ACHUKA Book of the Day 4 Jun 2026
Publisher: New York Review Books
ISBN: 9798896230052
“In this lush, meditative retelling of Moby-Dick, Marsol evokes a markedly different vibe than the original, rendering Captain Ahab as more dreamer than diabolical. Ahab himself narrates via spare, conversational text that takes a reckoning tone… This contemplative and elliptical take may not cast a wide net, but it’s still a whale of a tale—one in which obsession opens Ahab to wonder rather than sealing his fate.” Publishers Weekly
“The Spanish artist Manuel Marsol takes the story of Moby-Dick and turns it into something else, something exquisite, that captures the spirit of Melville’s classic while steering us into new and unfamiliar waters. Gone is the deranged captain of the original, destroyed by his hate for the “unconquering whale”. Instead, the Ahab who leads this story is a curious wanderer who despite his best efforts cannot see what’s right in front of him. Or behind him. Or sometimes underneath him.” The Times
This, the Spanish illustrator’s debut children’s book, was first published in 2014 and won the III Premio Internacional de Álbum Ilustrado Edelvives (a prize for an as-yet-unpublished picture book organized by the Spanish publishing house Grupo Edelvives). This is a new English translation of a revised edition.
The greatest novel ever written begins “Call me Ishmael” and the story is told through the eyes of the crew member. In this notable picture book condensation of the tale, Ahab and his quest are given centre stage.
“Call me Ahab,” it begins.
On the island of Nantucket lives the greatest whaling captain of all time. Call him Ahab. He has long searched for the great white whale known as Moby Dick.
Whenever Ahab heard any news of the whale, he rushed off to sea in his ship the Pequod. He climbed mountains, scaled sunken wrecks, crossed oceans without any luck. He wasted whole days shut up in his cabin. He traveled to the ends of the earth, but still the whale was not to be found.
Ahab spent so much time on the hunt that he even forgot what he was looking for.
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Here, in a 10-year-old interview, Manuel explains how important working as an animator for Flying Tiger Stores was in the early stages of his career.
⚓️ Presentamos nuestra nueva exposición
‘Ahab y la ballena blanca’ de Manuel Marsol.
La muestra reinterpreta Moby Dick con ilustraciones, bocetos y espacios participativos para toda la familia.📆Hasta 1 feb 2026 pic.twitter.com/5nS4hQLx4p
— Casa de las Ciencias (@Casa_Ciencias) September 19, 2025
🐳’Ahab y la ballena blanca’, de Manuel Marsol
En 2014, el ilustrador madrileño Manuel Marsol ganó el III Premio Internacional de Álbum Ilustrado Edelvives con Ahab y la ballena blanca, una reinterpretación del clásico Moby Dick, de Herman Melville. https://t.co/TZnhWDPhpo pic.twitter.com/XtSUIafXUH
— El Independiente (@elindepcom) June 23, 2025
The translator, Chloe Garcia Roberts, is herself a poet and managing editor at the Harvard Review. You can follow her on
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