The Gold-Bug and Other Tales (Dover Thrift Editions: Gothic/Horror) by Edgar Allan Poe

The Gold-Bug and Other Tales (Dover Thrift Editions: Gothic/Horror) Reviews

• 
  Tessa Nadir

  De cate ori citesc Edgar Allan Poe am brusc senzatia ca o mana rece (dar nu dusmanoasa) m-ar apuca de umar si m-ar conduce pe niste trepte care coboara la nesfarsit. M-as gasi apoi intr-o pivnita intunecoasa si sinistra unde chiar daca vad cateva licariri de lumina, nu stiu cine e in spatele meu si desi mi-e frica trebuie sa continui sa o explorez pentru ca misterul ei este irezistibil. :)
  Prezenta carte contine 9 povestiri, toate scrise in stilul consacrat al autorului, dintre care voi aborda cateva care mi-au placut mai mult in cele ce urmeaza:
  Prima este "Misterul lui Marie Roget" si este o continuare la "Crimele din Rue Morgue". Il intalnim aici pe celebrul detectiv Auguste Dupin care are de rezolvat un caz destul de incalcit. Cand trupul frumoasei Marie Roget este gasit plutind pe Sena, detectivul este rugat de catre primar sa dea o mana de ajutor. In mod inedit acesta rezolva ancheta folosindu-se doar de niste articole din ziar. Pentru cei interesati de arta argumentatiei, expunerea lui Dupin despre crima si faptas va constitui un veritabil deliciu.
  In "Carabusul de aur" William Lepand gaseste pe o insula un carabus auriu foarte frumos care insa il va face sa-si piarda mintile. Acesta incepe sa sape dupa o comoara a unor pirati care poate fi gasita numai cu ajutorul acestui carabus.
  "Ingropat de viu" mi s-a parut cea mai infricosatoare povestire si este despre cumplita experienta de a te trezi in interiorul unui cosciug fara sa fi murit. In urma acestei experiente s-a nascut si expresia "salvat de clopotel" cand rudele indoliate atasau la sicriu un clopotel de care defunctul putea sa traga in caz ca se trezea din morti. Insusi naratorul povestii sufera de catalepsie fiindu-i teribil de teama ca nu cumva sa fie inmormantat fara sa fie temeinic verificat daca mai respira. Un demon i se va arata in vis si ii va dezveli mormintele intregii omeniri, aceasta imagine fiind extrem de sinistra si infricosatoare. Autorul foloseste aici multe figuri de stil precum "palida lucire fosforescenta a putreziciunii."
  "A o mie doua poveste a Seherezadei" este o continuare la povestea lui "Sinbad Marinarul" care o sa placa mult celor care adora aventurile, fiintele ciudate si fermecate, intamplarile fantastice, toate scrise in acelasi stil occidental.
  "Scrisoarea furata" este tot cu detectivul Auguste Dupin ce trebuie sa rezolve o enigma a unei scrisori furate de o maxima importanta din apartamentul regal. Dupin va folosi un siretlic foarte inteligent si original pentru a o recupera.
  Si nu in cele din urma, "Pisica neagra" este piesa de rezistenta a acestei colectii, pe care eu personal o consider o capodopera a genului horror. Naratiunea se face la persoana intai si este vorba despre psihoza pe care o dezvolta un alcoolic impotriva pisicii sale negre "Pluto" pe care o suspecteaza ca ar fi o vrajitoare deghizata. El ii scoate un ochi si mai apoi o spanzura de un copac. Dupa aceasta fapta reprobabila nevrozele incep sa i se tina lant si pisica ii apare peste tot ca si cum l-ar bantui. Aceasta reprezinta un laitmotiv al groazei si vinovatiei care ii vor aduce pana la urma pierzania.
  Si ca sa nu incheiem intr-o nota atat de intunecata as vrea sa va impartasesc ceva ce m-a amuzat teribil si anume o confruntare imaginara intre doi maestrii ai genului horror: E.A. Poe versus Stephen King in imaginatia celor de la ERB, cu care va puteti delecta pe youtube.
  In final atasez cateva citate pe care le-am selectat din toate cele noua povestiri si care mi-au placut:
  "Cand vreau sa descopar cat de destept, sau de prost, sau de bun, sau de rau e cineva, sau care sunt gandurile sale in acel moment, imi compun expresia fetei lui, iar pe urma astept sa vad ce ganduri sau sentimente se nasc in mintea sau in inima mea."
  "... intrebarea cea mai nimerita in cazuri ca acesta nu-i atat "ce s-a intamplat?" cat "ce anume s-a intamplat care nu s-a intamplat niciodata inainte?"
  "... experienta a aratat si o adevarata filozofie va arata intotdeauna, ca o mare parte, poate cea mai mare parte a adevarului se naste din ceea ce pare irelevant."
• 
  R.F. Gammon

  Two stars for the great writing that Poe is capable of and another one for the Sherlock-like, wonderful "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." Can't recommend this book, and I'm glad it's over.
• 
  Pamela Colin

  En esta edición que compré vienen 4 relatos:s
  El escarabajo de oro: / 3 de 5 estrellas.
  La máscara de la Muerte Roja / 2 de 5 estrellas.
  El barril de amontillado / Mi favorita y la más perturbadora - 4 de 5 estrellas.
  
  
  
  El retrato oval / 3 de 5 estrellas.
• 
  Elena

  ... La fel ca în Inima care-și spune taina (care, din păcate, lipsește din acest volum), și în cazul povestirii Pisica neagră (The Black Cat) avem de-a face cu un narator probabil nebun, lipsit de credibilitate, care își dezvăluie singur crima. Aici, naratorul-personaj dă vina pe alcool pentru decăderea morală și acțiunile lui. Toată povestea e o confesiune, nu știm în fața cui, în care nu putem afla cu siguranță cât e adevăr și cât e fantezie. Imaginea pisicii negre este simbolul central, existând superstiția că acestea sunt de fapt vrăjitoare. Primul motan e numit Pluto (zeul roman al infernului); deși era animalul preferat al naratorului, naratorul îi scoate un ochi într-un acces de furie. Tot ce era mai bun în stăpân moare. Mai apoi, motanul e spânzurat, dar rămâne ca mărturie a cruzimii naratorului imaginea animalului imprimată pe peretele ars. Nici chiar focul, care are rol purificator, nu poate șterge greșelile personajului, care nu face nimic pentru a scăpa de perversitate și ură. ...
  
  Recenzie pe eLitere:
  http://elitere.ro/povestirile-lui-poe/
• 
  Libby

  There's suspense but it's not too scary, perfect for a scaredy cat like me, old school psychological terror and the supernatural.
• 
  Tsumi Tsunami

  Q puedo decir, me encanta Poe
• 
  Angela Serban

  3.5
• 
  Laura

  some stories were so good!!! especially ‘the murders in the Rue Morgue’ :) Some were…. special?
• 
  Jenny Clark

  Poe is great at suspense and horror. Some of these were extremly short, but all are well written.
• 
  Amber M. McCarter

  100%: "The Cask of Amontillado"
• 
  Ericka Clou

  Most of the stories were just okay. I did find The Pit and the Pendulum both terrifying and inspiring, so that was my favorite. Honorable mention to The Black Cat.
• 
  Ami

  Originally posted on the book blog
  Creature From the Book Lagoon.
  
  Like most horror fans, I had a Poe phase when I was younger. In high school I read a lot of his short stories and his poetry. Masque of the Red Death has always been my favorite item from him. That story is AMAZING. It has, however, been a loooonnngg time since reading Poe in high school, or any Poe for that matter.
  
  The book I checked out from the library is a collection of Poe’s 9 best short stories, listed in the order that they were originally published.
  
  Ligeia
  The Fall of the House of Usher
  The Murders in the Rue Morgue
  The Masque of the Red Death
  The Pit and the Pendulum
  The Tell-Tale Heart
  The Gold-Bug
  The Black Cat
  The Cask of Amontillado
  
  Most of these stories I had already read. The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Gold-Bug I had not read before. Ligeia, not only had I never read before, but I had also never even heard of that one (as far as I recall). Because I was short on time this month and still have other books to read before the year is over, I decided to skip re-reading the stories I already knew, and just read the one I needed for the challenge plus the 4 I had never read before. So in this review, I’m only going to talk about those 4 stories I had not read before, while briefly mentioning the others at the end of the post.
  
  I had a lot of problems reading Ligeia. I really struggled with Poe’s word choices and prose. He goes all out in showing you how fancy he can write and how vast his vocab is. It was a little bit too much for my brain to wrap around. I got the gist of the story though. I think…? It was a very odd story… There is this woman, who is amazing. There is a guy who loves her. Then the woman dies. So the man marries another woman. Man hates his wife and longs for the amazing woman. Man does lots of opium. Wife dies. Then she comes back to life but it is no longer the wife that is there, but the amazing woman back from the dead. Ok… so…. huh? Is the amazing woman taking over the dead wife’s body? Is this ghost possession? Is it all made up because the man is on so much opium he has no clue what is really going on? So many questions at the end of this one! I didn’t care for this one. The style was difficult for me to follow and with too many questions at the end left me feeling frustrated.
  
  The Fall of the House of Usher was a lot easier for me to read and was much more like the Poe I remembered. Like so much of Poe’s work, this story displayed how familiar Poe was to mental health issues, especially depression and extreme anxiety. While this story is not a favorite of mine, I do love how Poe describes the anxiety and the tension that rises from it. You can feel the anxiety slowly start to squeeze around your heart, gripping it tighter and tighter until the very end. There was a lot to digest in this story, particularly the connection between the twins sickness and the decay of the house of User.
  
  The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a story I had always wanted to read. It has been long hailed as a grandfather to the modern mystery. Sadly, even though I had never read the story before, I knew about who the killer was. I WISH I could have read this without having already known about that! Going in to the story already knowing that, I think it took some of the fun out of it for me. :/ I can just imagine what a twist it was back in the day this story came out…. to read a story that talked about figuring out the clues and following the trail of logic to the surprise killer ending. Wish it hadn’t been spoiled for me long ago. I did enjoy watching the main characters follow a long the investigation. Even with the spoiler, it was still an interesting story.
  
  The Gold-Bug was another story I hadn’t read. Unlike Rue Morgue, Gold-Bug had not been spoiled for me. In fact, I went in knowing nothing about this story other then it was another one of Poe’s mysteries. I was surprised that it was more of a treasure seeking action adventure story. I had not been expecting that at all. I love treasure seeking action adventure stuff. Yay! 😀 I was really surprised at how well thought out every detail was in this story. It was seriously well crafted story and puzzle. A very enjoyable read and I’m happy I finally got around to reading this one.
  
  The rest of the stories in this short story collection are stories I already knew and loved. They are amazing works of horror that seriously know how to raise the tension bar to an extreme my-heart-is-about-to-explode!! level. I have always thought that Mr. Poe is seriously one of the best all time writers at capturing what it feels like to have extreme anxiety disorders and depression. Even today, with more knowledge in how the brain works and mental health, you still don’t find that many authors who can write it as convincingly as Poe. This was an excellent collection of his best short stories and a very entertaining quick read. Highly recommended for new and old fans alike.
• 
  Rebekah

  Poe is brilliant. Disturbing, but brilliant. In these stories, he can create a chilling scene like nobody's business!
  
  I've had this book on my shelves for years, and it feels good to finally have read through it!
• 
  Wendy

  I’ve never been a big fan of Poe.
  Maybe partially because it was assigned reading in school (I’m a rebel) but also I can only take so much doom and gloom.
  
  I am, however, a big fan of deductive reasoning/logic.
  Some of the stories contained in this volume were mysteries and were solved using that method.
  Very Sherlock, which I love.
  
  I will admit that Poe was an amazing writer and I do admire him for that, but next I need to read something more up-beat.
• 
  Karen Hrdlicka

  I read with one of the classes I work in. It was nice to revisit some old favorite stories and read a couple that were new to me. Poe has always been one of my favorites
• 
  lyle

  2.5
• 
  Łucja

  Jak na lekturę , był to ciekawe . Nie nudziłam się , szybko się czyta i język nie jest bardzo przestarzały przez co większość rozumiem 3,5 *
• 
  Agus

  3.5
• 
  Daniela Moura

  Achei os contos fracos e me prendeu pouco.
• 
  Elliott

  Shhh, I actually read these stories in this collection,
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..., but we're not telling anyone, are we, Reader? ARE WE, READER!?
  
  The stories contained herein, ranked, according to my personal, and, I think we can all agree, irreproachable opinion.
  
  1. The Cask of Amontillado - The takeaway here: Cross Montresor, and he will get medieval on your wine-loving behind. Gives me chills every time.
  2. The Gold-Bug - Could a scarab beetle, itself seeming to be made of gold, be the key to a hoard of buried pirate treasure?
  3. The Murders in the Rue Morgue - Monkey SHINES! But skip the "sequel," The Mystery of Marie Roget.
  4. The Pit and the Pendulum - Inquisitors: "Hey Torquemada, whaddaya say?" Torquemada: "I just got back from the auto da fé!"
  5. The Fall of the House of Usher - Haunted house horror is my favorite horror.
  6. The Masque of the Red Death - If you've ever wondered what it would be like to throw a fancy party during the plague years, well, here you go.
  7. Ligeia - A good story, but I spent most of it wondering how to pronounce "Ligeia." I settled on "Lidge-e-á."
  8. The Tell-Tale Heart - I don't think Poe cared much for the elderly...
  9. The Black Cat - ...or animals.
• 
  Bruce

  I'm finished with this book (for now) because I only wanted to read the short story "The Gold Bug".
  
  Why that story? On May 27 2016, on the TV game show Jeopardy, the Final Jeopardy category was "19th Century Novels" and the clue was "The Gold Bug,
  Edgar Allan Poe's story about the search for Captain Kidd's buried loot helped inspire this 1883 novel."
  
  That novel was
  Treasure Island by
  Robert Louis Stevenson and that is my next book to read.
  
  I doubt that an animated scarab beetle made of solid gold made it into this next book but I shall find out.
• 
  Ale Rivero

  Mi edición es un poco distinta a esta, posee cuatro relatos: El escarabajo de oro, El gato negro, Los crímenes de la calle Morgue, La verdad sobre el caso del señor Valdemar y el poema El cuervo.
  Todos los tenía ya leídos, menos El Cuervo, y compré el libro exclusivamente por eso. Poe es uno de mis autores favoritos y sus relatos siempre me han encantado, y esta recopilación no ha sido la diferencia. Muy recomendable
• 
  Misty Wilson read.fine.print

  I read this little book today, and I was prepared for all the creeps. I mean check out that first page! I think I’ve only read The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart by Poe and it was a long time ago.
  •
  This book had these three stories: The Gold Bug, Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Stolen Letter. All were predictable and choppily written and not in the least bit scary! But the book is cool looking so I shall continue to display it every fall.
• 
  Brianne

  This was for school so we didn't read all of the stories.
  
  Short review for this one because I think most people have read some Poe. I like Poe and I've got another book with his poems, so I think I'll look into those too!
  
  Recommend it!
• 
  The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo

  A bunch of good short stories by the horror master.
• 
  Meredith Johnson

  Dark depressing genius.
• 
  Angel Torres

  Libro encantador con lo mejor de Poe! 🌟