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kalypsowolf's review against another edition
3.0
These were just ok. Entertaining at parts, not so much others. The concept of the detective story as we know it wasn't really a thing when these came out so I feel like they are pretty lacking when compared to more popular detective stories, but I'm glad I read these just so I can say I read them.
Not gonna lie if I were to recommend these, I would tell people to skip the second story. It feels unnecessarily long-winded and like it rehashes itself far too much. Just read a summary and go to the next one.
Not gonna lie if I were to recommend these, I would tell people to skip the second story. It feels unnecessarily long-winded and like it rehashes itself far too much. Just read a summary and go to the next one.
theladydoor's review against another edition
3.0
One of my favorite shows as a kid was Wishbone, the simple tale of a scholarly Jack Russell who would imagine himself into the various classic novels he loved to read. The show massively appealed to me as a budding bibliophile, and I watched avidly, soaking in the stories of those books still a little advanced for me to read. One of my favorite episodes was "The Pawloined Paper" based on Edgar Allen Poe's "Purloined Paper", arguably one of the first true detective stories ever written. When I saw the novelization in my local bookstore, I begged my mom to buy it and reread it many times over the next few years.
I loved the story for it's cleverness and lack of bloodshed. The mystery is simply that of a politically devastating letter which has fallen into the hands of slimy would-be aristocrat out for his own gain. The Parisian police are baffled, as they have searched the blackmailer's apartment from top to bottom, meticulously removing, inspecting, and replacing every single object. But no letter is to be found! They turn in desperation to C. Auguste Dupin, a brooding genius who lives in a nearly abandoned house with his unnamed companion, who is the chronicler of his stories. Dupin arrives at the blackmailer's house, armed only with a dark pair of glasses, and immediately deduces the location of the letter.
This story in the collection read like a typical narrative, wherein the police bring a case to Dupin in medias res and he goes out to solve it in an infinitely satisfying way. The other two stories were less clear cut, and I must say I enjoyed them less for all that. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is certainly an interesting story, but Poe's recounting of the savage murder of two women by orangutan was too disconnected for me. He tells the story through witness accounts, which were repetitive and a bit dull. I still found the story captivating though, and enjoyed reading about Dupin's scientific investigations.
I cannot say that, however, for the last story, "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". This story was based on a sensationalist crime of the period, the murder of a woman name Mary Rogers in Manhattan. The "story" is told entirely through examination of police reports and newspaper articles and is, as a result, extraordinarily dry and tedious to read. I found myself skipping over entire passages just to get to the ending and find out the culprit. Even after that though, I cannot say for certain I know who did it or why. This story put me to sleep, and is entirely at fault for dropping my review of this collection to three stars. Even my fascination for detective stories could not save this one from my dislike.
It is still impressive to me that Poe basically invented the modern detective novel with these three stories. Dupin is exactly what a proper detective should be; he is mysterious, terrifyingly intelligent, observant of the smallest details, and fully committed to his work. In Dupin, Poe laid the groundwork for other amazing detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, and Lord Peter Wimsey, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
I loved the story for it's cleverness and lack of bloodshed. The mystery is simply that of a politically devastating letter which has fallen into the hands of slimy would-be aristocrat out for his own gain. The Parisian police are baffled, as they have searched the blackmailer's apartment from top to bottom, meticulously removing, inspecting, and replacing every single object. But no letter is to be found! They turn in desperation to C. Auguste Dupin, a brooding genius who lives in a nearly abandoned house with his unnamed companion, who is the chronicler of his stories. Dupin arrives at the blackmailer's house, armed only with a dark pair of glasses, and immediately deduces the location of the letter.
This story in the collection read like a typical narrative, wherein the police bring a case to Dupin in medias res and he goes out to solve it in an infinitely satisfying way. The other two stories were less clear cut, and I must say I enjoyed them less for all that. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is certainly an interesting story, but Poe's recounting of the savage murder of two women by orangutan was too disconnected for me. He tells the story through witness accounts, which were repetitive and a bit dull. I still found the story captivating though, and enjoyed reading about Dupin's scientific investigations.
I cannot say that, however, for the last story, "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". This story was based on a sensationalist crime of the period, the murder of a woman name Mary Rogers in Manhattan. The "story" is told entirely through examination of police reports and newspaper articles and is, as a result, extraordinarily dry and tedious to read. I found myself skipping over entire passages just to get to the ending and find out the culprit. Even after that though, I cannot say for certain I know who did it or why. This story put me to sleep, and is entirely at fault for dropping my review of this collection to three stars. Even my fascination for detective stories could not save this one from my dislike.
It is still impressive to me that Poe basically invented the modern detective novel with these three stories. Dupin is exactly what a proper detective should be; he is mysterious, terrifyingly intelligent, observant of the smallest details, and fully committed to his work. In Dupin, Poe laid the groundwork for other amazing detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, and Lord Peter Wimsey, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
tombomp's review against another edition
1.0
The rating is dragged down by the Mystery of Marie Roget being absolutely atrocious. It's not a story, it's a barely fictionalised tale about a real murder. It goes on far too long and it's padded out by pages and pages of incredibly tedious prattle that's not saying anything interesting. It's intense criticism of a few paragraphs from newspapers and then a couple of pages of total supposition to "solve" the case which is incredibly unconvincing and doesn't explain anything. And he then ends by a bizarre claim that if you roll 2 6s on dice, it's incredibly unlikely to roll a 3rd 6 because it's not independent events.
All of the stories are ludicrously padded, even the shortest, and full of total prattle where he makes bizarre bullshit claims about science, maths, deduction, logic, metaphysics etc that are clearly wrong or don't make any sense. Apparently chess is a game for stupid people because it has too much variety unlike true genius game draughts. Everything is dragged out yet there's minimal building of interest that might make you want to trudge through this. Both rue morgue and purloined letter have a slightly clever solution but it's so weighed down by waffle and ludicrous coincidences or stuff that's just plain wrong.the portrayal of orangutans is so fucking stupid and the solution requires so many absurd coincidences and apparently NOBODY SPOTTING A WILD ORANGUTAN IN CENTRAL PARIS FOR WEEKS??? The Purloined Letter has a slightly clever idea but requires that, despite the pages and pages of the police searching every nook and cranny of the minister's apartment, they never actually checked the personal letters of the minister. Despite looking for... A letter. The solution is like hiding something in an envelope
I made it through just because I'm fascinated by the mystery genre and was curious as to the origins. I understand how people could come away from these wanting to write more - in Rue Morgue he basically invents THE detective, the stereotype that's still completely recognisable now, fully formed in all his quirks, which is an absolutely incredible achievement, honestly - but I'm so glad there's been so much improvement since because good god this was hard work for popular literature.
All of the stories are ludicrously padded, even the shortest, and full of total prattle where he makes bizarre bullshit claims about science, maths, deduction, logic, metaphysics etc that are clearly wrong or don't make any sense. Apparently chess is a game for stupid people because it has too much variety unlike true genius game draughts. Everything is dragged out yet there's minimal building of interest that might make you want to trudge through this. Both rue morgue and purloined letter have a slightly clever solution but it's so weighed down by waffle and ludicrous coincidences or stuff that's just plain wrong.
I made it through just because I'm fascinated by the mystery genre and was curious as to the origins. I understand how people could come away from these wanting to write more - in Rue Morgue he basically invents THE detective, the stereotype that's still completely recognisable now, fully formed in all his quirks, which is an absolutely incredible achievement, honestly - but I'm so glad there's been so much improvement since because good god this was hard work for popular literature.
magz_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
vince_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-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
2.5
The trilogy of stories about Dupin, the “proto-Sherlock Holmes”, solving crimes in mid-19th century Paris start out strong with some classic Poe Gothic flourish. Not to mention the added delight of experiencing the birth of the genre of “detective fiction”.
The novelty wears off fast, right around the time the second story starts. Poe becomes more interested in philosophical faffery and drives the story off a cliff. It doesn’t take a Dupin to figure out the consequences of gravity thereafter.
Read the original story if you’re a Sherlock Holmes—or Poe—nerd. Skip the other two.
cat_bks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
isoldee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.75
michela_ognibeni's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Body horror
aristomenis's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
analuisateles's review against another edition
3.0
Sendo fã de policiais, tinha curiosidade em ler o primeiro livro policial alguma vez escrito.
Apesar de bem articulado, achei algumas descrições maçadoras e demasiado extensas.
As histórias não me prenderam a leitura apesar de interessantes e rebuscadas.
Apesar de bem articulado, achei algumas descrições maçadoras e demasiado extensas.
As histórias não me prenderam a leitura apesar de interessantes e rebuscadas.