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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
Audio book review from 2007:
By sort of read, I mean listened to on the drive to Phoenix. Someone else in the car got it at a truck stop, so I didn't pick it, but didn't have a problem listening to it with everyone else. :)
So, it was:
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, which was the only novel length piece Edgar Allen Poe wrote. It was actually published a chapter at a time in a newspaper or something like that, so maybe the people reading it didn't realize how repetitive everything was. But the word "species" was used every other scene, if not paragraph-there were species of terror, fear, clothes, boats, you name it, there were "species" of it. Also, everything was so over dramatic-everything that happened claimed to have been the worst thing the narrator had ever, or has ever, or will ever, go through-which is kind of impossible.
Some chapters were filled with nothing but explaining different kinds of birds, some chapters only talked about different voyages done in the past (none of which said anything interesting).
BUT some chapters were interesting, and very bloody. I got attached to one of the characters, but not the narrator.
The book was interesting to listen to with so many people though because it was so repeating that we started saying it should be a drinking game, so every time something came up repeatedly we'd all notice and pretend to take a drink.
I'm not sure why this book ended like it did, but it ended by introducing a huge storyline, but never going through with it. It literally ended when it was starting a new story and explained nothing. I'm guessing the series in the paper got canceled because I have no idea why the book would end the way it it. We all screamed when we heard "THE END" because it was kind of just getting interesting. :p
Anyways, I didn't have much love for the story, other than laughing at it.
By sort of read, I mean listened to on the drive to Phoenix. Someone else in the car got it at a truck stop, so I didn't pick it, but didn't have a problem listening to it with everyone else. :)
So, it was:
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, which was the only novel length piece Edgar Allen Poe wrote. It was actually published a chapter at a time in a newspaper or something like that, so maybe the people reading it didn't realize how repetitive everything was. But the word "species" was used every other scene, if not paragraph-there were species of terror, fear, clothes, boats, you name it, there were "species" of it. Also, everything was so over dramatic-everything that happened claimed to have been the worst thing the narrator had ever, or has ever, or will ever, go through-which is kind of impossible.
Some chapters were filled with nothing but explaining different kinds of birds, some chapters only talked about different voyages done in the past (none of which said anything interesting).
BUT some chapters were interesting, and very bloody. I got attached to one of the characters, but not the narrator.
The book was interesting to listen to with so many people though because it was so repeating that we started saying it should be a drinking game, so every time something came up repeatedly we'd all notice and pretend to take a drink.
I'm not sure why this book ended like it did, but it ended by introducing a huge storyline, but never going through with it. It literally ended when it was starting a new story and explained nothing. I'm guessing the series in the paper got canceled because I have no idea why the book would end the way it it. We all screamed when we heard "THE END" because it was kind of just getting interesting. :p
Anyways, I didn't have much love for the story, other than laughing at it.
An interesting adventure story that does fall victim to the meandering narration of the time. This story contains the starts of Cosmic horror and an exploration of madness that would be followed in the proceeding years.
This is an adventure tale that takes place mostly on a ship. There’s also a bit of historical fiction.
I would recommend Treasure Island or Kidnapped before this book. Or if you don’t mind a flare of fantasy within the adventure, Gulliver’s Travels and the 7 Adventures of Sinbad (part of 1,001 Arabian Nights) are great travel adventure tales. Or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for a great sci-fi adventure.
I would recommend Treasure Island or Kidnapped before this book. Or if you don’t mind a flare of fantasy within the adventure, Gulliver’s Travels and the 7 Adventures of Sinbad (part of 1,001 Arabian Nights) are great travel adventure tales. Or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for a great sci-fi adventure.
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is undeniable to me at this point that, although I am biased in my perspective to the extreme, Edgar Allan Poe had solidified himself as a literary genius with this his only novel. I am only too happy to agree with Jorge Luis Borges that this is his '...[Poe's] greatest work.'
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is wholly concerned with verisimilitude while also adhering to the conventions of the Providence Tradition in literature. Poe drew heavily from Travel narratives of the time as well as fictional narratives like Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. This novel also went on to influence, famously, Herman Melville and his novel 'Moby Dick'.
The story itself had all the makings of a gripping, Gothic travel narrative, but, for me, it really came together in the collected notes and the introductory essay that explained how the story could be seen both as a religious allegory and as an autobiographical account of the life of Poe, his brother, and their shared experience in dealing with the death of their mother. So central to this is the image of the penguin [(and albatross, both symbolising reflection) also my copy being published by Penguin], supposedly used for its Welsh etymological roots meaning 'White Head'.
It was obvious to me also that the novel was concerned with the concept of race, but, unfortunately, the notes or essay to not elaborate any further on this, and so I must seek more information elsewhere. This seems to be a running pattern in scholarly writings on Poe.
It was a thrilling read and made even more so with how scholars have been able to interpret it. I am filled with amazement at peoples' capacity to draw forth more nuanced information from such old and, sometimes, convoluted works. I hope one day I will be able to match, or produce better, a work that draws in an audience and reveals so much to them.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is wholly concerned with verisimilitude while also adhering to the conventions of the Providence Tradition in literature. Poe drew heavily from Travel narratives of the time as well as fictional narratives like Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. This novel also went on to influence, famously, Herman Melville and his novel 'Moby Dick'.
The story itself had all the makings of a gripping, Gothic travel narrative, but, for me, it really came together in the collected notes and the introductory essay that explained how the story could be seen both as a religious allegory and as an autobiographical account of the life of Poe, his brother, and their shared experience in dealing with the death of their mother. So central to this is the image of the penguin [(and albatross, both symbolising reflection) also my copy being published by Penguin], supposedly used for its Welsh etymological roots meaning 'White Head'.
It was obvious to me also that the novel was concerned with the concept of race, but, unfortunately, the notes or essay to not elaborate any further on this, and so I must seek more information elsewhere. This seems to be a running pattern in scholarly writings on Poe.
It was a thrilling read and made even more so with how scholars have been able to interpret it. I am filled with amazement at peoples' capacity to draw forth more nuanced information from such old and, sometimes, convoluted works. I hope one day I will be able to match, or produce better, a work that draws in an audience and reveals so much to them.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
This might be the most harrowing book that decides to fuck around and ramble on about penguins for 40 pages ever written.
This book is an action packed voyage. It focuses on crucial topics of the early 19th century, and gives a good sense of the American concious at the time. It is a slow read, and reads like a guidebook. The Penguin edition gives insight into Poe's sources, but I would have preferred more general footnotes that provide clarity on some of Poe's imagery or symbolism.
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is an unrepentant, disgusting, flaming pile of garbage presented on the rusted platter of America's weird and ongoing literary nationalism, served by a 29-year-old gambling addict, actively sweating alcohol from every pore in his body, who'd already been married to his 15-year-old cousin for two fucking years.
If you could not tell, I really, really hate this book. And Poe. In general.
So many of the reviews on this book are suspiciously silent on the blatant racism foregrounded in the latter half of this narrative. But let me be absolutely clear: Poe's treatment of Native-ness and Blackness is vile. He plays into racist myths and stereotypes to titillate his audience: the Black inhabitants of Tsalal are presented as entirely morally bankrupt---attacking the white sailors just to destroy their ship, refusing to help their wounded fellows, etc.---as well as being easily startled, superstitious, disorganized, and---that lovely, lovely word with absolutely no baggage at all---"uncivilized." As a side note, Poe also plays into the "ancient race of builders/ancient aliens" by slipping in the information that the canoes owned by the Tsalal natives were not in fact built by them, but that they accidentally got them from some other, unseen social group in the south. Poe also plays on very real and intense cultural fears around being buried alive to heighten the danger posed by the natives to the white sailors---eventually, the Tsalalians attack the white sailors, apparently unprovoked, by burying them alive in a landslide. Not only is Poe wielding racist myths here, but co-opting extant cultural fears to divorce the category of "human" from "Native-ness" and "Blackness," replacing that void with fear and hate.
And in case you're one of those people who are eager to shunt aside any racist remarks as mere "happenstance of the times," citing death of the author on one hand and historical apologism on the other, first of all, fuck you, and second of all, the book is bad regardless. If Poe had written this book without any racist caricatures or themes, it still would've been absolute garb-o. The pacing is entirely off thanks to Poe's tendency to wander down meaningless rabbit holes that feel as if they've been ripped straight from whatever encyclopedia he could get his hands on, constituting a multi-page-long sprawl of Wikipedia-page-proportion on the nesting habits of fucking albatrosses. Jesus fucking Christ. And if I have to learn one more useless factoid about boats or failed voyages there is a serious risk that I will combust.
And the cherry on this worm-infested sundae? So in total there are max 10 important characters, one of them being our main character's beloved dog Tiger, who plays a kind of (?) pivotal role in some of the book's early scenes where our narrator is trapped in the hold of the ship, not to mention the fact that later Tiger brutally murders a man by ripping his throat out. So, yes, this same Tiger disappears about 42% of the way into the book with no fanfare or mention whatsoever, never to return either physically on the boat, or mentally in our narrator's thoughts. The final line referencing him?: "I had the greatest difficulty in bringing to recollection the various circumstances connected with my situation, and for some time remained firmly convinced that I was still in the hold of the brig, near the box, and that the body of Parker was that of Tiger." A hallucination, folks. Apparently, Tiger wasn't so beloved after all.
I am firmly convinced that this book is still drawing air into its rickety, age-spotted lungs because of white-man-exceptionalism and an ongoing American-academic desire to locate "great American writers" throughout the 19th century. It's unnecessary. Time to ditch the myth of Poe.
Fuck this book. Politely.
0/5 stars
If you could not tell, I really, really hate this book. And Poe. In general.
So many of the reviews on this book are suspiciously silent on the blatant racism foregrounded in the latter half of this narrative. But let me be absolutely clear: Poe's treatment of Native-ness and Blackness is vile. He plays into racist myths and stereotypes to titillate his audience: the Black inhabitants of Tsalal are presented as entirely morally bankrupt---attacking the white sailors just to destroy their ship, refusing to help their wounded fellows, etc.---as well as being easily startled, superstitious, disorganized, and---that lovely, lovely word with absolutely no baggage at all---"uncivilized." As a side note, Poe also plays into the "ancient race of builders/ancient aliens"
Spoiler
if you haven't heard of this conspiracy theory, how and oh my god could I please be you, but also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_astronauts. Essentially this theory undermines the very real and very cool architectural things accomplished by Native populations by ascribing them to some outside, and often white-coded, force, in design alone and sometimes in construction, too.And in case you're one of those people who are eager to shunt aside any racist remarks as mere "happenstance of the times," citing death of the author on one hand and historical apologism on the other, first of all, fuck you, and second of all, the book is bad regardless. If Poe had written this book without any racist caricatures or themes, it still would've been absolute garb-o. The pacing is entirely off thanks to Poe's tendency to wander down meaningless rabbit holes that feel as if they've been ripped straight from whatever encyclopedia he could get his hands on, constituting a multi-page-long sprawl of Wikipedia-page-proportion on the nesting habits of fucking albatrosses. Jesus fucking Christ. And if I have to learn one more useless factoid about boats or failed voyages there is a serious risk that I will combust.
And the cherry on this worm-infested sundae? So in total there are max 10 important characters, one of them being our main character's beloved dog Tiger, who plays a kind of (?) pivotal role in some of the book's early scenes where our narrator is trapped in the hold of the ship, not to mention the fact that later Tiger brutally murders a man by ripping his throat out. So, yes, this same Tiger disappears about 42% of the way into the book with no fanfare or mention whatsoever, never to return either physically on the boat, or mentally in our narrator's thoughts. The final line referencing him?: "I had the greatest difficulty in bringing to recollection the various circumstances connected with my situation, and for some time remained firmly convinced that I was still in the hold of the brig, near the box, and that the body of Parker was that of Tiger." A hallucination, folks. Apparently, Tiger wasn't so beloved after all.
I am firmly convinced that this book is still drawing air into its rickety, age-spotted lungs because of white-man-exceptionalism and an ongoing American-academic desire to locate "great American writers" throughout the 19th century. It's unnecessary. Time to ditch the myth of Poe.
Fuck this book. Politely.
0/5 stars