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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
racism expected, 0/10.
anyway.
i am SO SO GLAAAAAD that he didn't kill his dog. i am so glad i can pretend that that dog is somewhere alive and not that they probably ate him too.
now, i was reading about this book a little on the internet while i was like in the middle and found out that the book is actually so confusing in details — i don't know if poe was losing the plot or if it was on purpose as a unreliable narrator. whatever reason there is for it, i found it interesting and entertaining. it gives the book and the story a coat of insanity that i so much enjoy from Poe. Still though, you can see it was his first novel and it's his only novel for a reason, i'd say.
anyway.
i am SO SO GLAAAAAD that he didn't kill his dog. i am so glad i can pretend that that dog is somewhere alive and not that they probably ate him too.
now, i was reading about this book a little on the internet while i was like in the middle and found out that the book is actually so confusing in details — i don't know if poe was losing the plot or if it was on purpose as a unreliable narrator. whatever reason there is for it, i found it interesting and entertaining. it gives the book and the story a coat of insanity that i so much enjoy from Poe. Still though, you can see it was his first novel and it's his only novel for a reason, i'd say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Cannibalism
I think Poe scholar Edward G. Pettit sums it up best: “His novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, is a glorious mess. I love it. It’s so much fun. It’s bizarre and weird, but he can’t sustain the grand effects he produces so masterfully in the short stories.”
adventurous
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
Poe's only novel. Snoozeville. Some cool imagery towards the end and I really enjoyed the "trapped in a box" chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism
There is a reason Poe is known as a poet and teller of short tales. This is his only novel, and rightfully so.
There is no doubt the writing in this novel is fantastic. There are several moments where his genius in poetically describing a simple emotion or situation left me in awe. The story too, is very very exciting at times, and is like that of classic adventure tales of the 19th century. Where this book fails however, is how much useless information is included. I mean this in a joking manner, but it often reminded me of when you insert nonsense into a paper to make it longer. Poe included so much information that was completely unnecessary to the story. He describes the ins and outs of the boat, he goes on and on about attitude and longitude, about bird species etc. It's mind numbing to someone who has no interest in these things' nd does absolutely nothing for the tale.
The characters are also all incredibly flat. While he is really good at describing emotions like fear and pain, none of the characters, including Pym, who is first person, have any personality.
That said, I did not hate this, and found myself very intrigued in the high points of the tale.
There is no doubt the writing in this novel is fantastic. There are several moments where his genius in poetically describing a simple emotion or situation left me in awe. The story too, is very very exciting at times, and is like that of classic adventure tales of the 19th century. Where this book fails however, is how much useless information is included. I mean this in a joking manner, but it often reminded me of when you insert nonsense into a paper to make it longer. Poe included so much information that was completely unnecessary to the story. He describes the ins and outs of the boat, he goes on and on about attitude and longitude, about bird species etc. It's mind numbing to someone who has no interest in these things' nd does absolutely nothing for the tale.
The characters are also all incredibly flat. While he is really good at describing emotions like fear and pain, none of the characters, including Pym, who is first person, have any personality.
That said, I did not hate this, and found myself very intrigued in the high points of the tale.
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
adventurous
dark
adventurous
mysterious
I'm not really sure what to make of Edgar Allan Poe's only novel. It has brilliant and adventurous moments, but it also has racist, tedious, boring, deranged, and graphic and gory passages, resulting in an unholy creation with a baffling and abrupt ending (or is it an allegorical ending?) What works is how Poe can't help but to infuse the novel with a sense of the uncanny. What doesn't work are obvious narrative mistakes (uh, Poe, you can't kill that character off after earlier in the story saying he was alive years later) and sudden passages of exposition that read like an early 19th Century Wikipedia.
Nevertheless, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, as baffling as it is, remains a fascinating work.
Nevertheless, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, as baffling as it is, remains a fascinating work.
Useful context and footnotes for a very strange and not entirely successful novel.