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BILLY BUDD and BENITO CERENO. A Volume in The 100 (One Hundred) Greatest Books Ever Written Series.
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Hardcover
First published January 1, 1924
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About the author
Herman Melville
2,381 books4,516 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 16, 2024
Hay demasiadas cosas que decir de este libro. Pero me limito a decir que el equilibrio de sus elementos y la estructura que usa el autor en ambas novelas no me termina de convencer. Destacó la hondísima profundidad psicológica a la que llega y su prosa detallada
January 4, 2021
Il volume raccoglie due racconti, o romanzi brevi, del celebre autore di Moby Dick.
Il titolo del primo racconto è Benito Cereno, nome del capitano di un mercantile spagnolo, soccorso dall'americano Amasa Delano.
Quando quest'ultimo mette piede sulla nave spagnola, si rende conto che qualcosa non quadra, ma non sa esattamente quale, tra i tanti particolari fuori posto, sia quello che possa fargli intuire la verità. Mentre Delano chiacchiera con Benito Cereno, adeguatamente assistito dal nero Babo, è sempre combattuto tra sentimenti di diffidenza e pietà. Il lettore è, invece, invaso da un senso di angoscia perenne, dalla sicurezza che qualcosa di terribile stia per abbattersi su quella situazione di equilibrio instabile.
Il secondo racconto è Billy Budd. Anche qui ci troviamo in mezzo al mare, a bordo della nave Indomitable, sulla quale è stato arruolato a forza Billy Budd, un uomo di origine africana, di grossa corporatura, ma di indole mite. Billy è l'incarnazione del Bene, destinato a scontrarsi con il Male, che qui è rappresentato dal maestro d'armi Claggart.
I racconti non sono affatto male, le atmosfere cupe create da Melville colpiscono, ma la narrazione è troppo lenta ed appesantita da metafore e digressioni.
Il titolo del primo racconto è Benito Cereno, nome del capitano di un mercantile spagnolo, soccorso dall'americano Amasa Delano.
Quando quest'ultimo mette piede sulla nave spagnola, si rende conto che qualcosa non quadra, ma non sa esattamente quale, tra i tanti particolari fuori posto, sia quello che possa fargli intuire la verità. Mentre Delano chiacchiera con Benito Cereno, adeguatamente assistito dal nero Babo, è sempre combattuto tra sentimenti di diffidenza e pietà. Il lettore è, invece, invaso da un senso di angoscia perenne, dalla sicurezza che qualcosa di terribile stia per abbattersi su quella situazione di equilibrio instabile.
Il secondo racconto è Billy Budd. Anche qui ci troviamo in mezzo al mare, a bordo della nave Indomitable, sulla quale è stato arruolato a forza Billy Budd, un uomo di origine africana, di grossa corporatura, ma di indole mite. Billy è l'incarnazione del Bene, destinato a scontrarsi con il Male, che qui è rappresentato dal maestro d'armi Claggart.
I racconti non sono affatto male, le atmosfere cupe create da Melville colpiscono, ma la narrazione è troppo lenta ed appesantita da metafore e digressioni.
April 1, 2020
Dos historias desarrolladas en alta mar donde se expone en sus diferentes personajes los sentimientos más oscuros como los más nobles.
La primera narrativa en prosa mientras que la segunda está dividida en capítulos. Ambas dan un giro totalmente inesperado.
La primera narrativa en prosa mientras que la segunda está dividida en capítulos. Ambas dan un giro totalmente inesperado.
July 24, 2025
Okay, so this is two different stories related to events that happen at sea. Overall, they are interesting and I suppose depict what life was like on a ship. If I were making this list, I am not sure I would list this book as one of the top 100 ever written.
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January 9, 2025Guessing at dates….. pre Goodreads tracking.
Zachary Book Group for 2004-5.
Zachary Book Group for 2004-5.
May 18, 2013
Dos más de los "cuentos del mar" de
Herman MELVILLE
, donde plasma su experiencia de años como marinero. Además del tema marino, poco relaciona ambas obras, por lo que no entiendo como las ponen en el mismo libro. Respecto a "Benito Cereno", Jorge Luis BORGES dijo: 'sigue suscitando polémicas. Hay quien lo juzga la obra maestra de MELVILLE y una de las obras maestras de la literatura. Hay quien lo considera un error o una serie de errores. Hay quien ha sugerido que Herman MELVILLE se propuso la escritura de un texto deliberadamente inexplicable que fuera un símbolo cabal de este mundo, también inexplicable', una historia bastante compleja y difícil de leer, sin duda.
Por otra parte, “Billy Budd Marinero” es una novela póstuma, escrita en 1889 y publicada 1924, que narra la historia de un muchacho ingenuo y lleno de buenos propósitos que se enfrenta con el clima opresivo y agobiante de una tripulación hostil, tal vez reflejando el carácter cerrado, enigmático e inhumano que el mundo tuvo para MELVILLE.
Por otra parte, “Billy Budd Marinero” es una novela póstuma, escrita en 1889 y publicada 1924, que narra la historia de un muchacho ingenuo y lleno de buenos propósitos que se enfrenta con el clima opresivo y agobiante de una tripulación hostil, tal vez reflejando el carácter cerrado, enigmático e inhumano que el mundo tuvo para MELVILLE.
June 9, 2010
Melville is a maverick. The cadence of his sentences is unique. I don't know anyone who writes like him. Both his syntax and his vocabulary can be startling. Sometimes his influences are clear -- The Bible, Shakespeare, the metaphysical poets -- but more often than not his sentences come at you from the unexplored deep, reeking of strangenes, beautiful, difficult and fascinating. Billy Budd is a concentrated brew that might knock your head off if you're not careful, but is a delight if sipped slowly on a full stomach. It's a tale of innocence, intrigue and injustice that will appeal to weather-beaten old salts more than lubberly landsmen. I loved it.
September 16, 2016
16º dia do Mês da leitura mágica.
Relido "Billy Budd".
16ª leitura concluída ;)
Relido "Billy Budd".
16ª leitura concluída ;)
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July 23, 2017Número 9 de Historia Universal de la Literatura. Tomo con doblete.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews