The Caine Mutiny

By: Herman Wouk

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

Length: 26 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Having inspired a classic film and Broadway play, The Caine Mutiny is Herman Wouk's boldly dramatic, brilliantly entertaining novel of life—and mutiny—on a Navy warship in the Pacific theater. It was immediately embraced upon its original publication as one of the first serious works of American fiction to grapple with the moral complexities and the human consequences of the Second World War. In the intervening half century, this gripping story has become a perennial favorite, selling millions throughout the world, and claiming the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

©1952 Herman Wouk (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

My First Book

Although "The Caine Mutiny" wasn't literally my first book, I remember it as being the first "grown up" book I read on my own with no prodding from teachers or other adults. So for me it has the added attraction of nostalgia. The audio version has been a real treat for me. I've listened to it a couple of times and I think it stands up very well. Its plot is riveting, the characters are well-drawn and develop in believable and satisfying ways. Willie Keith, the hero of the tale, is a classic coming-of-age character: the callow youth who gains wisdom through adversity. Queeg is a wonderful villain (or maybe someone else is the villain?) Greenwald is the unexpected savior (or is he?) who metaphorically slays the dragon. A sea story as exciting as a Patrick O'Brian book combined with a terrific courtroom drama, and all with a serious purpose. Wouk is a "conservative" author in the classic sense of that word - he favors the ancient platitudes as guides to human behavior. Perhaps that makes the book read more like something from the Victorian era, and indeed I think there is a bit of Trollope's influence discernible in this fine novel. "The Winds of War" and its sequel are the main tale Wouk had to tell, and this is comparatively a miniature, but it is a superbly realized work.

caine mutiny was hard to turn off listening to

Where does The Caine Mutiny rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Excellent. gripping story and history

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Caine Mutiny?

The breaking of the cable towing the target. Poor old captain lost the plot

What does Kevin Pariseau bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

listening is very relaxing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

a real experience of life at sea

A taste of the 2nd world war

Very good narrator .
The writing is quality.
Great character development.
Very satisfying !!!
A good find !!

Winds of War is the better listen

While it certainly kept my attention - and the narrator is terrific - I found the plot a bit plodding, the characters difficult to connect to and the overall narrative disappointing - compared to the epic grandeur of Wouk's sweeping saga, Winds of War. If you're first discovering Wouk, start there. If you've read Wouk and want a fairly easy to follow audiobook for a long, long car ride, this is a good selection.

Wonderful but...

I read this book long ago, before I saw the movie or the play. Its a brilliant book but it starts way, way, before the action does and ends a decent time after it should. The movie covers the dramatic heart of the story and the book would have been better cut down to roughly those plot points, in my humble opinion.

Having said that it was interesting even the extra fluff that was just whiny Willie Keith being a whiner.

Great book with a few shameful production lapses

What did you love best about The Caine Mutiny?

The vivid evocation of the life of a World War II sailor, and the tension about what would become of the crew with their crazy captain.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Caine Mutiny?

The Great Strawberry Investigation.

What about Kevin Pariseau’s performance did you like?

His voice acting was very good and helped one keep track of the many characters. I didn't always love his basic narration, though, which didn't vary naturally with the meaning of the text.

Any additional comments?

There are several times when the recording is disrupted -- jumps suddenly very quiet for a few seconds, say. This should have been caught and corrected during production! I know it's a long book, but there's no reason for no quality control. There are even some glaring misread words ("captain" for "cabin" for example) that apparently nobody caught. Was distracting.

I couldn't stop listening.

This is the best book I've listened to in a very long time. I was hooked from the outset. I highly recommend it.

Loved it!

I've seen the movie, listened to the screenplay on audible and now finished the novel - great story. Thanks for making it available.

justice depends on your point of view

If you could sum up The Caine Mutiny in three words, what would they be?

sympathy questionable justice

What did you like best about this story?

my sympathy and belief in justice was put under question.

What does Kevin Pariseau bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is consistant with his intonations and inflections of the individual characters.
He made events come allive and put me in the sync with the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No it was easy to pick up from where i left off.

Any additional comments?

This was a book that left me rethinking my understanding of justice.and reasons for individual behaviour.
.

Mother and Mae could cause a Mutiny on their own!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

From the 7th chapter on, yes. Prior to that, the book was chiefly a study in Ensign Keith's mother and his mama's boy relation with Mae. I'm familiar with the plot having seen the movie many times. I thought the mother & girl friend were a product of Hollywood. Not so. The film, while still full of that tripe, was to me better than the book. That's rare!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Surprised. (I did not think Ensign/Lt. Keith was captain material.)

What about Kevin Pariseau’s performance did you like?

Typical mispronouncing of nautical terms, geographical locations and ship's nomenclature was less than other readers of Naval/Aviation audio books. I'm not saying I could read better than any of them. But it would be nice if the readers were familiar with the basic parts of a ship, and geographical locations in the Pacific. Forecastle is pronounced "Fo'csul, Rabaul is pronounced as it looks, not "Rabouwell, Rabool, Tarawa is Tarawa not TaRaWa and others. Kevin's multiple voice characterizations were quite good. I can believe him.

Could you see The Caine Mutiny being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Released by Colombia Pictures in 1954 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurry, Jos'e Ferrer, E.G. Marshall, Lee Marvin and many others. In that glorious Technicolor that does such a wonderful job at sea.

Any additional comments?

I definitely appreciate all of these action/adventure books. I'm a retired airline captain and have extensive experience in small ocean going vessels. I am also 70 years old. Unfortunately my ability to read and stay awake at the same time seems to be receding in the ship's wake on the voyage west. These audio books are terrific! I do wince when common nautical terms are slaughtered, but then who's perfect? THANK YOU!