“The greatest of American novels.” Atlantic Monthly
Description
One of the great works of American literature, Moby-Dick is the epic tale of one man’s fight against a force of nature.
The outcast youth Ishmael, succumbing to wanderlust during a dreary New England autumn, signs up for passage aboard a whaling ship. The Pequod sails under the command of the one-legged Captain Ahab, who has set himself on a maniacal quest to capture the cunning white whale that robbed him of his leg: Moby-Dick.
Capturing life on the sea with robust realism, Melville details the adventures of the colorful crew aboard the ship as Ahab pursues his crusade of revenge, heedless of all cost. This masterfully symbolic drama of the conflict between man and his fate has a special intensity that listeners will not soon forget.
Praise
“The greatest of American novels.” Atlantic Monthly
“Even tenth-grade-me could have appreciated the book as read in Anthony Heald’s sardonic, Silence of the Lambs intonation. Generally speaking, witty books seem to have the most to gain in audio form…particularly when read by great voice artists.” BookRiot (audio review)
“Narrator Anthony Heald not only creates vivid characterizations—Captain Ahab’s gruff mania, Starbuck’s doubtful sensitivity, the prophet Elijah’s visionary shakiness—he also dramatizes the many moods of the Pequod crew and the mercurial ocean itself. Heald’s voice has the range of a piano, and he uses it like a virtuoso…Heald’s voice bristles dryly with humor or sinks with dread—a range necessary to tell this complex story.” AudioFile
“An epic, rewarding, sea-worthy journey awaits you in one of literature’s classic tales.” Amazon.com
“A work tantalizingly subversive, and yet somehow if not affirming at least forgiving of the blind destructiveness of human nature and of nature itself.” Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Dec 31, 2008 |
| Release Date | January 1, 2009 |
| Release Date Machine | 1230768000 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Craig Black |
| Categories | Literature & Fiction, Classics, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Classics, Evergreen Classics, Evergreen Classics, Literature & Fiction, Classics, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult |
Author Bio
Herman Melville (1819–1891) was born in New York City. Family hardships forced him to leave school for various occupations, including shipping as a cabin boy to Liverpool in 1839—a voyage that sparked his love for the sea. A shrewd social critic and philosopher in his fiction, he is considered an outstanding writer of the sea and a great stylist who mastered both realistic narrative and a rich, rhythmical prose. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumously published novella Billy Budd.
Narrator Bio
Anthony Heald, an Audie Award–winning narrator, has earned Tony nominations and an Obie Award for his theater work; appeared in television’s Law & Order, The X-Files, Miami Vice, and Boston Public; and starred as Dr. Frederick Chilton in the 1991 Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs. He has also won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards for his narrations.
Overview
One of the great works of American literature, Moby-Dick is the epic tale of one man’s fight against a force of nature.
The outcast youth Ishmael, succumbing to wanderlust during a dreary New England autumn, signs up for passage aboard a whaling ship. The Pequod sails under the command of the one-legged Captain Ahab, who has set himself on a maniacal quest to capture the cunning white whale that robbed him of his leg: Moby-Dick.
Capturing life on the sea with robust realism, Melville details the adventures of the colorful crew aboard the ship as Ahab pursues his crusade of revenge, heedless of all cost. This masterfully symbolic drama of the conflict between man and his fate has a special intensity that listeners will not soon forget.
Reviews
Write Your Own Review