The Poe Shadow

The Poe Shadow, by Matthew Pearl

Uniquely talented Matthew Pearl has produced another New York Times Bestseller in The Poe Shadow. After reading his previous thrilling work of literary historical fiction in The Dante Club, I couldn’t wait to see what else this novelist had up his sleeve. I was sad though that circumstances beyond my control have caused a 7-month delay of finishing this much desired book when I started it way back in January. Finally reaching the last page, I can know add it to my blog.

Quentin Clark is an attorney of 1849 Baltimore where news of Edgar Allan Poe’s death has shocked him, even if no one else had cared. After becoming a fan of this widely unknown writer, Clark began a correspondence with Poe to work as a legal aid in clearing his name of the false press statements about Poe’s drunken habits. Once Poe ends up dead under mysterious circumstances, Quentin Clark continues the work he promised Poe to make sure people know the truth about Poe’s life and death. This proves more difficult than expected under the conditions and Quentin must seek outside help. Mr. Clark decides to travel to France in order to find the real life inspiration for Poe’s dramatic mystery hero, C. Auguste Dupin. Since there are multiple possibilities believed for this inspiration, it becomes a contest to figure out the truth of Poe’s death first in order to prove which one is the real Dupin of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Purloined Letter.” Quentin’s devotion leads to the diminishing of his law practice as well as his romantic relationship with an almost fiancé as he tries to deal with issues involving the popularly rising temperance movement, the Baltimore slave trade and even international conspiracies and assassination attempts. The investigation of one death leads to another and Quentin begins the telling of his story on trial.

Matthew Pearl’s novel is interesting enough during adventure sequences, but sadly these are rare. From crawling in hospital tunnels meant for dead bodies in order to eavesdrop on information, to hanging on the ledge of a city monument to evade French mobsters, those portions of the story are captivating and action packed. (There is even a swordfight!) The details in Pearl’s writings are what make him a great storyteller, but in The Poe Shadow, their use can also cause his downfall. There is much information and back-story that goes into planning a mystery-thriller, yet the presentation of these necessary facts is mainly involved with two men sitting and talking to each other. These back-stories are highly creative and crucial to the novel, but the explaining dialogue scenes appear too frequently for my taste. Forty percent of the time the conversation is about what has happened in the past, the other sixty percent is about what might have happened in the past and why they think so. The reader finds him or herself forcing the continued reading, waiting for the next enjoyable scene from Pearl’s fantastic pen (or keyboard) that eventually comes but fades too quickly into yet another dialogue of the previous events. There is no doubt that Pearl possesses a unique talent for historical fiction that serves him well and will most likely continue to do so (maybe in his 2009 The Last Dickens). It was the triumph of making it through the novel to the end that makes it possible for me to praise the book as a whole, even though some specific story-telling characteristics during the process appear wildly unattractive.

The Poe Shadow is a beautifully written piece of work that earns Matthew Pearl gold stars for originality, creativity, voice and style. It is a brilliant piece and stands on its own but there is the general feeling that it might have stood a little taller with a few changes. As it is, it surely would be next to nothing without Pearl’s previous success with The Dante Club that drew me and, I’m sure, others like me to his piece. I would recommend this novel to fans of Matthew Pearl, fans of Edgar Allan Poe, fans of mystery thrillers or fans of historical pieces.

“It is well to read everything of something, and something of everything.”
- Lord Henry P. Brougham

New Book Arrival from Amazon.com

I have gotten behind in some of my reading considering that I am currently working 2.5 jobs and taking a summer class, but thought I should still make a weekly post.

Earlier this year, while working as a pre-student teacher, I have shared the young adult novels I read with my sixth grade students. I was borrowing them from the classroom with much thanks to my wonderful Cooperating Teacher, but I decided to find my favorite on Amazon.com to own for myself.

Over the weekend, THIS BOOK arrived in the mail and I am very happy. I had my mother read it and she also agreed that it is a great book that could be read my adults. See, my book blog doesn't lie and you should definitely take its advice.

Coming soon to the book review blog: The Poe Shadow, by Matthew Pearl.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My life is so busy; sometimes I want to live my life a different way. I listened to this audio book going to and from Ann Arbor and learned of a different way to go about life that makes me perfectly content with how things are going right now.

Thomas Button, his wife and the rest of the hospital staff were surprised by what they found after what was expected to be the birth of a newborn child in the 1860s south. Instead, waiting, too big for his bassinet, was a seventy-year-old man. This man was new to the world and yet had already learned to talk and knew enough to be discontent with only being offered bottles of milk to eat and a blanket to wear. Mr. Button took him home and tried to pass him off as a young boy through the use of knickers and hair dye. Benjamin was only happy talking with his grandfather. Eventually, Benjamin seemed to get some of his youth back as he got older, possibly a sickness being cured with time. When he was 20 he appeared 50 and could go out with his now accepting father. He met a young girl named Hildegard who liked older men, even though they were the same age. They got married, but were separated when Benjamin went off to fight in the Spanish American War in 1898. Returning home, Benjamin made the unique discovery that he was in fact growing younger. This displeased his wife who was growing older, a fact that made Benjamin less and less attracted to her. Marital strife and problems with his son blossomed as this curiosity continued. Soon, Benjamin appeared too young to be taken seriously as the man he was. Rejected, Benjamin was forced to live with his son and call him uncle. As a “child,” he now liked to hang out with his grandson as he had hung out with his grandfather decades earlier. It became tougher and tougher for Benjamin as everyone seemed to be going forward and be was slowly creeping behind.

This was a very short audio book because, in fact, it is an audio short story. Read by Kevin Killavey, this was a fantastic one hour and six minutes. I want him to read all of my books to me. He served as a great narrator, but was even more successful with the voices. Benjamin’s changing voice through his years alone was impressive as he progressed from creaky old man, strapping man, and squeaky teenager to silly toddler. This beautifully worded short story takes a unique look at the aging process and offers a perspective about growing older that does indeed make it understandable that even in real life as you grow older you actually grow younger.

This creative narrative was very fascinating and the spinning plot was consuming as poor Benjamin’s condition kept causing problems for him and those around him. I would definitely read the short story if the movie interested you. I fell in love with the movie and that is how I came across this short story. It is different but just as enjoyable. I would, though, recommend that for the most satisfaction you listen to Kevin Killavey read it to you. His version is available cheap on iTunes.

“Read in order to live.”
- Gustave Flaubert