Benito Cereno

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The noblest short story in American literature." (Edward J. O'Brian)

Follow his leader

I really liked the overall plot and development of the story. There are subtle hints foreshadowing what is to come, and I like how the pace picked up as I got closer to the end of the novella.

My word! This could be used for instruction only.

This well written and well narrated story was painful to listen to. I believe one needs to understand the non-black peoples in this story were raised believing... And ,unfortunately, scenarios such as this have been repeated since man was able to travel and subdue other peoples.

Underrated and underread classic

Novella that reveals Melville’s gifts in a much easier format than Moby Dick. Incredible historical fiction that is well worth the three hours to listen. Highly recommend.

Scholarly symmetry

Melville musters up as much detachment as he can in presenting the facts of the enslaved Senegalese and other Africans. It is far from perfect. But he remains honest to his own cultural leanings with no bravado in overthrowing them for purposes of romance with the result that, over a hundred years later, the reader can ascertain the facts and make their own judgement. The symmetry of the plot is as perfect as it is incidental.

The literary equivalent of a caste painting from the same time

Somehow still part of the literature canon, this garbage book book tells a tale; stacked full of sexualization of humans described as animals , perverse notions of civility, of clear anti-Blackness, a hierarchy amongst whites on a spectrum of white supremacy, offers a horrific glimpse into a celebration of nautical torment and hypocracy that a group of enslaved people might fight against them who abducted them to make a way back to their home of origin is a criminal act.

And stop doing accents if it is not your own.

Timeless Meditation on Racial Hatred

Would you consider the audio edition of Benito Cereno to be better than the print version?

The audio version enhances reading this 19th Century masterpiece. It is not a substitute. I did both read and listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character is Melville. While he is not a character in the book, it is his language-so baroque and atmospheric- that perfectly imparts his tale of mystery and fog and remote Chilean seacoasts. Impending violence is swimming just under the surface. Just as in the big book he wrote about a sea captain and a whale.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?

The American sea captain. I thought SR artfully hinted at the captain's developing suspicions and how those suspicions had to be sorted out in the face of the Captain's observations and his essentially generous and kind nature.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It didn't make me laugh or cry. But it did remind that the events we read about in our post 911 era are not so different than even 19th century challenges.

Any additional comments?

This is a book you can (and probably should) read/listen in one sitting. It is one of Melville's best and is not a huge commitment.

Fascinating if you are interested in the period and slavery

The plot is really not much, it feels like a very detailed explanation of a complicated situation more than a story. But given that Melville was one of the only white male American authors of the period who took a truly abolitionist stance, this is a fascinating novel.

One of Melville’s underrated books

First read this in a college history class, pleasantly surprised to find a book by Melville that isn’t Moby Dick. Melville does a good job building an uneasy atmosphere on the boat that is almost gothic in its execution. Short length, so this book is easy to get through even in the middle of a semester. The narrator has a very deep voice, almost like an announcer, I don’t know if it fits the story.

improper pronunciation of nautical terms

I gave the performance a low review because of pronunciation of nautical terms. How hard is it to get these things right? the forward part of the ship where the crew sleep is pronounced folk-sul not fox-hole, etc

A great book

A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be relatable for me and I found great relation with the author and protagonist and I further highly recommend this book.