Reviews

The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe

not_nosferatu's review against another edition

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adventurous informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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robertkhorsand's review against another edition

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4.0

English Edition (No spoilers)
A story at seventy one pages, definitely not a short story by any stretch of literary theory. More like a good sized novella that pretty interminable as it goes on... So this is my first novel by Edgar Allan Poe after read a short story as Black Cat and I'm satisfied.
I started reading, looked at the map and focused on the secrets of the book and finally, together with the characters of the story, We went looking for the million dollar treasure.
This is a story about a man who was bitten by a gold bug and claimed that it will lead them to find hidden treasures together with his servant and his physician. I expected this book to be somewhat dark and grotesque, just like other Poe's tale as Black Cat, but it's more like an adventure/solving a mystery tale.
What sets this treasure-hunting story apart is its focus on cryptography. It's all laid out very carefully, as the structure of the cipher is slowly untangled for benefit of the reader. A little too slowly, perhaps... Yet cryptography is an interest of mine so perhaps I have the advantage over some other readers here. The subsequent discovery of solution leads to a series of clues which leads to treasure, as it so often does, and it's the kind of thing that makes the thought of treasure-hunting appealing... if you can get over the hours and hours of digging and accusations of madness, that is.
Overall, 4 stars for me.
*************************************
نسخه‌ی فارسی (فاقد مطالب افشا کننده)
سوسک طلایی یک داستان در استانداردهای داستان کوتاه نیست، و با هفتاد و یک صفحه‌ متن انگلیسی که اگر به فارسی ترجمه شود به بیش از یکصد صفحه می‌رسد یک رمان کوچک یا همان نوول است.
این نخستین رمانی بود که پس از خواندن یک داستان کوتاه به نام «گربه سیاه» از آلن پو خواندم و البته از خواندنش نیز خرسندم.
خوشبختانه فایل پی‌دی‌افی که از آن مطالعه می‌کردم، از کتابی با نقاشی اسکن شده بود، و وقتی شروع به خواندن و تماشای نقشه و عکس‌ها کردم، به همراه رموز کتاب در داستان غرق شدم، و همراه شخصیت‌های داستان با هم به دنبال گنج رفتیم.
داستان کتاب در مورد مردی‌ست به نام لگراند که توسط سوسکی طلایی گزیده می‌شود و به شکل جذاب و صدالبته مرموزی که در کتاب می‌خوانیم به نقشه‌ی گنج دست پیدا می‌کند، سپس به کمک نوکر بی‌جیره و مواجب خود یعنی ژوپیتر به دنبال گنج می‌شتابد.
شخصا بعد از خواندن گربه سیاه و تعریف دوستانم، آلن پو را به عنوان نویسنده‌ی داستان‌های سیاه و ترسناک شناخته بودم، اما این داستان این چنین نبود و در ژانر معمایی نوشته شده بود که خواننده برای یافتن پاسخ سوالاتش باید با کدهایی که نویسنده در کتاب درج کرده بود، به دنبال حل معمای پیچیده‌ی آن می‌پرداخت.
شخصا علاقه‌ی خاصی به کتاب‌هایی دارم که در آن با سوالات بی‌جواب روبرو شوم و ذهنم برای حل معماها به چالش جدی کشیده شود. بنابراین از خواندن این کتاب لذت بردم، چهارستاره برایش منظور می‌کنم و خواندن کتاب را به دوستانی که علاقه به این ژانر دارند شدیدا پیشنهاد می‌کنم.

لینک فایل پی‌دی‌اف کتاب
https://t.me/reviewsbysoheil/525


دوم دی‌ماه یک‌هزار و چهارصد و یک

ezelsuyolcuoglu's review against another edition

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3.0

Wasn’t good wasn’t bad. Probably it won’t stick with me like other works of Edgar Allen Poe

alliepeduto's review against another edition

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2.0

Listen, I love a good Edgar Allen Poe story, but this one was tough. While I liked the treasure hunting aspect, I really couldn’t enjoy this due to the pervasive racism in the story. It’s the same reason I could never finish Huckleberry Finn; it’s just too much to ignore. While I acknowledge these were written in very different times, it’s still hard for me to read about without getting angry. Luckily there are many more Poe stories for me to enjoy, so I’ll stick with his horror and let this one go.

polpoletus's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

talaalkamil's review against another edition

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5.0

‘Can you read Poe and not be moved by him? You know you want to. You know he wants you to. If you can lose yourself, if you can step into the skins of his victims and monsters, then you will feel everything he wants you to feel - the melancholy and misery, the joy and joylessness, the humour and the horror and the beauty.’
Tobias Hill

the gold bug was definitely my favourite in this short story collection of three, followed by the sphinx and william wilson. 

i need to read more poe! i don’t remember the last time i’ve been so hooked on a piece of writing than with the gold bug.

lolrie's review against another edition

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challenging informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I don't get it but the cipher part is cool 

abdus's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

3.5

tawynn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

aziraphales's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

jesus christ edgar