Edgar Allan Poe. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, of Nantucket, included the Library of World Classics edition with the complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination and the collected poems. Octopus Books, 1981.
This was the book I interrupted to read Foster’s How to Read Literature…. I’ve owned this volume since sometime in the early- to mid-eighties—it was purchased to get the tales and the poems, and somehow I never actually read Pym, sandwiched as it was between the two.
Poe is a master of the short story, and quite a decent poet (The Raven and The Bells being particular favourites), but his one foray into long form narrative fiction leaves something to be desired—it seems to lack focus, at times seeming to dwell endlessly on minor, and somewhat irrelevant points.
The ending is silly:
“Note: The circumstances connected with the late sudden and distressing death of Mr. Pym are already well known to the public… If is feared that the few remaining chapters which were to have completed his narrative, and which were retained by him… for the purpose of revision, have been irrecoverably lost through the accident by which he perished himself.”What a cop-out, coming as it does just as the protagonist approaches the climax of his voyage. Sorry E.A.P., but this one’s a turkey.
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Books Read: 5
Books by Male Authors: 2
Books by Female Authors: 3
Books by Australian Authors: 2
Fiction Books: 4
Genre Books: 1
Verity Books: 1
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