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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Poe remains an immortally influential voice in poetry + horror. Thoroughly enjoyed rereading as an adult vs my first read as a sophomore in high school
challenging
dark
slow-paced
A lot of books were and still are influenced by these stories.
I loved Poe in high school and enjoyed getting reacquainted during my library's Big Read 2011. (I was on the speech team in high school and read The Tell-Tale Heart and The Bells as part of my repertoire.) His stories and poems are downright disturbing and the best of them stick with you a long time. ("True! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad?") I gave this book Four Stars only because it contains some of his less compelling works as well as his great stories and poems. Poe was truly an original.
Every story is the same. Might give the poems a read some other time.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meh. First time officially reading Poe, and I was underwhelmed. It was fine, but didn't really do it for me.
Not that I don't love Poe (because I do), but I've really read all that I want to from this collection. Most of the poetry didn't stick with me, although I love short stories like "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Masque of the Red Death." I'd never read his detective works before, and while I liked the first Dupin story, the second bored me to tears, as did the one sea-themed story I read.
As with almost any collection, I enjoyed some of these stories and poems more than others. I love most of the well-known ones, including "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Black Cat," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Raven," and "Annabel Lee." I discovered a few new favorites, too, such as "Gold-Bug" and "Dream within a Dream." On the other hand, some of the stories didn't hold my attention ("Ligeia" and "Descent into the Maelstrom," I'm looking at you). Nevertheless, this is a fantastic collection. I'm amazed by how much variety there is in Poe's work because all they really focus on in school is the horror. Poe also wrote the first modern detective story, "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (love the ending of that one!) and even science fiction. And while he writes about madness, fear, and revenge in some of his famous work, he also penned some beautiful love poems. He could do logic and reasoning, as in the detective stories, but there's tons of emotion in his poetry. He was truly a versatile author. Everything he wrote about, from the creepy to the sad to the lovey dovey, is just as relevant today as it was when he wrote it more than 150 years ago. My biggest beef with this collection, though, is that they left out "The Premature Burial." That's one of the best--so creepy but has a hilarious ending. Despite that omission, this is one of my favorite classics.
I haven't read any of Poe's work since high school (required reading in English) and I found it much more enjoyable this time around, especially since it's so close to Halloween! To be honest, I didn't read this book from cover to cover--the mysteries (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, etc.) and humorous stories (The Sphinx, Dr. Tarr and Prof. Feather) didn't catch my interest so I stuck with the horror stories and poems instead. As so many people know, Poe's style is dark, haunting, and bizarre. One can't help but to question the sanity of the narrators and other characters. It says something about the author when, in ten pages or less, he can draw you in and send chills down your spine long after the story is over.
Feels good to have read this tortured soul's work! Although there are still debates, I would have to be in the YES side. YES that he should be considered as one of the most influential writers in Literature. He's also quite the trend-setter. This makes me want to look at pop culture more closely and find some hints of Poe.