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spentcello's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
The sheer amount of material inspired by these stories and poems is staggering. Almost every story has been drawn on somewhat in something else I've read - perhaps not that surprising given the genres I tend to read, but still quite mind-boggling. I'd read a lot of these stories about a decade ago, but it was nice revisiting them as I've read a lot more widely now and appreciate the historical context more.
Complete collections are always a bit fraught, because there are very few people whose life's output is of very high quality - in other words, there's often a lot of fluff. This was true of Poe's collection and I felt bogged down in some of the longer pieces, particularly the satirical pieces as they were so profuse (made worse by most of them being clumped together in the book). I found the first couple very funny, however, after a while I decided that Poe's the kind of joker who never lets it go and just pushes and pushes a joke until it's really quite dead.
Poe's life was tragic and you can see it in his stories. In particular, his stories where alcohol is the catalyst for series of events that ruin the life of a central character were powerful considering Poe's personal history. But I also hate the narrative of the tortured artist, and the idea that it is in some measure good (or worse, necessary) for someone to suffer so that they produce deep and meaningful art. I disagree. I'm not glad Poe had awful things in his life, was an alcoholic, had his wife die horribly, and all sorts of other loss. I respect and appreciate Poe's stories and the reach of his legacy, but in no way think that his misfortune were a net gain for the world.
Complete collections are always a bit fraught, because there are very few people whose life's output is of very high quality - in other words, there's often a lot of fluff. This was true of Poe's collection and I felt bogged down in some of the longer pieces, particularly the satirical pieces as they were so profuse (made worse by most of them being clumped together in the book). I found the first couple very funny, however, after a while I decided that Poe's the kind of joker who never lets it go and just pushes and pushes a joke until it's really quite dead.
Poe's life was tragic and you can see it in his stories. In particular, his stories where alcohol is the catalyst for series of events that ruin the life of a central character were powerful considering Poe's personal history. But I also hate the narrative of the tortured artist, and the idea that it is in some measure good (or worse, necessary) for someone to suffer so that they produce deep and meaningful art. I disagree. I'm not glad Poe had awful things in his life, was an alcoholic, had his wife die horribly, and all sorts of other loss. I respect and appreciate Poe's stories and the reach of his legacy, but in no way think that his misfortune were a net gain for the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Torture, and Cannibalism
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, and Blood
katie0528's review against another edition
This book was big and pretty unwieldy. I thought I wanted to dive into all of Poe's writings, only to find that once I set out, it was too much. I've had it checked out from the library for months, so I've finally decided to just read the most famous works and return it. A smaller collection is probably enough for all but the Poe diehards.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Slavery, Terminal illness, and Blood
bearystarry's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Obviously kind of difficult to truly rate a book containing a person’s entire body of work but I had a mostly middling experience overall so that’s what it gets.
Basically a lot of beautiful, moody writing interjected with some very intense moments of hideous racism.
Basically a lot of beautiful, moody writing interjected with some very intense moments of hideous racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
hazel_heart's review against another edition
dark
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don't think Poe needs my puny review but I'll say that this collection helped me understand that I suck at reading poems. When I listen to other people read his poems, they're awesome. When I read them myself, they sound like out of rhythm pop songs, even The Raven, lol.
I reduced a point because his Satire/Humor stories are, understandably, aged very poorly (Humor is a dairy product). If you can laugh at them, you're legally allowed to claim you were born in the wrong period of time.
I was going to reduce more points because Poe loves rambling about the most mundane things. If that's how people talked in the 1800s, I don't know how they could get anything done, small talks could take hours! But The Raven was so good, I just couldn't bring myself to give this book 3 stars.
And I knew there'd be racism and I've read Lovecraft so I was prepared for it. But his (only) novel still got me pretty annoyed with the racism and "oh we're so white and better than everyone" themes. And it kinda sucks.
I reduced a point because his Satire/Humor stories are, understandably, aged very poorly (Humor is a dairy product). If you can laugh at them, you're legally allowed to claim you were born in the wrong period of time.
I was going to reduce more points because Poe loves rambling about the most mundane things. If that's how people talked in the 1800s, I don't know how they could get anything done, small talks could take hours! But The Raven was so good, I just couldn't bring myself to give this book 3 stars.
And I knew there'd be racism and I've read Lovecraft so I was prepared for it. But his (only) novel still got me pretty annoyed with the racism and "oh we're so white and better than everyone" themes. And it kinda sucks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Misogyny
giuliaicaro's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Antisemitism
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
Minor: Incest
astrangegirlsmind's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism