Customer Reviews
Short and Sweet Surrealism - By: Mala, 01 Aug 2007 
If you are drawn to surrealist work you will definitely enjoy this book. The stories have been written as a collection of gothic tales, but I found myself laughing at the tragedy of it all most of the time! Well written, warped literature.
Poe's Tales - By: B. Davison, 22 Jan 2006 
In terms of this anthologyin particular, all of Poe's well-known stories seem to be there, including 'The Pit & The Pendulum' & 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' However, Poe's frequent use of foreign languagesin his stories can spoil enjoyment, & on at least two occasions I could not fully grasp the ending of a story because no translation to these languages was givenin this edition. This is a particular concern for the opening story, 'Duc de L'Omelette'.
In terms of Poe's writing, my opinion is divided. His stories (thosein this book, at least), seem to be either his famous tales of terror or more essay-type pieces. The tales of terror, especially 'The Pit & the Pendulum' & 'The Cask of Amontillado', are very well-written & I enjoyed them a lot. However, a number of his stories are more like essays & these can be hard to followin the old-fashioned language Poe used and, if you are unaccustomed to Poe, can leave you waiting forever for the story to begin. Overall, I enjoyed Poe's writings supplied here & they grew on me as I became more used to his style, but they are not as scary nor as easy to follow as more modern tales.
