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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the few writers where everything he writes is just amazing. He is one of the few writers that i have read everything of, he has a very special way with words that just makes me want to read more and more.
Some stories/poems are 4/5 stars, but too many are 2/3 stars.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
“Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the Mountains”
“Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
.
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old—
This knight so bold—
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow—
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be—
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the Mountains”
“Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
.
dark
favs:
1) murders in the rue morgue
2) black cat
3) some words with a mummy
4) the power of words
5) morella
6) the power of words
7) the colloquy of monos and una
1) murders in the rue morgue
2) black cat
3) some words with a mummy
4) the power of words
5) morella
6) the power of words
7) the colloquy of monos and una
First read 2024
Delighted to announce to my ardent fans that I have completed my New Year's Resolution (EA Poe edition). One short story in between each novel I read worked wonderfully, until I ran out of short stories, put the tome back on the shelf, and forgot to pick it back up. But no matter. It's done now. When it's good, it's really good, but there's a lot in there that simply isn't fun any more, if indeed it ever was, hence the low rating. A completionist attitude is not recommended.
I don't much care for the use of repetition in poetry; Aldous Huxley once commented that Poe's work was too poetical, the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger, and I confess that I agree. Nonetheless, sometimes I have to stop being a hater and concede that despite everything, he can be really good. 'Annabel Lee' is sublime. 'Ulalume' undeniably has its moments. I would have liked to know where Politian was going.
I will beg off reviewing the short stories, as I started them well before I got Storygraph. Standouts are:
Delighted to announce to my ardent fans that I have completed my New Year's Resolution (EA Poe edition). One short story in between each novel I read worked wonderfully, until I ran out of short stories, put the tome back on the shelf, and forgot to pick it back up. But no matter. It's done now. When it's good, it's really good, but there's a lot in there that simply isn't fun any more, if indeed it ever was, hence the low rating. A completionist attitude is not recommended.
I don't much care for the use of repetition in poetry; Aldous Huxley once commented that Poe's work was too poetical, the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger, and I confess that I agree. Nonetheless, sometimes I have to stop being a hater and concede that despite everything, he can be really good. 'Annabel Lee' is sublime. 'Ulalume' undeniably has its moments. I would have liked to know where Politian was going.
I will beg off reviewing the short stories, as I started them well before I got Storygraph. Standouts are:
- 'MS. Found in a Bottle'
- The parable 'Shadow' and the fable 'Silence' (we don't tend to think of Poe as a high fantasy writer, but these qualify)
- Some of the name stories, specifically 'Berenice', 'Morella', and 'Ligeia', of which recordings of incredible readings by Vincent Price can be found on youtube
- Naturally a bunch of the really famous ones. 'The Fall of the House of Usher', 'The Pit and the Pendulum, 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The Cask of Amontillado'
- The humourous ones tend to fall very flat, but 'The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether' does some interesting work with sanity/madness that's well worth thinking about today
- 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'The Purloined Letter' will no doubt appeal to mystery fans, and the latter was the subject of some very notable work by Lacan (see The Purloined Poe). 'The Mystery of Marie Roget' is best avoided.
'Eureka: A Prose Poem' is essentially an essay containing Poe's thoughts on astrophysics, and only makes it into a Tales and Poetry collection because he makes a half-hearted attempt at humour near the beginning. Why did I press on with this? Did I value completion of the collection above my own enjoyment of reading, or even of life? Apparently so. Avoid at all costs.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, when it's not being racist, is a delightful adventure story that I had not at all expected to round out the collection. Poe called it "a very silly book", but the best adventure fiction invariably is. A big influence on Jules Verne.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, when it's not being racist, is a delightful adventure story that I had not at all expected to round out the collection. Poe called it "a very silly book", but the best adventure fiction invariably is. A big influence on Jules Verne.
It took me just under three months to read this and while I won't say it was three months wasted, there was a lot that I don't feel I needed to read. My favorite Poe story is still The Cask of Amontillado. I was happy to read tales that I had heard of, but hadn't read previously, such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue. The whole volume was relentlessly dark, which I did expect, but maybe wasn't such a good choice for someone prone to depression. All in all, I have to say I'm glad I read it...if nothing else, it gave me a great sense of accomplishment upon completion.