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sandrinepal's review
1.0
Ultimately, I did not enjoy [b:The Poe Shadow|9533|The Poe Shadow|Matthew Pearl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432249982s/9533.jpg|1437022]. I read [a:Matthew Pearl|6247|Matthew Pearl|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1219817456p2/6247.jpg]'s [b:The Dante Club|18402|The Dante Club|Matthew Pearl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397659377s/18402.jpg|2164481] over ten years ago, around the same time as I read [a:Donna Tartt|8719|Donna Tartt|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1409871301p2/8719.jpg]'s [b:The Secret History|29044|The Secret History|Donna Tartt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327733397s/29044.jpg|221359] and in my recollection, the two were comparable. Not so with this later endeavor from [a:Matthew Pearl|6247|Matthew Pearl|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1219817456p2/6247.jpg]. The writing felt convoluted more than era-appropriate and the plot of the entire book is 360 pages' worth of circling the drain. I kept waiting for something significant to happen and shed new light on the entire story, but it never did happen. It is apparent from this book that Pearl has a great scholarly interest in the topic of Poe's last days and death, but it would have been better if he had couched his findings in a non-fiction book, rather than surrounding it with all this hodge-podge of political intrigue and B-movie-worthy, Victorian-grade violence.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
a well-researched account of poe's death. the story is told from quentin clark's perspective - a lawyer in baltimore. he is enthralled with poe's writing and is appalled at the lack of respect and coverage when he dies. this is an interesting story that really sheds new light on the death of poe - which is shrouded in mystery. if you are familiar with poe's work this is much more interesting.
joelkarpowitz's review
2.0
If I hadn't abandoned the last book I had on here (Houdini biography, you haunt me still!) I probably wouldn't have bothered with this one. Pearl's protagonist is annoying, illogical, and dull. The story drags at every turn, and the conclusion is just not satisfying. Pearl researched Poe's death extensively, and those elements remain intriguing, but ultimately the solution he presents has as many holes as any other theory regarding Poe's final days. After the fun of The Dante Club, this second Pearl book was disappointing.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
2.0
For a book that I would have thought I would have LOVED...I was sure disappointed. This book was about Quetin Clark, a man who was obsessed Poe.
Basically, he spends all of his life and time and money trying to uncover the truth about Poe's death (because he will not accept that Poe really drank himself to death. He alienates his friends, his fiance breaks it off and becomes enaged to his bff. He even gets arrested, and drugged.
Don't worry, in the end, he gets back with his fiance, doesn't go to jail, and is able to find another explanation for Poe's death.
Bleh.
Basically, he spends all of his life and time and money trying to uncover the truth about Poe's death (because he will not accept that Poe really drank himself to death. He alienates his friends, his fiance breaks it off and becomes enaged to his bff. He even gets arrested, and drugged.
Don't worry, in the end, he gets back with his fiance, doesn't go to jail, and is able to find another explanation for Poe's death.
Bleh.
roseannmvp's review
2.0
Toooo Looong..........could have wrapped up faster with less drawn-out plot. I enjoyed the ending and the beginning, but the middle nearly killed me. Do NOT read before bed or you will read the same ten pages over and over for weeks, especially in the middle. I generally love his books, but this one, not so much. I am a huge fan of Poe and thought this book would make me want to do research and be inspired, but it just made me tired instead. Better luck next book, Matt.
bibliotecadepueblo's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
No sabéis el alivio que ha supuesto terminar este libro, se me ha hecho eterno. Y haber estado dos semanas sin poder leer tampoco ha ayudado.
Tenía muchas ganas de que me gustara, la sinopsis prometía, pero cuanto más avanzaba más disminuía mi interés en la trama. Raro en mí, tratándose de Poe y habiéndose documentado tan bien el autor (la mayoría de sucesos y personajes son reales), pero no he conseguido conectar con el libro a pesar de intentarlo cada vez que me ponía con él.
No sé si le daré una segunda oportunidad de aquí a un tiempo, cuando lea más a Poe, pero está claro que a día de hoy no ha sido lectura para mí.
Tenía muchas ganas de que me gustara, la sinopsis prometía, pero cuanto más avanzaba más disminuía mi interés en la trama. Raro en mí, tratándose de Poe y habiéndose documentado tan bien el autor (la mayoría de sucesos y personajes son reales), pero no he conseguido conectar con el libro a pesar de intentarlo cada vez que me ponía con él.
No sé si le daré una segunda oportunidad de aquí a un tiempo, cuando lea más a Poe, pero está claro que a día de hoy no ha sido lectura para mí.
Una de las peculiaridades de la vida es que, por lo general, las historias de quienes ya no están entre los vivos son las que encierran la verdad...
dannb's review against another edition
1.0
I give up! I made it (suffered through) nearly 8 of the 13 CDs. It rambles, it rants and the main character, Quentin Clark, is a big whiny, self-absorbed baby. I had so hoped that it would historically interesting mystery including Edgar Poe. Ack.
Sorry Matthew Pearl...loved Dante Club....Poe Shadow is a form of torture.
Sorry Matthew Pearl...loved Dante Club....Poe Shadow is a form of torture.
dbarcelon's review against another edition
2.0
I read Dante's Club a few years back and absolutely loved it so I immediately bought a copy of The Poe Shadow when it came out. I started reading the book with high hopes, but right off the bat, the story didn't pull me in. I tried finding something to like, since I loved Pearl's previous book, but I just couldn't. I finished the book just for the sake of finishing it, but I found it dragging and utterly uninspired.
itsneilcochrane's review
1.0
This book was a huge disappointment. The plot--a young 19th century attorney investigates the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe--seemed promising, but was not nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. I attribute this to two failings: failure to create likeable characters, and failure to adhere to the adage "brevity is the soul of wit."
On the first count: the protagonist, Quentin Clark, is childish and insipid. He's an irritating hero, but what's worse is that he isn't a hero who moves the plot forward. The action is either effected by someone else or happened upon by Clark accidentally. It's also difficult to take him seriously because of his blind, obsessive Poe-worship (which occasionally reads more like the author's, making it just plain awkward). As for the other characters, they all represent archetypes: reserved but brilliant detective, beautiful femme fatale, proper young woman, conniving villain, etc. etc. Now, these archetypes become archetypes because they work, certainly; but it's amazing that these characters are so glancingly treated that they aren't developed further than that in the span of nearly 400 pages.
That brings me to the second count. The book was far too long--especially the long-awaited explication of Poe's death. It was so drawn out that reading it became tedious and I no longer cared about it. I just wanted to get through it. Poe's detective stories were short stories, something Pearl would have done well to remember. As Shakespeare said, brevity is the soul of wit. Dragging out a joke ruins the punchline, and grandstanding with a dénouement is just annoying.
Because of these things (and a few other minor annoyances, like the truly sad attempt at emulating 19th century voice), I ceased to enjoy this book after about the second page. I finished it merely as a matter of principle, and do not recommend it for anyone.
On the first count: the protagonist, Quentin Clark, is childish and insipid. He's an irritating hero, but what's worse is that he isn't a hero who moves the plot forward. The action is either effected by someone else or happened upon by Clark accidentally. It's also difficult to take him seriously because of his blind, obsessive Poe-worship (which occasionally reads more like the author's, making it just plain awkward). As for the other characters, they all represent archetypes: reserved but brilliant detective, beautiful femme fatale, proper young woman, conniving villain, etc. etc. Now, these archetypes become archetypes because they work, certainly; but it's amazing that these characters are so glancingly treated that they aren't developed further than that in the span of nearly 400 pages.
That brings me to the second count. The book was far too long--especially the long-awaited explication of Poe's death. It was so drawn out that reading it became tedious and I no longer cared about it. I just wanted to get through it. Poe's detective stories were short stories, something Pearl would have done well to remember. As Shakespeare said, brevity is the soul of wit. Dragging out a joke ruins the punchline, and grandstanding with a dénouement is just annoying.
Because of these things (and a few other minor annoyances, like the truly sad attempt at emulating 19th century voice), I ceased to enjoy this book after about the second page. I finished it merely as a matter of principle, and do not recommend it for anyone.
noellita234's review
2.0
Really expected more out of this story but came to care less and less as the book went on. Finally skimmed to the end.