Herman MelvilleTypee

Librivox recording of Typee, by Herman Melville.

Read by Michael Scherer

Typee is Melville's first novel, based on his actual experiences after having jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Extremely popular at the time of its initial publication, it provoked disbelief among its readers until the events it described were corroborated by Melville's fellow castaway, Richard T. Greene, who appears in the story as the character Toby. While the book is factually based, Melville exercised his artistic license so much that Typee is properly considered a work of fiction: the three week stay on which he based his story is extended in the narrative to four months, and he drew extensively on contemporary accounts by Pacific explorers to add cultural detail to what might otherwise have been a straightforward story of escape, capture and re-escape. (Summary from wikipedia.org)

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This item is part of the collection: LibriVox

Author: Herman Melville
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; audiobook; literature

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: alamedared - - April 16, 2008
Subject: Don't mIss it!

I stumbled on this gem one winter night when it was very foggy here in California's Central Valley and was entranced. The story is captivating and the reading superb. Don't overlook this Melville--it is very enjoyable and you'll feel like you are right there going through all the trials and tribulations that the main characters. Hop on board and get ready for an adventure.

Reviewer: TheBookworm - - November 4, 2007
Subject: Well done!

Excellent theatrical reading. Thoroughly recommend it. (The BookWorm, Manchester, UK)

Reviewer: blueleader - - November 8, 2006
Subject: review of Typee read by Michael Scherer

Mr. Scherer does an excellent job of reading this text. Anyone who has read Melville knows how wordy it can get at times. Mr. Scherer is always very clear and articulate, and his pronunciation is good as well. This recording comes very close to being professional quality. The only possible down side is that Mr. Scherer does not always read with emotion, but that's not a bad thing when compared to other recordings that take the emotional interpretation too far. Overall an excellent recording, and I hope that Mr. Scherer will favor us with more wonderful readings of Melville texts.