Book Name : Edgar Allen Poe Selected Stories
Author : Edgar Allen Poe
What is it about : A good coverage of the different short stories (more than twenty) Edgar Allen Poe wrote along the years. The stories can be broadly divided into the following genre - detective, horror, fantasy - all laced with Poe's unique brand of dark humour, exasperation and wicked imagination.
Some thoughts after having read the book : Each of the short stories although do not typically last more than 20 pages of a paperback, Poe did pack in a lot of jigsaws along the way and the reader is made to search and remember these "clues" and information to make up the puzzle - great fun but slow heavy reading, man ! Poe meant every word he used as he believed since short stories have limited grounds to cover, each story should give only one singular essential theme. The introduction presented by Julian Symons was most useful in understanding Poe's background and drivers.
Would I recommend this book to you : A most definitely YES ! A master craftsman in all the above genre. But don't expect an easy and straightforward ride; hey after all, he was one of the best and most influential writers in modern literature. Also, if you are the serious type, have a dictionary (American) handy.
Author : Edgar Allen Poe
What is it about : A good coverage of the different short stories (more than twenty) Edgar Allen Poe wrote along the years. The stories can be broadly divided into the following genre - detective, horror, fantasy - all laced with Poe's unique brand of dark humour, exasperation and wicked imagination.
Some thoughts after having read the book : Each of the short stories although do not typically last more than 20 pages of a paperback, Poe did pack in a lot of jigsaws along the way and the reader is made to search and remember these "clues" and information to make up the puzzle - great fun but slow heavy reading, man ! Poe meant every word he used as he believed since short stories have limited grounds to cover, each story should give only one singular essential theme. The introduction presented by Julian Symons was most useful in understanding Poe's background and drivers.
Would I recommend this book to you : A most definitely YES ! A master craftsman in all the above genre. But don't expect an easy and straightforward ride; hey after all, he was one of the best and most influential writers in modern literature. Also, if you are the serious type, have a dictionary (American) handy.
