Moby Dick, or the Whale
Gelesen von Stewart Wills
Herman Melville
(4,496 Sterne; 2760 Bewertungen)
Few things, even in literature, can really be said to be unique — but Moby Dick is truly unlike anything written before or since. The novel is nominally about the obsessive hunt by the crazed Captain Ahab of the book’s eponymous white whale. But interspersed in that story are digressions, paradoxes, philosophical riffs on whaling and life, and a display of techniques so advanced for its time that some have referred to the 1851 Moby Dick as the first “modern” novel. (Summary by Stewart Wills) (24 hr 37 min)
Chapters
Bewertungen
A Must "Read". PERIOD.
Duncansm
(5 Sterne)
What can I say? The book is a classic that's still frequently referenced by everyone from your next-door neighbor to tenured professors, so it's of course helpful to have read it and most certainly important to UNDERSTAND its content. The fact that it's FREE on Librivox is AWESOME because - yes - it's a VERY LENGTHY (sometimes discouragingly so) novel and many START reading but don't finish. With someone reading it TO YOU...There's no excuse not to read the novel in its entirety. *** SUGGESTION: Keep pen/paper handy and be ready to rewind/replay often if you really want to understand Moby Dick. You're going to hear words and phrases you've never come across before, and will want to write them down in order to research their definitions/meanings. If you don't do this, you'll get much less out of the novel and may even become so discouraged that you stop "reading" altogether. That would be a shame. Happy listening!! ;-)
Great reader
(5 Sterne)
The reader really helps bring this book to life. I vaguely remember reading Moby Dick in college and it was a very difficult text to follow, so having a talented reader present the book make ls it vastly easier to understand and follow.
Wish I liked it but sadly disappointing
Nick
(1,5 Sterne)
I wish I loved this book and walked into it wanting to love this book knowing that it was a classic. Yet, quickly I realized that this book is mainly the author complaining about other books and their depiction of whales as well as an encyclopedia of different whales anatomy. I’m not kidding! The entire book and storyline is very short compromising of about a quarter of the book if not less and the rest is filler. Now, I must understand that during those times, the access to information was not widely available as it is now so understanding what a fin looks like and how it works might have been helpful but for today this is a bore fest especially when Melville starts talking about pictures of whales in other books being inaccurate. His actual story is pretty good but the excessive information that doesn’t need to in the book is distracting to his overall story arc. Nonetheless, I finished it anyways so I can give it a review after taking in the full scope of the book. 1.5 stars. I really wish I could give it more.
Thanks all!
John B. Stewart
(5 Sterne)
Thank you to Librivox and Stewart Wills for bringing this to us free of charge. I have tried a number of free audio book apps but this is far and away the best. Loving Stewart's thoughtful and nuanced rendition of this, the Great American Novel. His NE tones are perfect for setting the scene. I tried reading this many years ago but somehow other things got prioritised and I never finished it and being high on the bucket list was determined to someday do so. Now that we are painting our house in Montreal in the South of France, I can listen to Stewart's dulcet tones and vicariously roll with Ismail Queeqeg and captain Ahab hunting the great white whale whilst splattering myself in paint. What a world we live in! John B. Stewart - Melbourne Australia
an epic book read brilliantly
Shelly
(5 Sterne)
Thank you Mr Wills for undertaking a seemingly dauntless task and making it sound effortless. Moby Dick has been on my bucket list of reading for years but have never managed to get far. It strikes me as often Shakespearean in content and delivery and I would not have the fortitude to stick with the many educational digressions and footnotes if I read it. The charictarisations are remarkable if not over lengthy. I actually enjoyed much of the whaling information and history. I felt this contributed to the story which I think can be classed among the great epics of literature. I recommend any one who feels like giving up to stick with it.
One of the best public domain books. Excellent narrator.
Tony B.
(5 Sterne)
Absolutely loved this audiobook. If it weren’t for this recording, I probably would have taken years longer to get to a book which has become an instant favorite. I read it alongside a digital kindle version, which was also free, and which I highly recommend, since the language is sometimes very dense and it can be easy to lose your place in one of Melville’s longer run-on sentences. That being said, this narrator does an excellent job at remaining lively, compelling and easy to understand throughout his reading of this entire tome. Thanks for a great experience!
A True Masterpiece!
Jill Goodrich
(5 Sterne)
Masterfully written. Masterfully read. It was a privilege to set sail with the reader, Stuart Wills, as we voyaged through the realities and frailities of the human condition. We, all of us, are sailing through life aboard the 'Peaquod' admist stormy seas, swarms of sharks... and even the occasional white whale. Thank you Mr. Melville for charting the course!
Well worth a listen!
(5 Sterne)
While Moby Dick may be a very long novel, it is certainly worth a listen! The descriptive imagery and individuality of each character's voice makes all of them, as well as the faithful Pequod, feel like old friends by the end.