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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
The edition I've read is actually a Spanish translation (in a wonderful 80's edition for children that would certainly not be possible today), but what I love most about it are Arthur Rackham's absolutely terrifying illustrations, accompanied by some equally gruesome ones by Harry Clarke. The stories about people buried alive fascinated me to no end when I was a child, but I think my favorite story now is The Black Cat, because it packs so much sheer evil in so few pages. The stories about adventures at sea and the Maelstrom bore me a little. But it's certainly stil a great read.
This book spent three years in my "currently reading" pile, but now I've finished it. Ha!
The short stories in this collection fall in three main categories. 1) The horrific and/or freaky, 2) the puzzles and detective stories, and 3) the stories about losing loved ones, particular of the romantic kind.
That last one would make anyone wonder whether Poe had lost someone -- he did, his wife of 11 years. (She was 13 when he married her, but let's not go there). The stories, to me, border on the obsessive. The themes and emotions are practically the same, with only the names and settings being changed. It got to a point where I stopped feeling a little sorry for Poe and started getting a bit creeped out.
The detective stories are not really that good. People may argue that Poe wrote the first detective story (The Murders in the Rue Morgue), but Conan Doyle still did better with even the least interesting Sherlock Holmes cases. The Gold Bug, which is more a puzzle-type story, is the only story I really liked in this category.
Most of my favorites are in the first category: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, and a few others I can't recall right at the moment.
And then there were two other stories that don't fall in any of the above categories: The Domain of Arnheim and Landor's Cottage. They were frankly very dull and I'd decided to give up trying to finish the second one.
Oh, and Poe writes really well. It's the kind of writing that should be read aloud because of all those beautiful words and turns of phrase. All of the famous writers in his era write beautifully -- they aren't famous for nothing -- but that still deserves to be said.
The short stories in this collection fall in three main categories. 1) The horrific and/or freaky, 2) the puzzles and detective stories, and 3) the stories about losing loved ones, particular of the romantic kind.
That last one would make anyone wonder whether Poe had lost someone -- he did, his wife of 11 years. (She was 13 when he married her, but let's not go there). The stories, to me, border on the obsessive. The themes and emotions are practically the same, with only the names and settings being changed. It got to a point where I stopped feeling a little sorry for Poe and started getting a bit creeped out.
The detective stories are not really that good. People may argue that Poe wrote the first detective story (The Murders in the Rue Morgue), but Conan Doyle still did better with even the least interesting Sherlock Holmes cases. The Gold Bug, which is more a puzzle-type story, is the only story I really liked in this category.
Most of my favorites are in the first category: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, and a few others I can't recall right at the moment.
And then there were two other stories that don't fall in any of the above categories: The Domain of Arnheim and Landor's Cottage. They were frankly very dull and I'd decided to give up trying to finish the second one.
Oh, and Poe writes really well. It's the kind of writing that should be read aloud because of all those beautiful words and turns of phrase. All of the famous writers in his era write beautifully -- they aren't famous for nothing -- but that still deserves to be said.
This is strangely peculiar read.
Terrifyingly chilling at times, yet I found the mysteries surprisingly fun to solve and my curiosity with death and the human mind kept me glued to the pages as if entranced by some old spell.
Let us go through the stories one by one though:
The Gold Bug - 3*: Story about a golden bug, pirates and criptograms. It was long and thick at first. The language was old and almost incomprehensible when coming from the former-slave Jupiter. But as I delved into the story, I wasn't able to put it down. Desperately craving, gasping for the solution to this tangled mystery. It's not scary at all, yet the setting and vibe where the story takes place are unsettling just enough to keep you waiting as the tale unravels. I had lots of fun trying to solve the riddles along with the characters, almost living with them the doubtful puzzling and the excitement upon discovery.
Terrifyingly chilling at times, yet I found the mysteries surprisingly fun to solve and my curiosity with death and the human mind kept me glued to the pages as if entranced by some old spell.
Let us go through the stories one by one though:
The Gold Bug - 3*: Story about a golden bug, pirates and criptograms. It was long and thick at first. The language was old and almost incomprehensible when coming from the former-slave Jupiter. But as I delved into the story, I wasn't able to put it down. Desperately craving, gasping for the solution to this tangled mystery. It's not scary at all, yet the setting and vibe where the story takes place are unsettling just enough to keep you waiting as the tale unravels. I had lots of fun trying to solve the riddles along with the characters, almost living with them the doubtful puzzling and the excitement upon discovery.
Excellent collection of some ~spooky~ short stories.
dark
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Tedious reading. I don't like the way Poe writes and describes everything. Some tales were ok though.
"And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave. The thought came gently and stealthily, and it seemed long before it attained full appreciation; but just as my spirit came at length properly to feel and entertain it, the figures of the judges vanished, as if magically, from before me; the tall candles sank into nothingness; their flames went out utterly; the blackness of darkness supervened; all sensations appeared swallowed up in a mad rushing descent as of the soul into Hades. Then silence, and stillnes, and the night were the universe." (From "The Pit and the Pendulum")
It might be that I just don't get Poe or that I don't like his writing style, but throughout the book, I felt bored and that he likes to listen to him talk. There were only a couple of stories that I really found interesting and only the last one "Conversations with the Mummy" which I noticed myself keeping the interest throughout the story.
It is still somewhat interesting to read stories that have been written in a very different time from the modern world, however, I don't think I will be ever reading Poe's literature again.
It is still somewhat interesting to read stories that have been written in a very different time from the modern world, however, I don't think I will be ever reading Poe's literature again.
Read this to see whether Poe stands up to an older reader (I place under the "books for teenagers" category, not detrimentally so). Overall, I say he is quite a readable and enjoyable writer with a peculiar imagination. However, the weight of said imagination can sometimes cause him to stagger beneath his own inventions. We see this mostly whenever he begins a tale with an intriguing setup (like in the case of "MS. found in a bottle"), which then finishes in a very abrupt manner that otherwise could have been developed further by the narrative. Still, I have to give credit where credit is due, and say that Edgar Allan Poe remains a classic to this age for a reason. That this reason being the aforementioned imaginative prowess which his writing darkly evokes.