Billy Budd (Abridged) Audiobook

" In high school, we read this in lieu of Moby Dick because it was shorter. Hang it all, there's apparently more than meets the aye-yi (sir), but it was lost on us! "

" I'm pretty sure I'd fight Melville if he was alive today. Or at least give him a wedgie. Yeah. "

" Bartlby, one of the best ever. "

" I think that I was one of the only students in my high school American Lit. class that liked Billy Budd. It's actually my favorite Melville story. It's just packed full of injustice and bravery in the face of unbeatable odds. Just the kind of thing that can really hit that nerve that teenagers have that makes them acutely aware of injustice and persecution. Reading Melville is no cakewalk, and I would never claim that he's one of my favorite authors. But I did like Billy Budd. "

" A classic read in high school "

" I liked this book more than I liked Moby Dick which I started years ago but haven't finished. "

" Good vs. Evil plain and simple. My prep school drama club did this one. Good job too. No, I was not in that club. Just the audience. Date read is a guess. "

" Not an easy read as far as language, but my first Melville story. Quite an activist was he. "

" I learned more from the movie with Terence Stamp and Robert Ryan. "

" It's so confusing and hard to understand! "

" The one book that I read in high school and never ever liked. "

" I see there of this book; I liked it but then I love sea tales; I love Moby Dick, so read this short tale and see what YOU think. "

" Honestly, I had to read this book for my freshman year and I honestly did not like it. Excuse my youthful opinion, but I didn't like the ending, the characters.. It's just not my thing. "

" Short read, took me one day- It was my winter break homework for AP Lit. Not too awful, I mean... I guess Melville`s sometimes long-winded descriptions were a pain, but I didn`t hate the actual plot and meaning of the novella. "

" Horrible book would not recommend. "

" Adventure on the high seas, wonderful audio entertainment. An adaption, not just the book on audio, it sizzles "

" I liked how the novella mixed an essay style with fiction. While it was a bit difficult at times, I found that I learned a lot from reading it. Especially about life on the ship and how a mutiny can be seen as a battle. "

" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "

" A sad, beautiful story. Some are just too good to live "

" Billy Budd is everything one should expect from a Herman Melville novel: conflict, frustration, and the completely unexpected. I highly recommend it to those with whom there is a love of the sea, historic settings, personal conflict, and Melville's unique writing style. "

" Just did not like this book. It was panful to finish. I'm guessing Melville and I don't have the same style. "

" I just read this last year- I don't know what I was waiting for. "

" Read for a Lit class... Vere didn't have a choice. "

" It was better than I was expecting. It helped that it was required reading back in high school so I knew all the stuff to look for. "

" I read Billy Budd when I was on my whaling kick and was reading Melville because he liked to write about it. It's a pretty good story. I don't remember liking any of his other short stories much. "

" this makes me want to vapor in the groggeries along the towpath... whatever that means. yay melville! "

" Most homoerotic required reading I've ever been faced with, as well a lovely example of an intrusive narrator who enjoys pleonasm. "

" Read this in high school, probably because they wanted us to have a Moby Dick experience without assigning Moby Dick. Big mistake. The symbolism is obnoxiously obvious, and I remember hating it more than any other book I was required to read. "

" Hands down the worst book I have ever had the misfortune to read! It's only redeaming quality is that it is very short. It was agonizing and horrid. Boring, and difficult. "

" I'm pretty sure no writer fills me with quite as much sheer delight as Melville, even in those few sentences of Billy Budd that aren't about how totally H-O-T Billy is. "

" So... It was okay. I didn't enjoy it, but I didn't hate it... I just dreaded reading it. I give this book some sympathy because it was never finished by Mr. Melville. This is just a publication of his drafts which had been partially written by his wife while he spoke because he was in such poor health. I don't recommend it, unless you enjoy being bored. In which case, you probably read this every night and don't need my review anyway. "

" I just love Herman Melville! "

" This was a forced read in HS. *Shudder* "

" I read this as part of a Humanities course on Law and Language. I do not remember being particularly blown away; was happier reading Cabeza de Vaca. "

" From what I understand, this novella grew out of a footnote Melville provided for a poem, which appears at the end of the story. I'm actually quite partial to the poem more than the book. "

" one day I'll be able to get through this book. One day. "

" I like the Christ metaphor, but I found this one dry and hard to read. I had to force myself to get it read. "

" Read in hs and disliked greatly. Maybe Melville and I were just not meant to be. I remember it being just an affront to my sensibilities. And my dad was in the navy and I loved his stories at sea. "

" Combination of sea life and the law. This book was written for me. "

" Two stars, because of "Bartleby, the Scrivener". Otherwise, it would get only one. "

" I liked how the novella mixed an essay style with fiction. While it was a bit difficult at times, I found that I learned a lot from reading it. Especially about life on the ship and how a mutiny can be seen as a battle. "

" All I remember about this book is that I was forced to read it for class and didn't like it at all. Met Scott in that class, though. So that was good. :) "

" As much as I love reading classics, I kind of hated this one. It was so confusing and hard to understand :( At least I got a 100% on my Literary Analysis Paper! "

" I don't remember it all that well, but you gotta give a shout out to Melville, right? "

" It's so confusing and hard to understand! "

" I think Melville is not for me. It was pure torture. "

" I enjoyed "Benito Cereno" and really liked "Bartleby The Scrivener", but "Billy Bud" is just too much. "

" At least it was short. "

" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "

" why does so much 'great' literature suck? "

" I would prefer not to say what I thought. "

" About halfway through at present, reminds me of Wuthering Heights, the story takes second place to the character studies and the juxtaposition of good and evil. The main difference to me is that Bronte did a field study while Melville preferred the lab. "

" MY goodness. Melville spends more time describing the beautiful torsos of young men than he does the sea. Enough already! Couldn't finish it. "

" This book shows Melville's rather dim view of man's predestined course and ignores God. The short stories are good, but I find the dated style not as fluid as our more modern authors. "

" I was bored out of my mind reading this book. I haven't read Moby Dick yet and after reading this, I have my doubts about even starting it. "

" Poor Baby Budd. Everyone on the ship was sort of lusting after him. "

" I have a serious issue with any book that has a chapter called: "A Digression." "

" This book opened my eyes in high school. It made methaphor tangible. "

" Poor Baby Budd. Everyone on the ship was sort of lusting after him. "

" Why Mr. Melville? First Bartleby and now Billy? Why must you be so cruel?.... "

" This book was left uncompleted at the time of Melville's death. It is not in the same league as Moby Dick. Melville was not particularly successful as a writer, and this book tends to show that. Perhaps he only had one truly great book in him. "

" Read in college. . .a long time ago. . . "

" I enjoyed most of the stories in here. "The Encantadas" was pretty cool. "Bartleby the Scrivener" is obviously way cool for its passive resistance. I could say more, but "I'd prefer not." "

" There is so much to this short work that I could go on for days talking about it. Great story, characters, symbolism, theme, etc. One of the best I have ever used in the classroom. "

" Read in my "Jurisprudence and the Law" class with Professor Powers at UT Law. "

" melville's solemn, cumbrous prose is perfectly weighted for the metaphysical examination of good and evil in "billy budd" (which is his true masterpiece). "

" If only negative stars were an option... "

" I liked the justice and mercy interplay, but it didn't go far enough for my liking. I would have liked a little more exploration of the themes. In any case the language was just fantastic. One of these days I'll finally give Moby Dick a go. "

" Never understood why this book is considered a 'classic'. Forget Billy Budd, pick up Melville's Moby Dick. However, there is one good short story in this collection, Bartleby the Scrivener, that deserves to be read. "

" I WOULD PREFER NOT TO. "

" I actually only read Billy Budd. "

" Well, it certainly does SUCK. "

" Well, it certainly does SUCK. "

" Emily was right. Booooo Billy Budd booooo "

" Emily was right. Booooo Billy Budd booooo "

" WTF did I just read. No clue what happened. Thank god the last chapter had a quick sum up of events. "

" WTF did I just read. No clue what happened. Thank god the last chapter had a quick sum up of events. "

" Wish I could've given it a 3.5 "

" Wish I could've given it a 3.5 "

" Interesting Insites into navel history. <br/>library book sale. "

" Interesting Insites into navel history. <br/>library book sale. "

" Reading Project Gutenberg, and too lazy to create a new book to prove it. "

" Reading Project Gutenberg, and too lazy to create a new book to prove it. "

" This book was left uncompleted at the time of Melville's death. It is not in the same league as Moby Dick. Melville was not particularly successful as a writer, and this book tends to show that. Perhaps he only had one truly great book in him. "

" This book was left uncompleted at the time of Melville's death. It is not in the same league as Moby Dick. Melville was not particularly successful as a writer, and this book tends to show that. Perhaps he only had one truly great book in him. "

" I laughed when there was a heated discussion in one episode of The Sopranos about this book. Not one of my favorites, but not terrible, either. "

" I laughed when there was a heated discussion in one episode of The Sopranos about this book. Not one of my favorites, but not terrible, either. "

" a wonderful classic, i cried<br/>then i cried again in the movi3 version "

" a wonderful classic, i cried<br/>then i cried again in the movi3 version "

" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "

" if i could give it a lower score i would "

" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "

" if i could give it a lower score i would "

" Much more digestible than Moby Dick. "

" Much more digestible than Moby Dick. "