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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
The earlier ones were good in some ways - as this volume goes on though, just a lot of parody that felt tedious, too clever by half.
Poe is just to my taste, despite his occasionally terrifying run-on sentences. I love to pick this book up once in a while and read something I've read ten times. His style is very comforting and soothing to me, which is strange because the subject matter, as we know, can run to the ghastly.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
Man. This was a struggle. The last several hundred pages (400) were just hard. I think at one point I was ready to call for a DNF, but since this is on my horror list read I wanted to finish it. Now I just feel stabby.
So Poe did write some great works (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, and the Raven) but he wrote a lot of...not so good poems, terribly long meandering stories, and essays. I think my brain has tried to block out a good portion of this because it just got mad at me at one point last night. It wanted to go to sleep, but I was all, no you will finish this because I am sick of this being on my currently reading list for Booklikes and Goodreads.
I would honestly say that this complete works is good to have in your library though. You can pull it down and just read any of Poe's stories instead of having to pay for single stories. But, I can see why some people rather do that, because this thing is pretty big, it takes up valuable shelf space, and a good 70 percent of the works are not good.
I honestly feel like for the most part when you look at everything Poe has done, he was kind of a one trick pony. Most of his stories revolve around similar themes, losing a loved one, someone going slowly or not so slowly mad, something supernatural making an appearance, etc.
My favorite poems from this collection were definitely Annabel Lee, and The Raven.
Here is the Annabel Lee poem:
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;--
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
I and my Annabel Lee--
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me:--
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we--
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in Heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:--
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea--
In her tomb by the side of the sea.
Everything else....no.
My favorite stories were ones I had already read before. I skipped over them, but honestly I did go back and read them again later because none of the other stories stuck with me. My favorites are: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, and the Cask of the Amontillado.
I really did not care for any of the essays, and frankly an essay maybe in my mind is not long. His essay on Eureka: A Prose Poem was about 40 freaking pages. I just felt horror trying to wade through that.
So Poe did write some great works (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, and the Raven) but he wrote a lot of...not so good poems, terribly long meandering stories, and essays. I think my brain has tried to block out a good portion of this because it just got mad at me at one point last night. It wanted to go to sleep, but I was all, no you will finish this because I am sick of this being on my currently reading list for Booklikes and Goodreads.
I would honestly say that this complete works is good to have in your library though. You can pull it down and just read any of Poe's stories instead of having to pay for single stories. But, I can see why some people rather do that, because this thing is pretty big, it takes up valuable shelf space, and a good 70 percent of the works are not good.
I honestly feel like for the most part when you look at everything Poe has done, he was kind of a one trick pony. Most of his stories revolve around similar themes, losing a loved one, someone going slowly or not so slowly mad, something supernatural making an appearance, etc.
My favorite poems from this collection were definitely Annabel Lee, and The Raven.
Here is the Annabel Lee poem:
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;--
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
I and my Annabel Lee--
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me:--
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we--
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in Heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:--
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea--
In her tomb by the side of the sea.
Everything else....no.
My favorite stories were ones I had already read before. I skipped over them, but honestly I did go back and read them again later because none of the other stories stuck with me. My favorites are: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, and the Cask of the Amontillado.
I really did not care for any of the essays, and frankly an essay maybe in my mind is not long. His essay on Eureka: A Prose Poem was about 40 freaking pages. I just felt horror trying to wade through that.
I'm glad to have finally read Fall of the House of Usher, frequently cited by literary expects (not R&B artists hur hur) and reading The Raven always has some sort of epic darkness that no other has replicated since.
While in general Poe's writing has a distinct old-old-school feel that is vastly different from modern works, in many of his stories one can see the inspiration for today's horror writers.
Just my personal opinion but Poe's poetry stands out as the real highlight in his works, his short stories are cool, but its the verse that really brings out the chills.
While in general Poe's writing has a distinct old-old-school feel that is vastly different from modern works, in many of his stories one can see the inspiration for today's horror writers.
Just my personal opinion but Poe's poetry stands out as the real highlight in his works, his short stories are cool, but its the verse that really brings out the chills.
I am finding this impossible to rate. A few thoughts...
I don't think that anyone should ever read the COMPLETE works of Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote a LOT of things. So many. Too many. You know how, in order to be great at something, you have to practice a lot? And some of your practice maybe isn't great. Probably most of your practice, actually. Well, reading this is like reading every bit of practice that Poe wrote on his way to producing the more well-known stories and poems.
Even if you had never heard of any of his works before, you would be able to pick out the ones with staying power. Many of them are half-baked. Some seem like snarky slam pieces that I don't understand because I have no context. Some of them truly make no sense. And others are interesting, impactful, and coherent.
There were some surprises... a few insane stories that were new to me and that were so over the top that I couldn't help but enjoy them. Some poems that made me laugh out loud. Some concepts so odd that I had to wonder what kind of crazy person wrote them.
His range is impressive. He covers a wide range of topics - some faux science, philosophical musings, lots of dead/lost loves, people getting buried alive, pandemics, beheadings, deals with the devil, detective stories, etc. You really never know what you're going to get.
For most normal people, I'd say that reading a "best of" Edgar Allan Poe is probably more than enough. If you are part of a book club that likes reading incredibly tedious books, maybe go for the complete works.
I can't come up with a rating because the highs were very high, but my goodness, the lows were VERY low. Some stories/poems get zero stars. I would give them negative stars if possible. Others were easily 5+ star worthy.
There are some stories I would certainly like to read again someday, but there is no part of me that feels like I'll ever need to go through the entire catalog again. (There is also no part of me that feels like I really needed to go through it once.) I'm glad it's over.
I don't think that anyone should ever read the COMPLETE works of Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote a LOT of things. So many. Too many. You know how, in order to be great at something, you have to practice a lot? And some of your practice maybe isn't great. Probably most of your practice, actually. Well, reading this is like reading every bit of practice that Poe wrote on his way to producing the more well-known stories and poems.
Even if you had never heard of any of his works before, you would be able to pick out the ones with staying power. Many of them are half-baked. Some seem like snarky slam pieces that I don't understand because I have no context. Some of them truly make no sense. And others are interesting, impactful, and coherent.
There were some surprises... a few insane stories that were new to me and that were so over the top that I couldn't help but enjoy them. Some poems that made me laugh out loud. Some concepts so odd that I had to wonder what kind of crazy person wrote them.
His range is impressive. He covers a wide range of topics - some faux science, philosophical musings, lots of dead/lost loves, people getting buried alive, pandemics, beheadings, deals with the devil, detective stories, etc. You really never know what you're going to get.
For most normal people, I'd say that reading a "best of" Edgar Allan Poe is probably more than enough. If you are part of a book club that likes reading incredibly tedious books, maybe go for the complete works.
I can't come up with a rating because the highs were very high, but my goodness, the lows were VERY low. Some stories/poems get zero stars. I would give them negative stars if possible. Others were easily 5+ star worthy.
There are some stories I would certainly like to read again someday, but there is no part of me that feels like I'll ever need to go through the entire catalog again. (There is also no part of me that feels like I really needed to go through it once.) I'm glad it's over.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A