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A review by wuthrinheights
A Modern Detective by Edgar Allan Poe
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1 star)
I've always liked Poe's stories generally. So I was excited when this book was chosen for our little book club. But upon the first page, I was stumped. It was a smorgasbord of words. For a few minutes, I felt like I was wading through a thesaurus. Why did Poe write like that? I'm not a huge fan of mystery books, and this one didn't help at all. I felt like he was trying too hard to sound smart. I liked the murder scene descriptions; it was gory. But whatever happened after, I felt like it was too redundant. The ending caught me by surprise, I didn't see it coming. But alas, I was not impressed with this story at all.
The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (1.75 stars)
This story started out better than the previous one. His soliloquy wasn't too long and it got to the story quicker. I was more interested in this one, and the description of Marie's death intrigued me better. I was hoping there would be an actual murder this time, and not like the other story.
The murder mystery was tantalising. It was like watching a ball of string being unraveled slowly. Through deductions and newspaper columns, you keep hitting wall after wall, where the mystery was folding and unfolding.
But alack, Poe disappointed me again. By the last section I was befuddled with all the repetitive cross section of the analyses. And the ending was so violently abrupt, I thought I was missing pages. It was going so well and then it was getting worse and worse.
I know he's dead but I hope Poe will never write murder mysteries anymore. This was torturous for me.
I've always liked Poe's stories generally. So I was excited when this book was chosen for our little book club. But upon the first page, I was stumped. It was a smorgasbord of words. For a few minutes, I felt like I was wading through a thesaurus. Why did Poe write like that? I'm not a huge fan of mystery books, and this one didn't help at all. I felt like he was trying too hard to sound smart. I liked the murder scene descriptions; it was gory. But whatever happened after, I felt like it was too redundant. The ending caught me by surprise, I didn't see it coming. But alas, I was not impressed with this story at all.
The Mystery of Marie Rogêt (1.75 stars)
This story started out better than the previous one. His soliloquy wasn't too long and it got to the story quicker. I was more interested in this one, and the description of Marie's death intrigued me better. I was hoping there would be an actual murder this time, and not like the other story.
The murder mystery was tantalising. It was like watching a ball of string being unraveled slowly. Through deductions and newspaper columns, you keep hitting wall after wall, where the mystery was folding and unfolding.
But alack, Poe disappointed me again. By the last section I was befuddled with all the repetitive cross section of the analyses. And the ending was so violently abrupt, I thought I was missing pages. It was going so well and then it was getting worse and worse.
I know he's dead but I hope Poe will never write murder mysteries anymore. This was torturous for me.