Moby-Dick

By: Herman Melville

Narrated by: James Conlan

Herman Melville’s classic masterpiece tells the story of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby Dick, a white sperm whale of tremendous size and ferocity. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, and Ahab intends to take revenge. The first line—"Call me Ishmael"—is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature.

Public Domain (P)2012 Cherry Hill Publishing

Is this a novel or a lecture?

What would have made Moby-Dick better?

Maybe reading the Bridge version first. Or not being told, what a masterpiece it is.

What was most disappointing about Herman Melville’s story?

Some of his character build up, felt like lectures, rather than a story, or a narrative.

Which scene was your favorite?

The beginning were the bond between Queequeg and Ishmael is told. Then the book turn into a lecture and it drag until the last couple of chapters

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Moby-Dick?

Cut the middle!

Any additional comments?

For years I wanted to read this book, seeing how many friends have read it in high school or in college and stated it was great. While other friends dislike it, because they HAD TO READ it. My only knowledge of the story was about Captain Ahab’s obsession. I enjoy the narrator voice and how he brought to life the different characters. I was drawn into ‘Queequeg’ early on, but was disappointed how this character disappear in the story and was mention briefly later in the book. I was surprise how much in depth it got into certain subjects, where I felt I was sitting in a lecture every time; where I recall hearing “footnote” a couple of times. I enjoy character build up, but this book drag. I finally finished it, but it was dreadful, to finish it.

Abridged version please!

I listened to the unabridged because I did not want to miss anything! This book with all of it's superfluous information made it a daunting task to undertake. Albeit, I understand why the information was written. In my mind, it takes up time as on the voyage and the day in and out of the monotony that takes place. Also, the adventures and dangers of whales and whaling in and of itself.

If you want to listen to only the story for the excitement, or nuts and bolts of the story, being Captain Ahab's incessant lure to strike revenge on Moby Dick then read the abridged version. You won't really miss anything.

The narrator's voice of the main character made it difficult as well for me. It was nice and clear but no real depth to it. The main characters voice was strong and firm and Puritanical as the main character is portrayed but it doesn't make for great listening.

Now, as for the other characters he did a fantastic job.

The narrator spoke eloquently and fluidly, but still a hard listen for me merely for the portrayal of the main character's voice. Combine that with the superfluous information in the book by Melville it was a true struggle to finish.

I also spoke to a lot of friends who "read" the book and they never made it through merely for how boring the extra inforation, Melville put in the book, made it. This format at least gives you a venue to finish in a shorter amount of time versus reading it and you can knock a classic off of your bucket list. Plus you can put it on a faster reading speed to listen to it and make it a shorter book.

Long but good

What did you like best about Moby-Dick? What did you like least?

it is a great story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Herman Melville? Why or why not?

yes - it was a clasic story and i like that era of time.

What does James Conlan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

he is a good story teller.

Do you think Moby-Dick needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

it was enough

Any additional comments?

None

My reward for finishing was Asylum Moby Dick movie

I did listen to almost all of it; there was one character I fast forwarded through every time he opened his mouth because I got tired of his bigoted talk. I loved the great lines that the book is famous for, but my goodness the book is long winded. The narrator should be commended for reading this book aloud.
I really did hunt down the Asylum version of Moby Dick. It was delightfully awful. A great treat after slogging through this book. I couldn't not have finished the book if I had read it instead of listening to it.
Asylum also made a delightfully awful Sherlock Holmes film. It is an ironic jewel in my Sherlock Holmes DVD collection :)

A good performance for a tedious book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The writing is dated, the story is dragged out by the periods science and guess work. The writing is okay but lacks a poetry that the classical French writers like Dumas or Russia's Tolstoy had in their work. I think the classic is out dated unfortunately.

Would you ever listen to anything by Herman Melville again?

Not sure, his characterisation was excellent however his reading was static and had a feeling of regimentally. It was like a military drum pounding out the rhythm of the words which became boring to listen to. Half the characters sounded like each other or clique pirates. It was done well though.

What character would you cut from Moby-Dick?

Not sure as all the characters are necessary to tell the story however they could of been melded into just a few or at least had some depth to their personalities. Few ever changed from beginning to end making them into 'cartoon' characters. Others spoke in such a 'backward' way you wonder if only simpletons went hunting whales. I found the most interesting characters to be Starbuck but even he was not a strong enough character to make the story interesting.

Any additional comments?

I am not sure why this book is a classic. Why it is considered great literature. Don't think it has any real value in English literature, historical value or even contributes to popular culture as there are far better characters out there who show the follie of pursuing your vengeance to the destruction of all. I did not enjoy this book and glad I will never have to look at it every again. The production however and James Conlan did do an excellent job.

A story or advertising copy?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A narrator who knows how to read aloud.

If you’ve listened to books by Herman Melville before, how does this one compare?

N/A

Would you be willing to try another one of James Conlan’s performances?

Definitely not! He sounds like he is reading an advertisement, not telling a story.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Moby-Dick?

None. A classic shouldn't be abridged.

Any additional comments?

I want my credit back for this book.

Terrific.

Where does Moby-Dick rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

So far, this is my favorite audio book because the narrator is spot-on to characters' personalities.

What does James Conlan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr. Conlan narrates so well that the story is a lively performance rather than a slog, which if I had read it, it may have turned in to. There is an ironical humor throughout the book that Mr. Conlan captures by his reading. I was not expecting to smile and outright laugh so often at Ismael's descriptions and judgements and characterizations, but such is the personality of Ismael that Mr. Conlan is able to completely bring to life.
There are many asides in this story, and Mr. Conlan sounds delighted by them all and brings that delight to the reader, who can but help be entertained as well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a long story with many asides and wanderings and lectures. It is a joy to listen to over time without feeling that you may have missed something. You MAY have missed something, but it doesn't matter.

Any additional comments?

I have put off reading Moby Dick for years and I'm glad that I did. LIstening to it may be the easy way out, but it has enhanced the book in ways that my reading of it would have missed.

An intolerable reading of a great novel.

I was fortunate in that I did not have Moby-Dick shoved down my throat in a high school literature class. That tends to sour kids on any novel, no matter how truly good it is. I picked it up of my own volition later in life and really enjoyed it. Melville used such a pleasing, poetic style of writing in this tale.

It's been quite a few years since then, and this version was on sale, so I thought I'd give it a listen. I couldn't go the distance. I gave it about three hours and had to stop. The narrator was intolerable. He sounded like he was doing a voice over for a commercial or narrating one of those cheesy Discovery/TLC TV shows like "How Stuff is Made". I found him really irritating and he did not give the story the solemn dignity I pictured in my mind when I read the dead tree version. I'm going to ask for my money back.

There are quite a few versions of this novel available on Audible, so I would suggest listening to the samples before choosing one (I wish I had). Moby-Dick is a great story and I highly recommend it, just not this version.

not what you think it is

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

this was supposed to be a book about obsession, but wow was it unfocused.

What was most disappointing about Herman Melville’s story?

not much of a story at all

What about James Conlan’s performance did you like?

good narrator, nothing bad there

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Moby-Dick?

all but about two hours are relevant, and being that we already know alot about whales, this book borders on pointless and irrelevant.

Any additional comments?

this really is not much of a story, and quite frankly, how this ever became a classic is well beyond me. I can understand how it would be a great basis for countless shows and movies, but it was easily one of the most disappointing reads I have experienced. I have listened to about one hundred and fifty audio books, and this almost became the second I had to turn off because I just stopped caring. If you want a good, and suprisingly interesting classic, check out frankenstein, it didn't disappoint.

Worst Narration Ever

I was so looking forward to the listen, I'll have to choose more carefully when there is more than one narration to choose from.