Too long!! Far too long!!!!!

I will never download a book again even if it comes in the top 10 books of all time if it is over about 10-14 hours it was just too long it just went on and on and on I'm proud of myself for sticking with it.
I do not read much at all but this last year I have listened to all sorts of book and I am really enjoying Audible..!
I loved 20000 leagues....but Most Dick is just too long unnecessarily too long!!!!
Unfortunately I can't recommend it.
Narrator was excellent!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

i didn't get a thing in this book

30 mins i have been listening about "people waiting for the ship to come to the shore". there..... 3seconds worth stuff stretched with how green the grass is and how sad people are detailed greatly to make it 30mins.... if i only had the chance to give it -2 stars....

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

not a good read if you are not into whaling

Narrator was awesome, but the book itself isnt so great. It dives into details of whaling, categorisation of whales, details about their tails/fins etc, which type of whale's fat is worth more money, who does what on a whaling ship etc etc. I tried to keep my focus but it was really difficult. Wouldn't recommend if you are not interested in a whaling study book with a story on the side.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

could not listen to it

could not get into it due to the narrator's voice. I felt that it was terrible narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Unintelligible narrator

I despair of simply recognising a full sentence-worth of words uttered by this narrator. Between his weird fake accents and his over-performance that swings drunkenly from hushed tones to bold notes multiple times per minute, I can't make out anything of the original text.

His cadence is strange, and even his pitch goes up and down constantly as he tries to wring the deepest emotion from every word in a mostly dry, dull tome. Just tell me what it says on the page. That's job #1. You can add complexity to it by your reading, but don't completely obfuscate it with your incredible Acting... Talent! I swear, minutes go by and I have no idea what has been said.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Very much NOT "unabridged"...

Start this up and you will quickly be rewarded with the famous line "Call me Ishmael". Only problem is that this doesn't come up in the novel until after two prefaces - a short "Etymology" and a longer section of "Extracts". This second in particular - 15 pages long, in my edition - is not a part of the book that anyone should miss. So, for that reason, one star.



If it's abridged, say so.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

Did not live up to its billing

I was excited to read this famous book but both the narrative itself and the high proportion of background information about whales and whaling (in very antiquated and hence difficult-to-follow language) made for a thoroughly uninspiring listen.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

This was hard work…

I thought the narration was great, however I expected to enjoy this book but I just couldn’t. It’s really tough going and requires a lot of focus and perseverance through the more tedious chapters. The tone felt self-indulgent and was overall quite hard work.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Worst book ever

I really don't understand how people can say this book is a classic. To me there is no wonder few read it in his lifetime. I also don't believe that the typical American of the time would have understood much of the vocabulary and references. Definitely one of the worst books I have listened to in the four years I have been doing so. Out of 24 hours or so listening, I am guessing less than one was really about Ahab and the whale. More padding in the book than the blubber on a sperm whale!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!