Moby Dick, or the Whale


Read by Stewart Wills

(4.5 stars; 3985 reviews)

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

Chapter 000: Etymology and Extracts 29:13 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 001-002 23:56 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 003 34:53 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 004-007 27:10 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 008-009 29:36 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 010-012 19:28 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 013-015 23:08 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 016 35:18 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 017-021 42:49 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 022-025 27:25 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 026-027 19:20 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 028-031 25:00 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 032 36:58 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 033-035 38:11 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 036-040 42:17 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 041 26:29 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 042-044 43:36 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 045-047 37:09 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 048-050 38:29 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 051-053 27:05 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 054 54:14 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 055-058 37:09 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 059-063 38:45 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 064-067 37:05 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 068-071 34:21 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 072-073 24:34 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 074-077 30:27 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 078-080 24:03 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 081-082 36:45 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 083-086 37:38 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 087-088 40:31 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 089-091 33:56 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 092-096 42:47 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 097-100 43:25 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 101-104 40:03 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 105-108 37:07 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 109-113 41:00 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 114-118 25:57 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 119-123 32:43 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 124-127 32:40 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 128-132 42:23 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 133 24:58 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 134 22:48 Read by Stewart Wills
Chapter 135 and Epilogue 35:01 Read by Stewart Wills

Reviews


(5 stars)

This is an absolute joy to listen to--a singular achievement in audiobooks. Wills' reading makes one the more intimidating, English language novels not just incredibly accessible--but actually very funny. Moby Dick is like a series of disjointed blog posts written by an observer with a very wry sense of humor. Wills perfectly captures the narrators' voice as the events become increasingly bizarre and unhinged. Wills really is pitch perfect here. I've listened to this twice in its entirety, and still go back now and then to listen to my favorite chapters.

You must listen to this version!


(5 stars)

Stuart Wills brought Moby Dick to life, reading with the heart and tone of a New Englander. I have never read Moby Dick cover to cover and am grateful to gave found this audio gem. It is long but so incredibly worth the time. I was constantly in awe how modern Melville's thoughts and words came through in 2023. Mr Wills, thank you for an amazing animation of this classic!


(5 stars)

I recommend this version to everyone who had trouble reading the book-- Wills makes Ishmael an irresistibly entertaining narrator. I had read the book twice, but this third time listening was my favorite.

Unique experience


(5 stars)

Unlike any other book I've read. 1/3 of chapters are just about whaling and have nothing to do with the plot. Interesting and enjoyable though

Amazing reading


(5 stars)

Stewart Wills' reading is beautiful, characters vivid, the sound quality excellent... it's amazing that this book is free. What a gift.

It's NOT about a Whale


(5 stars)

Hands down the most daring novel of it's time or our time . It's the very whiteness" of things . Hint think of the time it was written in! A daring indictment of privilege, religiosity and suppressed sexuality. All done with tongue firmly planted in cheek while at the same time being earnestly serious truths. Also keep this in mind Melville never got rich as an author . But he was the first honest customs collector in NYC when that Office handled a huge amount of revenue our country. The small building is still at the tip of the Battery downtown. Melville is a true Ameucan genius . Stewart Wells gives an amazing performance. I have read this masterpiece over 10 maybe more times in my life, starting with abridged children's travel addition. Fell in love with it when our rented car broke down in the middle of Pennsylvania in July. The immersion into Nantucket and the Sea made the heat bearable and the wilted PBJ a banquet.

Excellent reading


(5 stars)

I have read and loved Moby-Dick and am listening to it now to keep me company on long car rides. Wills' vocal embodiment of Ishmael is PERFECT, and I'm pretty sure I will hear him as Ishmael every time I pick it up now. The dry humor and poetic phantasmagoria of the narration are both brilliantly conveyed. I also love his voices for the sea-captains and various Nantucketers (other reviewers have mentioned Father Mapple already). If I have one nitpick, it's that the sailors of different nationalities who crop up later on in the book aren't as well differentiated to my ear, but I think this was actually wise--it's one of the more "artificial" sections of the book anyway, and a more heavy-handed attempt at doing accents there would risk sounding like racist caricature. Overall, this reading is a true gem in the catalogue--it would be worth paying for!--and Mr. Wills deserves every plaudit for his tremendous efforts.

The reader does an amazing job!


(4.5 stars)

He gives each of the characters his own distinct voice, which makes the story so much easier to follow. Melville writes like no one else I've ever read.... He has comedy relief, tragedy, doom, hope, desperation, all whirled into one in a maelstrom that brings up both misgivings and driving curiosity. Sprinkled throughout with sad notes of Ishmael's hindsight, the story is sometimes funny, but mostly sad, and it has an overdose of what I can only call treatises on whaling, which are at times boring. Ahab is doomed, Starbuck is mournful, Pip is tragic, Queequeg is brave, Ishmael is wordy (yet almost never talks), Stubb is happy-go-lucky, and the Parsee is just creepy. I'm not sure what to think about the book itself, but the reader get 5 stars!