable

The reading is awful. it's almost as though it were read by a machine. There's little rhythm and music. it's such a pity. This is the first book that's disappointed me. In most, the reading is amazing.

Idiosyncratic Narration Gets In the Way Of Story

My enjoyment of this wonderfully panoramic and encyclopaedic novel which has stood the test of time is somewhat blunted by the performance of the narrator, who seems to mispronounce certain words and at times comes across more like a computer generated script reader than a natural story teller. A real shame, because the Novel is a wonderful and an enduring classic.

Poorly read.

Poorly read. EmPHASis all wrong. Such a crazy good book deserves more effort. Did the narrator read the book before recording?

Awesome

This was my most fascinating audible experience. Super everlasting story with all the wisdom of the world. Great voice..

generally good - good value

would have been much better if the reader hadn't tried to do accents during dialogue. These were cringeworthy at best and some were terribly stereotypical

Sounds like metal mickey

Quality is very poor.
Sounds like the story is read by a robot
Very disappointing

Thaar she blows

Well this one does not blow at all . A bit of a tomb to be honest but well worth the perseverance .the rich and interesting characters all demand your attention . The action when it comes is honest brutal and engaging . The writing style took a little getting used to, however it added to the feel of the book so much that by the end I could not have imagined it written any other way .

A world classic, but...

I’m afraid the narrator is not a good reader. Like reading a shopping list. The voice becomes a buzzing in the ear. Such a shame.