Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Poe's Only Novel, Jun 2 2009
Poe's only novel, inspired by a real life account, is a surprisingly rousing seafaring yarn that, at times, suggests the hand of Joseph Conrad or Herman Melville (whose later classic "Moby Dick" is much more famous but clearly owes this one a huge debt) than that of the unhinged paranoiac who authored some of the most enduring horror tales of all time (the nautical details and jargon are convincing and yet entirely imagined, as he spent no time in the water). But that's the first third: as protagonist Pym earns his sea legs, things take a turn for the macabre--a bloody mutiny, cannibalism, a ship of corpses--before he ends up in a fantasia of Antarctica that owes more to the two-fisted, racially-inflammatory potboilers of Edgar Rice Burroughs than, say, the journals of James Cook. The tale wraps up abruptly on a cosmic note anticipating "2001: A Space Odyssey" or anything from David Lynch. A tough slog at times, but a unique and rewarding read...
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Poe's One and Only Novel:, April 19 2003
In this novel I had the same feeling I used to have watching or reading Treasure Island. It is one of the best adventure novels I have ever read.It speaks about an adventure seeker, a Mr. A. Gordon Pym. He tries to leave the luxury of his little city Nantucket, where he used to live with his father. One friend of his convinces him to travel. The first voyage was a total disaster. But he did not quit his dream. He went on yet another ... Man, it was the most chilling experience I ever had. It is not like anything you dream, it is even stranger. No goblins nor trolls appear hear, yet still, Poe can really bring the horror to your heart. A mutiny is added to the singular experience Pym had, and then Cannibalism. And after you thought the story finished, you see that Poe starts a new story which not as impressive as the first, yet turns the attention to some other direction. The end was a bit shaky. I did not like it at all. I usually do not like open endings. That was the only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars. Overall, I would recommend you to read it in the middle of the night (if you do not have anything else to do), with a cup of tea, and with no one else around! You would enjoy it even more.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Poe's Best Long Work -- And His Only, Even, Feb 19 2000
By A Customer
At 150 pages or so, Arthur Gordon Pym is the closest Poe came to a novel. Rife with his characteristic polarization and dreamscape plots, this stands, in my opinion, as one of Poe's best. The short stories included only add to the mainstay, and it's a great value.
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