laurenjpegler's review against another edition
1.0
If you've been reading my individual updates (where I've rated each story, see here), then you would already know I hated this. Honestly, this was just so boring. I much prefer Poe's poetry; he excels in his verse, but not so much in prose. Every story was random, uninterestingly and so damn boring. From the 19 stories I read, I only enjoyed three (and I say 'enjoyed' loosely because they got no higher than a 2 star rating). The three that I liked were:
- 'The Fall of the House of Usher': this was enchanting, mysterious and captivating. This echoed the type of eeriness that Poe tends to incorporate in his poetry, so I put my enjoyment down to that. I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the length. I think this worked well as a short story, but I definitely think it could have been expanded into novella, perhaps.
- 'The Black Cat': Again, this was eerie and enchanting. I really liked the role the cat had in the story; (I just really didn't enjoy the whole animal cruelty part of the story, but other than that, it was good).
- 'Hop-Frog': This story had that fairy-tale feel to it, which I really like to read in stories. It was fantastical, fun, and was just a really jolly read (which was so different to all the other stories in this collection).
Considering how much I love reading Poe's poetry, this really let me down. Not a fan, unfortunately!
- 'The Fall of the House of Usher': this was enchanting, mysterious and captivating. This echoed the type of eeriness that Poe tends to incorporate in his poetry, so I put my enjoyment down to that. I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the length. I think this worked well as a short story, but I definitely think it could have been expanded into novella, perhaps.
- 'The Black Cat': Again, this was eerie and enchanting. I really liked the role the cat had in the story;
Spoiler
it somehow managed to corrupt the narrator into murdering his wife, like a cat, that's so cool??- 'Hop-Frog': This story had that fairy-tale feel to it, which I really like to read in stories. It was fantastical, fun, and was just a really jolly read (which was so different to all the other stories in this collection).
Considering how much I love reading Poe's poetry, this really let me down. Not a fan, unfortunately!
gregoreads's review against another edition
2.0
I’ll say this about this collection: the ones that are famous, are famous for a reason, and the ones that are not famous, are not famous for a reason.
feanors's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lydiacherith's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
jarichan's review against another edition
3.0
Nicht Poes beste Geschichte, auch wenn er definitiv mit dem Unerwarteten arbeitet. Die Geschichte um Marie Roget war interessant zu lesen, jedoch zog sich die Erklärung etwas zu lange hin. Aber ich lese das Buch auch aus der Sicht des 21. Jahrhunderts, was eigentlich grundlegend falsch ist. Schande über mich.