Okay, okay, you got me; this isn't on my book list. But with school making me read a bunch of books at the same time that I'm supposed to be reading for here, I figured, why not use them for my reading total? The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe will therefore replace #23. A book more than 100 years old: Anna Karenina (by: Leo Tolstoy). I believe it being published in 1838 qualifies it for this position.
I'm sure the name of the town sounds familiar; it’s the same location in which the story of Moby Dick starts out, as well as In the Heart of the Sea. The tales are similar but you can taste the essence of Poe throughout the tale of sea travel and the constant battle between light and dark.
Pym is a young man who is telling us, the reader, that he has shared the story of his adventures with Poe, who is the one writing the novel. (Trust me; it gets a lot more complicated.) The adventure begins with Pym being young and reckless with his best friend Augustus, one night they sneak out after a party, heavily intoxicated, with the brilliant idea to go out and sail in the middle of the night. A storm overtakes them and Pym single-handedly saves his friend's life and attempts to steer the ship back towards land until another ship accidentally runs them over, but in the end rescues them both. Instead of scaring him away from the ocean, he only feels drawn to the endless mystery of the sea.
Despite the warnings of his loved ones, Augustus and Pym hatch a plan to sneak Pym onto Augustus’s father’s ship, the Grampus, to go on a whaling trip, and satisfy the calling from the sea. But the innocent trip quickly turns sour, and from there it only gets more out of control. Pym goes through ups and many downs, but you can never predict the next event to occur. If you thought the book was confusing, the end will add the cherry on top! But don't feel bad, Poe is the king of the huge question mark reaction.
Entertaining and suspenseful! 4 out of 5. It was an honor to read Poe's only novel.
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