The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

Well, it’s certainly no MOBY DICK - and don’t we all thank God for that! The prose itself is of the highest caliber sometimes suggesting Jonathan Swift more than Edgar Allan Poe. How the latter mastered the seaman vocabulary of the time so completely astonishes us throughout. Poe called the novel “very silly.” Borges calls it “Poe’s greatest work.” Perhaps those separate views define the boundaries of the man’s genius, which, at this point, no one but complete fools doubt. Bonus: it’s only 217 pages.

I have a hard time giving a writer of Mr. Poe’s stature 2 stars, but if it wasn’t for his notoriety, this would likely be a one star review.This was published in 1838, so of course it follows a different pace and literary style. I am careful to not detract from this review because of the different literary epoch. I have read Melville and Vern. I appreciate the different style of those eras and do not detract because of it in a modern review. However, in any epoch, this book has severe shortcomings.This is almost three short narratives hammered into one book. Modern readers will have to accept the long lead in to the actual adventure. The first action series is an archetypical lost at sea story, with piracy, mutiny, ghost ships, close encounters, and stranding on uncharted isles. If this had been the entire novel, it might have been acceptable. Unfortunately, Mr. Poe drags us through this episode without a satisfying end by throwing us into another section with almost no realistic connection to the first section. The reader endures almost a third of the book in this dry, unrealistic scientific diary.We then enter a long, and frankly boring, entomological description of islands and fauna that might seem fitting of Darwin, if only it wasn’t pure fiction. We endure a good third of the book in this false narrative of a scientific discovery. The only saving grace would have been actual knowledge and instruction of actual, natural, orders. Sadly, this is pure fiction with only a cursory nod to reality.The last third of the book takes us to a place so removed from actuality that it becomes pure fantasy. We find some tropical tribe, though less developed than those of southern pacific civilizations, known to western cultures of the mid 1800s. Our protagonists, having survived multiple catastrophes, finds a fantastical reality at the south pole, that resembles equatorial tribes. He has the polar regions magically warming so that he can have elements and cultures that are familiar in an exotic way.Poe, writes his characters into a winless situation, then simply abandons them to some unrecorded history that they supposedly survived. This was a lazy end, almost as though the author got tired of the story and simply wrote a quick, convenient ending.If you might enjoy a look at the literary view of Science Fiction in the mid 1800s, this is a worth while rad. Otherwise, check out, “The Hunger Games.”

I've read that this book influenced Herman Melville and Jules Verne among others. There is no doubt about that. A few times I actually thought I was reading Moby Dick. Some of the descriptions were real chores to plow through as a reader. Later in the story I thought I had stumbled onto Mysterious Island or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I really enjoy Poe's poetry and short stories, but this...all I can say is that if anybody knew how to end a story it was Poe. Whether this ending was what he had in mind when he started writing or just took this ending on the fly, we will never know, but wow! When he decided it was time to end it, he ended it. There have been other books that have left me wanting for more but none like this. Was this ending a joke or sheer genius? I prefer to think genius. Anyway, four stars. Too wordy and cerebral to be five stars for me. Oh, and I see where Jules Verne actually wrote a sequel to this book as did Charles Romeyn Dake. I've ordered both. Should be fun.

Novel:This was written well before more famous maritime novels and is clearly an influence on them; that should tell you something. This is not a typical macabre Poe work, so don't buy it expecting it to unsettle you.Still, I'm glad I read it and was able to see what I would term another side of this exceptional author.Book:Regarding the print and book quality...good. Good font size, paper quality, etc. I just wish they took the time to spell the author's name correctly.

This is a sensationalistic and, at times, gruesome novel. That said, it's also quite brilliant, and, if you ask me, it directly influenced Melville in the writing of Moby Dick. Consider just these to instances: Moby Dick begins: "Call me Ishmael." Pym begins "My name is Arthur Gordon Pym." And second, Both novels end with a gigantic white entity in which is encapsulated all the thematic and symbolic content that came before it.Poe wrote only this one novel, and it was serialized, but it has the same careful construction, artistry, and hidden meanings that his great short works do. Most critics find this to be a fascinating, albeit confusing work. It's definitely not your typical Saturday afternoon, feel-good novel, but if you're a fan of high literature (or sea fiction), this is a rewarding read, with an ending you won't soon forget.

Written in 1838, this is the only complete novel written by Edgar Alan Poe. It is written as a first person narrative and describes in grisly detail the story of a stowaway on a whaling ship. I must say that I learned more about life at sea in those times than I ever wanted to know, especially the horror of near starvation, cannibalism, mistreatment and death. Every sentence seems to bring another repulsive incident and life at sea seems a serious and perhaps too realistic description.Good thing the book was short because it was difficult to read even though there was no doubt of the writer's skill. Basically, it was an excellent book, but it's difficult to recommend unless the reader is willing to thrust himself or herself into a this sad and painful world which is based on how things were in those early whaling days.

In his book 'The Old Patagonian Express,' Paul Theroux praised Edgar Allan Poe's one novel, and wrote at length about the mysterious atmosphere that pervaded the text. I felt it too - there is something both magical and macabre in here, and I wonder, now that I've finished the book, if a great part of the magic comes from the fact that rather a lot - around the middle especially - tends to sag. The adventures suffered by the narrator sit right at the limit of what could ever be believed, and sometimes stray further across the border even than that, but of all the 'adventure' novels I have read, none have focused my attention quite like this one.

My opinion of this, Poe's only attempt at a novel is somewhat split. On the one hand, quite an entertaining nautical romance well in keeping with 19th century tradition. On the other hand however, it also seems to presuppose that the reader has a great proficency in nautical terminology and navigation, positively bombarding you with coordinates and archaic sailing lingo.With that in mind it is safe to say that I enjoyed Gordon Pym far more when it was in high seas adventure mode, and a lot less when it was in dry pseudo-autobiography sailing manual want to stab my own eyes out mode.Aside from that, an obvious disclaimer comes to mind, and that is that it is horribly racist. Being not unacquainted with 19th century adventure novels, this didn't neccessarily come as a surprise to me, but Poe definitely lays it on a lot thicker than contemporaries and near contemporaries of his, so do keep that in mind before reading it.As for the (non) ending (no spoilers), it is incredibly abrupt and left me a tad perplexed, but in a good way that encourages the mind to wander and fill in the blanks itself, which happens to be one of my favourite kinds of ending. Don't show, don't tell if you will.All in all, I'd say that despite its shortcomings it is definitely worth the read. Just keep in mind that it is a definite product of its time, and (you've been warned) don't be surprised if once in a while Poe decides he must dedicate six pages to why you totally need to know the history of this particular clump of islands nobody cares about, or the correct method by which you MUST secure your cargo on pain of death!

I wont describe the story as there are indepth descriptions our there but i can happily say I finished this in a few sessions spread over a couple of days i enjoyed it that much. Personally this is my favourite work by Poe and I didnt think it would be. Some very memorable moments/scenes and good characters to fill them.If your interested in poes work or stories about adventure and bad fortune this is worth a read.

The first page or so of every chapter is hyperlinked back to the contents page, which is very annoying. It can be got past by bringing up the menu and touching the arrow at the bottom, allowing you to navigate past the hyperlinked section.That aside, it's a good yarn, although it sometimes feels like two short stories stitched together into a novella. This book was an influence on HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

Poe's only novel, For fans of nautical fiction, or afficianados of E.A. Poe. Not really for anyone else, but why would anyone else be reading this review? Anticipates Moby Dick by a baker's dozen years.