Benito Cereno

Written by Herman Melville

Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki

This epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville’s finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jul 2, 2009
• ISBN: 9780786105427

Herman Melville

Herman Melville was an American novelist, essayist, short story writer and poet. His most notable work, Moby Dick, is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

Reviews for Benito Cereno

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blendingly enter into the other? So with sanity and insanity.

Billy and Bartleby are old friends, portraits of bejeweled philosophy. Strange as it may appear, the selection which punched me in the jaw was Cock-A-Doodle-Do: a tale told by a fellow traveler (he drinks porter and reads Rabelais) about a magical fowl which is a fount of bliss, an actual agent of earthly happiness.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Magnifieke verhalenbundel. Ongelofelijk beklemmende sfeer, erg verwant aan Poe en in sommige opzichten vooruitlopend op Kafka. Vooral Benito Cereno is adembenemend.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Magnifieke verhalenbundel. Ongelofelijk beklemmende sfeer, erg verwant aan Poe en in sommige opzichten vooruitlopend op Kafka. Vooral Benito Cereno is adembenemend.

[jonri-4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read Billy Budd for a book club I belong to. (I didn't read the other stories.) I found it incredibly slow going. I wouldn't even attempt to read it without access to Wikipedia or some other such source. Especially at the beginning, it makes a lot of cultural references with which I was completely unacquainted, e.g., Anacharis Cloots, Kaspar Hauser and Titus Oates. This made the meaning of some passages incomprehensible without some research.The characters are all stereotypes. I found the plot unrealistic. I also found it just plain exasperating that we are not told what Vere said to Budd after Budd was condemned to death.

[jerry2book-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good v Evil and the law. Also, not a bad movie with Peter Ustinov.

[nikkles_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I had to read Billy Budd for school. That is not really a deal breaker for me, but I just did not get the point of the story and it really seems like it is suppose to have a point.

[tezz_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very difficult story to read, with Melville often distracted from the task at hand. However, if you can persevere the fabulous story manages to shine through the verbose prose.

[gordsellar_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I happened upon this in a used bookshop in Yongsan station, in Seoul, just as I was working on a story called "Ogallala" that has more than one nod in the direction of the novella "Benito Cereno" which is in this collection. So I figured that was a hint from the universe, and bought it so I could reread Benito Cereno before finishing my revision.