179 reviews for:

The Gold-Bug

Edgar Allan Poe

3.36 AVERAGE

mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

“The Gold-Bug” is a delightful cross between adventure and mystery.

It starts with the odd instance of a man being bitten by a pure gold, scarab-like bug. This fellow, Legrand, has captured the now-dead insect and recruits our unnamed narrator to help solve the mystery of its odd look and hefty weight.

The problem is that Legrand starts to go a little crazy, thinking that the bug is actually the first clue to the uncovering of a buried treasure. The narrator dutifully follows along, though, and starts to realize that Legrand may not be so crazy after all . . .

The beauty of the story is that the reader has no idea where the plot is going until the very end. It’s a classic adventure/mystery story in that regard, and Poe paves the way for centuries of plot twists and puzzle solving. We even get a cryptogram and some invisible ink! Honestly, it felt like this story just had to have an influence on the late Clive Cussler.

If you think you know Poe, think again. This story doesn’t read like him at all, which just fascinates me for some reason. If you want to have a look at the origins of the classic adventure tale, check out “The Gold-Bug.”
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Brillante su primera parte llena de intriga y más aún formidable, la segunda donde impera el dominio de la razón
dark mysterious reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Puanım 4/5 (%79/100)

Sembollerle dolu güzel bir kitaptı. Hikayeyi anlatan kişi kitabın ana karakteri olan William Legrand'ın bir arkadaşı. Kitap isminden de anlaşıldığı gibi altın bir böceğin bulunması ve bir gizem üzerinden gidiyor. Kurgu olarak ilgi çekiciydi ve sonunu da beğendim. Fakat beni asıl etkileyen şey semboller oldu. Kölenin isminin Jüpiter (Yunan mitolojisinde Zeus) olması bana ironik geldi. Bulunan böceğin altın renginde olması ve özellikle bokböceği olması önemliydi. Mısır mitolojisinde bokböceği kafasına sahip olan tanrı Khepri güneşin doğuşunu, şansı ve hayatı temsil ediyor. Böceğin altın rengi (yani güneş renginde), türünün bokböceği olması ve son olarak da Legrand'a şans getirmesi veya başka bir deyişle yeni bir hayat getirmesi de hoş bir detaydı. Ayrıca bir yerde de Legrand'ın böceğe "scaraboeus caput hominis" yani insan kafalı bokböceği adını vermesi de ironikti (Khepri'nin bunun tam tersi olması; bokböceği kafalı insan). Bu bağlantıları yapabildiğim için kitabı daha da çok sevdim ama her ne kadar sonunda Legrand açıklasa da kodu nasıl çözdüğü biraz yetersiz geldi. Genel olarak kolay okunabilen ve oldukça ilginç bir kitap, tavsiye ediyorum.

Had it been a long book, I wouldn’t have finished it... and not because it was bad, but because it was kind of hard for me to understand! And I had to read a summary along with reading the book just to make sure I was getting it. But... although at the beginning I was very lost and had no idea where the story was going, I ended up enjoying the second half quite a lot, for it turned out to be kind of a detective story, and it definitely astonishes you how smart Legrand is, when he explains how is it that he found the treasure. One thing I also must remark, is the obviously offensive characteristics Jupiter had, for being a black former slave, that I guess were there to make the story lighter or even kind of funny, but that for sure didn’t age well :/ .
maddy_walock's profile picture

maddy_walock's review

4.0

True rating: 3.5

I really enjoyed the break down of the code, feels like the original scene where the detective explains the crime from start to finish or the mad scientist explains his scheme.

Bad thing is the use of the character Jupiter, POC and slavery stereotypes are unfortunately used in this.

3.5/5 estrellas.

Bien, bien, bien. Otro relato de Poe que realmente disfruté por lo rebuscado y descabellado que fue.
No me quedan dudas de que sus historias poseen un ingenio increíble para hilar cabos y mantenerte atrapado en la historia mientras que pensás que el protagonista está re loco.

Una joya.