Critically acclaimed for more than 100 years, Herman Melville's sea tale, Billy Budd, is considered to be one of the small masterpieces of American fiction. An engaging plot on the surface, the exciting yarn set in 1791 also raises profound questions about the very nature of man himself. Handsome, young Billy Budd is well-liked by the other sailors aboard the British warship, the H.M.S. Indomitable. But the ship's cruel Master-at-Arms, insanely jealous of Billy's popularity, falsely accuses Billy of fomenting mutiny. Attempting to defend himself, the young sailor strikes out-only to find himself facing an even more serious charge. His years working on whaleships enabled Herman Melville to create realistic characters in authentic settings. The battle between good and evil, conscience and honor bursts from the page with Frank Muller's stirring narration.
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"Homoerotic to a glorious extreme, in 'Billy Budd' the titular character is constantly referred to as "The Handsome Sailor." It's easy to imagine Melville intending it as a device to indicate a role aboard the ship, that every ship has a "handsome sailor," the subject of lust and affection for the sex-starved men at sea. The gay history of maritime life is a long and substantive one, and this is really a very critical text in artistically representing it. I don't quite know how this text has ever NOT been interpreted as a queer work: the main plot follows everyone on the ship in love with Billy, and the ship's master-at-arms John Claggart's inexplicable rage at the boy. Claggart's also described frequently by his role, master-at-arms, one related to discipline and good social conduct, while Billy's suggests passion and indulgence in the finer things in life. It's quite easy to see the point Melville is making. Claggart's rage is a sort of sexual mania, his lust for Billy taken to a place of id-fueled sadism. So goes 'Billy Budd,' I won't spoil the plot but the progression is artful: the ship comes to a point of favoring law and justice over Billy's sensuality, as if we've witnessed an allegory of the gay men of the late nineteenth century. They toy with the sexual excesses and opportunities presented by a new world with a liberalizing moral order, but retreat back to the safety of heterosexual life, where it's safe. And though it's needless to say, Melville's prose is elegant and lovely to read."
— Sean (5 out of 5 stars)
" Very descriptive and very melodramatic. It speaks to me in more ways than one but perhaps a second read is necessary. "
— Siddhartha, 1/31/2014" 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. "
— Keeley, 1/24/2014" I like the Christ metaphor, but I found this one dry and hard to read. I had to force myself to get it read. "
— Lady, 1/16/2014" Bagus sih, tapi kayaknya ada yang kurang pas rasanya...mungkin gaya tulisannya? "
— Ivan, 1/8/2014" I thought this was hard to read but very interesting writing style! "
— Gabriela, 1/6/2014" 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. "
— Clif, 1/2/2014" Tough going at the beginning, but as it's only 88 pages I was determined to persevere. It got easier, but still didn't really do it for me. It's more of a character study than a story. But not a very indepth character study. "
— Hashi, 12/31/2013" I remember really liking this one in college. I had to read closely for clues to who the mutineer really was...a few images come to mind, but I remember really liking it. "
— Julie, 12/14/2013" It was really hard and confusing. There is a lot of symbolism, but I wasn't able to pick it up on my own. "
— Emily, 12/6/2013" Most homoerotic required reading I've ever been faced with, as well a lovely example of an intrusive narrator who enjoys pleonasm. "
— Ariel, 12/4/2013" This book is so beautifully written. It is a Christ allegory that takes a little bit to get, but it's very powerful. "
— Mehrsa, 11/30/2013" I am reading this book for my English honors class. Very good, great vocabulary. "
— Tricia, 11/25/2013" I just read this last year- I don't know what I was waiting for. "
— Kimberly, 9/9/2013" Easy read. Only read this because it was required for a class. But I'm not a Melville fan. "
— Michelle, 10/5/2012" Read in my "Jurisprudence and the Law" class with Professor Powers at UT Law. "
— Versel, 9/24/2012" before this Am Lit class, I hadn't read this text. once I assigned--and began hearing complaints from students about how hard it was--I doubted my intentions. but as I read it yesterday, chuckling as I did, I knew it was a good choice. I really do like Melville and this seems quintessential him. "
— Becky, 5/28/2012" Well, it certainly does SUCK. "
— Nicole, 1/22/2012" Not the equal of Melville's masterpiece, but worth reading. "
— Ross, 12/31/2011" An enjoyable parable, with Billy-as-Christ easy to see. But the prose if often far more difficult than needed. "
— James, 11/25/2011" I had to rate this just three stars. Melville's language, although clear and distinct, is just so overdone. I used to think this was just an affectation of his times...but, having more recently read other authors of the era...or slightly afterwards...I realize that isn't necessarily so. "
— Ed, 6/28/2011" This little book has intrigued me for years. There's much to think about here. "
— Laurele, 4/29/2011" Well, it certainly does SUCK. "
— Nicole, 4/20/2011" Emily was right. Booooo Billy Budd booooo "
— Chelsea, 4/4/2011" WTF did I just read. No clue what happened. Thank god the last chapter had a quick sum up of events. "
— Kerri, 3/24/2011" Wish I could've given it a 3.5 "
— Luke1992, 3/21/2011" Interesting Insites into navel history. <br/>library book sale. "
— Jack, 3/7/2011" Reading Project Gutenberg, and too lazy to create a new book to prove it. "
— Amy, 2/19/2011" 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. "
— Jim, 2/14/2011" 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. "
— Kevin, 2/3/2011" a wonderful classic, i cried<br/>then i cried again in the movi3 version "
— Gen50, 1/31/2011" The worst punishment I could imagine my hell to be is reading this book. "
— Demosthenes, 1/1/2011" if i could give it a lower score i would "
— Katharine, 1/1/2011" Much more digestible than Moby Dick. "
— Cheryl, 12/24/2010Herman 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.
Frank Muller (1951–2008) was an Audie Award–winning narrator. A classically trained actor, Frank appeared on both television and the stage. His credits include Hamlet, The Crucible, The Taming of the Shrew, The Importance of Being Earnest, Law & Order, All My Children, and many, many more. In 1999 Frank was awarded the AudioFile Lifetime Achievement Award, the top honor in the audiobook community. He has also won twenty-three Earphones Awards.