Moby Dick

by Sophie Furse, Penko Gelev (Illustrator), Herman Melville

A world-famous classic novel is the basis for this brand-new, dramatically illustrated book. Transformed from Herman Melville's original text into a graphic novel, this and other Graphic Classics editions make good introductions for young readers to the imaginative riches of literature. These books contain many extra features, including brief biographies of their authors, a list of each author's important works, a glossary, and an index. Suitable for classroom use as introductions to literature for junior and senior high school students, these graphic novels entertain young readers while introducing them to the works of renowned literary artists. Full-color illustrations throughout. This classic sea adventure tells the story of Captain Ahab, commander of the whaling ship Pequod, and his hunt for the mighty and ferocious white whale.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Adventure, Classics, Fiction, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Anne (In Search of Wonder) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

There. I read Moby Dick. It was amazing.

Please don't make me read the unabridged version.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never felt a need to read Moby Dick in its entirety, even though i knew i was missing out on A Classic Of American Fiction. When I saw a graphic novel version in my local library, I decided it would be a way to enrich my cultural literacy without slogging through Melville himself. I'm glad I read it, and I do feel more educated as a result. And in a way, it seems like the reteller (adapter?), Sophie Furse, may have given us a bit of that inexorable detail the original Moby-Dick is known for. Did I really need to know the name of every ship they encountered, along with every captain?

I did not like the the style of the faces in Penko Gelev's illustrations - too many big bulbous noses and accentuated cheekbones. But otherwise, I did like the illustrations, especially ones including the sea, sea creatures, and storms. The madness shows on Ahab's face, especially page 29 (with the lightning struck harpoon).

After the retelling, there are a series of background pieces on Melville, whaling, and Moby-Dick as literature. These should be quite helpful for the youth target audience, and are appreciated by literary philistines like me :-).

(I read the Barron's Graphic Classics version of Moby Dick, and that is the cover I see here in goodreads, but many of the reviews seem to be for the original novel. Maybe it's just the iPod version messed up somehow, but I just want to be clear what my review us for!)

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Better each time I read it. First read in high school. I didn't get it, I didn't like it. Read it next in graduate school for a class which also introduced me to John McPhee. Still didn't get it, but enjoyed it more. Read it a third time for fun (well, not for fun but because I *thought* I should read it to "get it") a few years later. Apparently, it didn't stick with me.

Got it for free from the Gutenberg Project and read it a 4th time. It was if I'd never read it before. The descriptions of New England, whaling and shipping out were outstanding. The symbolism and metaphors were classic. I was talking with my wife about her conversation with our 15 year old about symbolism and metaphors in writing. We agreed that pulp fiction and other genres need no literary inspection, but certainly a literary class like this one does.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and easy read to understand the major plot points to a whale of a tale

[Sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was perhaps not as visually pleasing as Chabouté’s version, but it gave a better picture of the crew. Very interesting adaptation!

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll probably never read the full text ( my dad says it's boring) but this seems like a good summary.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

->Don't skip all the extras in the back->

Not excellent but in no way bad- it does the job of relaying the novel in appropriate fashion.

[Alexa ☪︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Muy entretenido y educativo!

[Mloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the novel a long time ago, reading this graphic novel adaptation was kind of cool because its a quick little reminder of the story. The theme is so similar to Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". Even graphic novel form, one can see the significance of the story and how it has remained topical all these years. It's pretty inspired to adapt classic novels like these into this format because it's a good, quick refresher for readers like myself who are already familiar with the story and/or a great way to introduce younger readers.

[Megan Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed like they took Cliff's Notes and illustrated the story. The most interesting parts of it were the historical notes at the end. The art was good, but not spectacular. I could see it being used for a much, much lower reading level in a classroom where all students were required to read the novel, but even then I think the lessons would require massive modification because this version seemed so simplistic.

4/10 for my use, 2/5 here.

[Kyle A Dorsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moby Dick will go down as one of the best books I've ever read. None can beat the classics like Herman Melville. It's a good recap of the book, and comfortable to follow. Smooth transition between chapters, and I will always be pleased with the final showdown with the whale. All and all, great book.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call me Ishmael! Ha ha. Just kidding.

I'd say the whale is cursed, because he never gets killed.

So, there's nothing else to say here, right?

The end! Ha ha!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!!!