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olgagl92's review
I am more interested in contemporary writers making this world better.
konkie44's review
3.0
I read The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Purloined Letter for my book club. I also opted to read The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado and some of the poems I remembered from high school - The Raven, To Helen, Annabel Lee, and The Bells. I would give this 3 1/2 stars. The stories were good, although it took some getting used to the language. I enjoyed The Purloined Letter best - the others, while good, were pretty morbid. I actually enjoyed the poems better than the short stories - the rhyming and rhythm along with word choice were very carefully selected. Poe's works are something that Americans can be at least familiar with.
bahareads's review
5.0
Note: I had to read for school.
I didn't read this entire book but I have read ALL of Edgar Alllan Poe's works before and I truly love them. Hense my high rating.
I didn't read this entire book but I have read ALL of Edgar Alllan Poe's works before and I truly love them. Hense my high rating.
pelks's review
5.0
Wow, there's some good stuff in here! I mean in addition to the extremely well-known works. Here are some general observations:
-Why don't we, as a society, talk about the story "Hop-Frog" more? It was actually probably the most horrifying?
-Apparently Poe wrote the first ever cyborg story (!), but also maybe he was extremely horny for the cyborg (?).
-The original version of The Purloined Letter is much worse than the Wishbone re-telling thereof.
-I really liked the collection of short "blurbs/marginalia" Poe wrote (apparently just little musings used to fill space in the magazines he worked for) at the end of this book.
-Speaking of which, Poe wanted the United States of America to be renamed "Appalachia" in part so that the USA wouldn't be taking a name that is already taken by two continents and I really wish the mid nineteenth century USA had taken him up on that suggestion.
-Why don't we, as a society, talk about the story "Hop-Frog" more? It was actually probably the most horrifying?
-Apparently Poe wrote the first ever cyborg story (!), but also maybe he was extremely horny for the cyborg (?).
-The original version of The Purloined Letter is much worse than the Wishbone re-telling thereof.
-I really liked the collection of short "blurbs/marginalia" Poe wrote (apparently just little musings used to fill space in the magazines he worked for) at the end of this book.
-Speaking of which, Poe wanted the United States of America to be renamed "Appalachia" in part so that the USA wouldn't be taking a name that is already taken by two continents and I really wish the mid nineteenth century USA had taken him up on that suggestion.
bohowallflower's review
5.0
Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favourite writers. Everything in this book is captivating and absolutely, eerily beautiful.
lordofthemoon's review
3.0
This is a collection of work by Edgar Allan Poe, including letters, stories, poems, criticism and opinions. I must confess that I found it hard going. Poe isn't an easy writer to read. Some of his poems are pretty difficult, and even some of his prose fiction was a slog, without even the denseness of poetry that I find personally difficult. There is a recurring theme of death and loss which grows wearing after a while and when you do encounter something with no mention of it, it's a breath of fresh air.
Poe was possibly the first writer to write a detective story, with his creation C. Auguste Dupin, all three of whose stories are here, and from whom the descent to Holmes and beyond is clear. In saying that, the Dupin stories themselves aren't hugely gripping and are more interesting to see the form of the detective story developing than anything else.
I'd never read any Poe before so this was a good selection of his work, but I don't think I'll particularly be looking out for any more, to be honest.
Poe was possibly the first writer to write a detective story, with his creation C. Auguste Dupin, all three of whose stories are here, and from whom the descent to Holmes and beyond is clear. In saying that, the Dupin stories themselves aren't hugely gripping and are more interesting to see the form of the detective story developing than anything else.
I'd never read any Poe before so this was a good selection of his work, but I don't think I'll particularly be looking out for any more, to be honest.
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